Applejack loved to watch him fight.

“Easy there big guy!” Spike's feet dug through and into the dirt as the latest strike pushed him back, though not once did he lose his balance. When he had stopped, he laughed, taking a step forward while holding out his claws. “It seems like you've forgotten something! Not that wooden mutts have much of a memory to begin with.”

In the small arena inside the forest, towering trees surrounding the small circle, was where the farmer and the dragon hero had agreed to meet. They hadn't agreed on meeting the towering timberwolf that had itself arched against the grass, its wooden joints ready to punch given the command.

“What? You haven't noticed?” Spike shook his head and took another step forward, beating a fist against his chest while he did so. “See this? Hard scales all the way!” He slipped the daggers that were in his claws into the pouches on each of his thighs. “And you. my friend?”

Applejack stood far back from the fight, slightly to the right of it, leaning against a base of a large tree. Her lips were done in a smile and her eyes glinted green far brighter than they normally did. Her heart raced. It always did when she got to see the not-so-little dragon in action.

The timberwolf raised its long head, growls cutting through its teeth, its eyes burning green. In a second, it went still to racing, breaking into a low sprint, legs still bent enough to support a long pounce.

Spike chuckled as his claw went over his shoulder, gripping the handle of the blade drawn against his back, which he then flung down into the dirt he'd drew up with the back of his feet. He laughed at the beast, then grinned. “You're not but a bundle of splinter!”

Laughter blew out from Applejack's lips. She had to turn her head, pressing a hoof against her mouth, hoping the dragon didn't glance back. He would have seen her blushing, of course. Her thoughts blew up in her mind. That boy is gettin' along, all right, but his one-liners need some serious work.

She then looked back at the scene, of the charging beast, of the dragon taking a stance, keeping the tip of his sword against the dirt. Were this any time before, Applejack would have been scared. But the weekly occurrence of such a thing only excited her.

In a way, Applejack thought as the two were seconds apart, the surface of the blade reflecting the sprinting foe, they keep him feelin' young. This whole hero business is nice, but nothing beats the traces of 'lil Spikey still inside of him.

And then the timberwolf pounced at the dragon, its legs launching the rest of its body high into the air, blocking the streams of light that filtered through the branches above. The front of its body accelerated downward at Spike, who only drew the sword into the air, holding now with both claws, each held up to keep the blade straight.

Let's see how he's gonna pull himself out of this.

Spike smirked. Sliding his foot to the left, he twirled in place, feeling the shadow of the beast cover his body. The timberwolf swiped his left claw at the dragon, but Spike, spinning in a circle, swung his blade upward—cutting through all the wooden fangs of the beast's paw.

The attack, plus the movement of the dragon, left the timberwolf unbalanced. His paw crashed into the spot Spike had just been, sinking even more into the dirt, no fangs on its paw to keep it straight. At once, it tilted to the right, the bulk of its barrel coming crashing to the body.

“Sorry, buddy!” Spike tilted his head back with a laugh; his feet still dancing along the ground. With no wasted momentum, he was only a step away from the beast's fallen face, its glowing green eyes staring up just in time to see his. “But you choose the wrong dragon to train with!”

All the beast saw was the dragon spinning around before its snout, holding the glinting sword underneath his right arm, keeping the blade steady next to his chest. With the momentum gained from the spin, the hero smirked enough to reveal a fang, stepping forward as he thrust the blade directly into the green sphere of the beat's right eye.

“If it helps,” Spike said with his arm fully extended, where, seconds later, purple writing glowed across the surface of the blade, “I'll plant your twigs and see if they become a tree.”

The green eye then glowed purple and, seconds later, the rest of the beat's body exploded in a burst of sticks and twigs. Seconds later, nothing of the beast, rather than bundles of wood, remained. Spike then drew the sword to his back, slipping it back into its sheath.

“Second one this week.” Spike turned around and back to the orange mare, waving to her from afar. “You catch all of that?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “What? You think I'd run off while you were in the middle of some fight?” She chuckled as she came off the tree. “Ya may be gettin' better there, Spike. But you ain't good enough for me to stop worrin' about you just yet.” She stepped in front of the tree, where she then shot him a glare. “And why aren't you wearing your armor like you usually do? You better not be gettin' cocky now.”

“I don't assure you! I have a good reason.” Spike laughed at his pitiful excuse as a joke while he walked over to Applejack. He smiled when his eyes laid on her again, reminding him that he wasn't alone out here, that one of his friends had come to support him.

Especially one as cute and beautiful as Applejack.

“You saw how much more smooth my movements were there, right? Nothing me weighing me back?” He stopped a few steps away from her, tilting his head down slightly so their eyes could meet. “No armor to weigh me down or hold me back.”

Applejack huffed. “Ya hon. It's all nice when you can dance with your cute little feet.” She started at him heavier than she should. “But what happens when one of those fang things goes shootin' for your chest?”

Spike chuckled, turning his head, and shrugging his shoulders. “It's like what I told him—scales beat wood, any day.” Seconds later, he then cocked his head to the left. “And apparently steel as well.” He then gave her a sidelong glance, his eyes casting a soft glow. “Especially when it's enchanted with magic.”

But Applejack only shook her head at his words. She stepped forward, lifting a hoof and pressing it against his chest, surprising—and delighting herself—with how hard it felt. “Just because you're gettin' stronger don't mean ya should play it so tough, Spike.” She fought herself to not run her hoof along his body, to feel his scale clench together underneath her touch, which would tease her with the definition of the muscles beneath.

“I'm not trying to play it tough, Applejack.” Spike rolled his own eyes once the words escaped him. She giggled with her mouth closed, drawing her hoof back and walking along the tree. “Okay, maybe just a tiny bit when I'm fighting. But the no armor thing is totally a real reason for me to get better!”

Behind him, the bundles of sticks shifted, clicking together, a sizzling sound following. The breeze and the brushing of leaves covered for the sound. One from the pile, long and sharp and thick, was slowly covered by a green glow—it then becoming encased by it.

“Get better at what, huh? Showin' off to the girls?” Applejack came to a stop at the center of the base, glaring back at the dragon from over her shoulder. “Maybe gettin' all fancy and decorated by the princesses?”

Spike face scrunched up at once. “And so what if I do? That's part of becoming a hero, isn't it?”

“Becomin' a hero for fame?” Applejack shook her head. “C'mon Spike. You know you're better than that.”

“Hey! Don't twist my words!” One of Spike's frills twitched. He felt a stirring behind him, but chalked the sensation to the wind.“I said it's part of being a hero! You should know better than anypony I'm not just doing this to score another statue!”

“Which is why you're practisin' all them fancy moves and lines.” Applejack didn't know why she suddenly found herself so wound up. One wrong line and words, and just like that, she was blowing up at him for things she knew weren't quite the case. “I'm just sayin', Spike. You've been talkin' an awful lot about—“

Something cut through the air.

“Applejack!” Applejack blinked. The world froze but for a moment. She saw it. The dragon running toward her, his right arm out, claw grasping for her. Then she felt it. Something coming from her right, it like a brown blur at the corner of her eyes. “Get down!”

Applejack froze. The spear of wood sliced through the wind, faster then her eye could turn, seeing it hurl directly at her neck.

Something hard and sweeping knocked her into the tree. A pressure built against her throat, locking her in place. She coughed, though she could hardly breathe. Rasing her dizzy head, her eyes went up, seeing the muzzle of the dragon just above her own, panting, his eyes looking ready to cry.

“Don't worry,” he said to her. “I've got you.”

Applejack blinked. Then she looked down at her throat to see the arm held there, the wrist turned outward, and at its center, the tip of the spear impaled there. A green glow was bright around it, breaking through the wall of scales, slicing into the flesh underneath.

“S-Spike...” Applejack couldn't say anything as the corner of her eyes burned. She knew that the spear still pushed into his wrist, cutting into and soon through his arm, where it would do the same with her throat. “H-H-Help—“

“Don't speak.” Spike did his best to smile at her, but he was now breathing through his lips, droplets of sweat racing along his body. There was a slight shiver to his body. It wasn't cold at all. “Just close your eyes. Nothing's going to hurt you.”

Applejack herself was a shivering mess. She couldn't keep herself still, and though she wanted to speak, to act, to do anything at all, she couldn't her will her body to do any of the three. Taken by surprise, she had no chance to react, causing her body to simply shut-down.

All while the dragon she chastised moments ago was forced to act.

Spike took his other claw and gripped the base of the spear, pulling slowly back on it, whining through gritted teeth as he did so. Even then, his grip wasn't enough to hold back the magic—the lingering strength that was strong enough to power a towering beast like a timberwolf.

But he tried. He fought. And the longer he struggled, the more the green sphere retreated from the stick. Fainter was it glow, closer was its touch to its stick, the last will of life and fight from the defeated foe.

Though it then shoved directly into the dragons wrist, the softest place on him, digging close to his bone. With a cry, he was able to yank it back to just past his scales, but the power of the magic only became stronger as it neared its end—like a last burst of flames before the fire dies out.

“That's it! Fire!” Spike went to blow a gust of flames... only to realize the pony he was with. Right away, he bit his lips, and then even harder when the spear worked into his flesh again. “Nngh! Need to, keep it, from going through, or else...”

Applejack knew exactly what would happen if the spear went through his arm. She gulped, knowing that she wouldn't last for a second. Here she thought the dragon had become a hero for his own accord. And here was, able to save his arm, but didn't. He didn't even want the spear to go through simply because of the pain it would cause him, but rather, knowing what would happen to her.

“I've just... gotta... yank it around a bit....” Spike was nearly crying as he started twirling the spear around, stretching out his wound, causing the gash in his arm to become bigger. “Just... die out already... will ya?”

And in the next few painful moments, the glow around the wood finally faded, seeping out of existence. Spike didn't even need to yank it out—it fell and clattered against the grass itself. Above, the two were left panting, and one bleeding, while the breeze continued to caress them both.

And then both of them fell to the ground, side by side, letting the grass brush against them.

“That,” Spike began as he threw his bad wrist over his stomach, letting it rest there, “was intense.”

Applejack blinked. “No foolin'.”

They laid together for a while. Nothing was said. Not much could be done.

And Applejack was left feeling awful about herself.

“You know...” Spike's voice was barely louder than the wind, “I didn't want to become a hero just it would make me famous, right?” His other claw fell over his bleeding wound, holding it tightly. “That, if I could, I'd give my life to you girls.”

Applejack turned over at once, using a foreleg to hold a muzzle up. “Spike. Don't you dare listen to what I said back there for a second. I... I...” She shook her head, and without knowing it, threw her face down and against his chest. “Oh, please forgive me for thinkin' so foolish! I didn't know what I was goin' on about! I was just... just... I don't know!”

And Spike exhaled softly after feeling her weight. He looked over the back of her head, her hat having been knocked off, to see his held wrist on his stomach. He bit his bottom lip—then quickly shook his head. Lifting his still good arm, he wrapped it around the back of her head, hugging the mare tightly.

“I was being cocky back there. Heck. None of this would have happened if I was wearing my gear.” He rolled his head to the side of her muzzle, the softness of her cheek helping to dull the stinging in his wrist. “So I understand why you got mad. Just... never think I wanted to become a hero for that kind of stuff, alright?”

Applejack couldn't help but raise her head. “And just why did you want to become a hero to begin with?”

Spike didn't know he could still laugh, that was, until he heard himself chuckle. “What? You didn't just see? The whole point of my training is to protect my friends—no matter what.” He then laughed some more. “Wouldn't risk my arm otherwise!”

Applejack knocked his shoulder with a hoof. “The moment you feel well enough, we're off to see Fluttershy. Got it?”

“Aye aye.”

Applejack only continued to stare at him, far longer than she should have, with his head now tilted back. She hadn't realized they were touching cheeks until he pulled away. The feelings of his scales against her fur had caused her orange fur to suddenly go pink.

She hated Spike. She hated how he put himself through so much, which was much like herself, to do well for his friends. All this training, all this risking, simply because he wanted to protect the girls rather than the opposite.

Applejack hated that side of him so much... that she loved him for it.

Outside of her window, way out on the field, a green ball of flames burned. Applejack had to blink twice just to make sure she was seeing it right. The faint flames had burned in the middle of midnight, floating left and right through the air, it held up by some shadow. Whoever it was, they didn't stay on the farm for long, as the light soon passed through a patch of trees, disappearing into the entrance of the woods.

Now where in tarnation does that boy think he's off to? Tryin' somethin' foolish at this hour. Just who does he think he is? With that arm... Applejack closed her eyes and exhaled heavily, fogging up her window. Now aren't you just quick to cut to the chase? The boy is probably wound up just like you are—and a better reason to boot. What? You can't even allow him a nightly walk anymore? He can take care of himself... and you apparently.

Applejack took her crossed forelegs off from the window sill. She turned around and, with a soft jump, let her body throw itself onto her bed. Rolling across the covers, she didn't bother to slip underneath them, knowing they wouldn't be bringing her any comfort.

Get to sleep already gal! Worrin' about him will only make ya tried for work in the mornin'. Nopony gets anythin' out you sufferin'.

It didn't matter how many times she tossed and turned, nor how many times her heart swelled with guilt, or her mind festered with the memory of the previous day. Dropping his off at Fluttershy's, she'd done she was supposed to do.

He even told ya it wasn't your fault. It was him that didn't have enough charge or what not in that sword of his. Twilight would probably go and tell ya the same thing! What happened ain't your fault. Quit feelin' like a bucked tree.

That didn't happen.

Applejack spent the first hour of the night in bed. She spent the second hour wandering around the house. When the creaks of wood from underneath her hooves had elicited groans from all around the house, she was forced then to take to the farm.

Walking and wandering and wondering.

She wasn't even all that surprised when her hooves came to a stop before a small slope, the very one that would take her into the Everfree. The light was faint, coming in the glow of plants and dim streaks of moonlight.

Goin' in there at this time of night. You askin' for a fight? Don't you recall barely makin' it out of one yesterday? But her hooves were already trotting inside the woods, and the dense branches blocked the light above, leaving it cast at the entrance behind her. Now you're in. Congratulations. What are you hopin' to find by goin' back? Gettin' a wound bigger than his?

But her body kept walking, kept going, moving away—like it was trying to get away from itself. Some light still filtered into the woods, enough that she could see the dirt and grass at her hooves. Sneak branches dug into the ground still caught around her ankle, but she was walking slow enough that they never tripped her.

What did trip her up, however, was the shuffling of a bush not far away. Applejack froze at once and her heart pricked at the sound. Glancing down at her chest, her lasso was still done up around her neck.

“Why can't we ever agree to easy places to hide away?” That soft voice. The tone trying a little too hard. The soft clicking of metal. “Why not a hut on a beach? Or a nice little shack along a river? But nooo! It's gotta be a cave.”

Applejack dashed at once in the direction of the voice, along the grass, over the dirt, though across the mud—the cool and thick liquid splattering along her forelegs. The feeling was strangely pleasant. At least to a girl like Applejack.

The trees and bushes, in the gaps between them, gave a glimpse to a small clearing ahead. Applejack slowed down the closer she came to it, unable to hold back her smile at seeing a familiar purple body. She stopped just before the area, seeing him lift a bush into the air—without any dirt or grass rising along with it.

Why in tarnation is he pickin' that up for? Applejack lowered herself, sneaking along the back of some tree. She peeked over a second later, seeing him set it aside. And it didn't even look rooted to begin with.

Spike turned slightly in place, gazing out into the woods, his face wincing. Loosely, one of his arms hung along the side of his body—its wrist patched in thick rolls of white. When his gaze flicked to the tree, at once, Applejack was forced to pull herself back.

Just what are you up to, Spike? Applejack shook her head, breathing slowly, her chest expanding. And why aren't you wearin' your cast either?

“Aw heck.” Spike's voice came closer from the opposite side of the tree and, seconds later, Applejack heard the clattering his claws resting against its wood. “What am I doing complaining anyway? I must be the first dragon to dislike caves.” She heard him sigh, and his claw scratched off from the bark. “Or risk his life for a pony. Gah! What was I even thinking putting Applejack through something like that?”

Applejack felt her heartbeat through her chest, and she was worried he could feel the vibrations through the tree. But her fears calmed when his feet crushed the blades of grass from afar, and seconds later, his foot then clapped against something harder—like stone.

What in the hay?

Applejack came around the tree at once to see the dragon afar, slightly bent forward, walking through a stone tunnel. The circle had been made with a round hill at its back—though it was covered with vines and blocked all around by branches and trees.

That hill has an entrance? Wait a sec. Is this where the young boy's been hiding away this last little while? Applejack started toward the cave, her hooves covering the indents in the grass his feet had created. Aw shucks. Is it even right of me to go in there?

Applejack shook her head, paused before the entrance. She could hear the echo of his steps still, and when she narrowed her eyes, she could make out a neon glow coming from within. Now that ain't right. No way Spike's already got this place rigged with magic.

She then blinked. Now wait just a darn second! Where have I seen a glow from a cave like this before?

And just like that, with her reason at the ready, the farmer followed the hero inside the cave, not exactly sure what she would find, but wanting to find something regardless. Anything that kept her mind away from itself. Something, hopefully, she could quell her inner-voice with.

She heard voices coming from inside the cave.

Applejack kept low but flicked her ears up. The coolness of the stone pressed against every step of her hoof, chilling it with its touch, sending shivers down her spine. Soon the feeling against her hooves changed. The ground rose by an inch, the stone becoming encased by something black, its surface like a cocoon.

This can't be right! I ain't ever seen a cave like this one before. Applejack kept her eyes off the floor, seeing instead, to the long tunnel before her, and the dim wall of darkness shove back slightly only by her every other step. There's gotta be an explanation for all of this.

Applejack swallowed as the tunnel then curved right. Laughter echoed from along the walls, it's distant sound sinister to her ears. The heart in her chest did not fare much better. Despite her calm face, it was everything besides that inside her head.

At least, I sure hope there is.

But when she reached the end of the tunnel, sneaking behind a small but round rock, Applejack was able to see it all, the chamber at the center of the cave. Tilting her head back, the black surface of the ground also covered the walls; neon-green cracks coursed throughout out it all, each, every few seconds, pulsated a faint green glow that imbued the room with light.

Some cracks went dim while other went bright, and the same, in a matter of seconds, would become true in reverse. But why was it Applejack focused on this detail instead of what was present at the center of the chamber?

Because she required for a few seconds to pass, for her heart to calm down, and for her chest to not feel so heavy. For when arched herself up, letting her eyes see over the slope of the smooth rock, she was able to peer into a nightmare.

One far worse, of course, than the one she kept awake from, all to avoid seeing it again.

Yelling.

Fighting.

Flying death.

An arm pressing against her throat.

Blood.

And now...

...betrayal.

“You know,” the queen of the changelings began—or, at least, formerly such, “this is why I desire for you to never leave my lair.” At the center of a chamber there jutted out a round rock, its surface sliced flat. Spike sat down on the edge of it, letting his feet dangle in the air, all while the tall changeling stood a few feet behind him, holding up her foreleg while she spoke. “What fun is there in being a villain, if all your friends hurt you before I do?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “You know it wasn't like that.”

Chrysalis huffed. She slammed her foreleg against the ground. “And now! I am doomed to be enslaved to my hunger! My generator of love, a greedy dragon whose evil desires keeps me charged, has gone and lost his arm!” She shook her head, sending thin strays of hair onto her back. “I wonder. When shall we ever make love again?”

Spike smiled this time. “You know it won't be like that.”

“Now that's the dragon I know.” Chrysalis stepped behind him, grinning, though she next lowered herself. Laying her forelegs over his shoulders, she let them cross over his broad chest, resting her chin on the top of his head. “I suppose a lost arm is only bad for you. But had the wound gone any lower? We both would have been in a lot of trouble.”

Spike huffed at her words, but still laid his back into the bottom of her barrel, appreciating how firm it was. “I have more than one, you crazy changeling.”

“I was referring to your heart there, Spikey.” Her tongue slithered out past her lips, laying itself against his scales. “But I am hurt you think so lower of me. This head of yours... I wonder what I look like inside of it.” Her tongue came down and flicked against his cheek, the corners of his lips shooting up in a giggle. “I may not be reformed, my greedy beast, but surely I'm not so heartless?”

Spike only laughed. Then, he rose the arm bandaged in white, inching his claw to one of her dangling forelegs. “I don't know about that one. Have I tried pressing a claw against your chest yet, you know, so I could feel a beat?”

“Only because you never grope enough when we fuck.” Chrysalis lowered her foreleg, wincing while she did so, having stretched herself. “And wrong arm, dumbass. Try using the one that doesn't hurt to hold me?”

“But that won't work at all!” Spike turned his head around, slightly, to look up. The muzzle of the changeling looked down at him from above, her head tilted slightly up, gazing at him with only slightly raised eyes. “How else can I prove to you how badly I want to hold your hoof?”

At once, her eyes closed, a groan resounded from her throat, but her chest beat against his back. “I swear, Spike, if it weren't for your greed...”

“Or my dicks?”

“Cocks is a better word to use,” Chrysalis went on after having opened her eyes, “though either or break the mood you were trying to go for.” She let herself fall on him, comforting her body with his touch. “You're lucky I don't go for the usual sap mares die for.”

Spike tilted his head. “Mare will die for sap? But they can get it free from trees?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Just give my latest dose of love, you unlovable dragon.”

From behind the rock, Applejack, having taken off her hat, breathed into it. With a stomach clenched, and eyes tightly closed, she did her best to block out the sounds coming from the chamber; she did her best to stop from throwing up.

Spike pressed his good arm against the rock, and Chrysalis backed away by a step, letting the dragon stand. When he did, he just as swiftly turned around, his left arm covering his bandaged right, which hung limply from his side.

And when Spike looked at her, his sword still around his back, and his expression subtly lost in love when it looked at her... Chrysalis was glad her hair had fallen forward, if only to hide away her blushing cheeks.

The starting hero look and aura of Spike hadn't stolen her heart, but rather, gave her one. It was with him, this naive boy, and only with him, that she could feel her heartbeat again. Despite her personality and character, it was how it beat for him that gave those two strengths.

And that was besides being powered by his greed for her.

“Now come here,” Spike nearly whispered to her, wincing as he held open his arms. “It's been a while since I've got to hold anypony, and even longer since... ya know.”

It was Chrysalis turn to roll her eyes, but she did so while walking, straight into his arm. She took his embrace in full, feeling his arms wrap around the back of her neck, holding her close enough for their lips to quickly meet.

Spike kissed Chrysalis.

And from the back of the chamber, Applejack saw.

How... dare HE... Applejack rose from the rock at once, her chest puffed out. This boy makes me worry about him gettin' sucked into somethin' dangerous... only to end up with HER of all creatures? And... he's slept with OUR greatest villain?

She came around the rock at once, teeth bared, and an even stronger voice packed behind them.

So all that trainin' was just to change sides then! To get strong and sleep with any girl he pleased! I should have known better than to have cared! My gut NEVER leads me astray. Applejack stepped into the chamber, glaring up at the kissing couple. I'll let the girls handle this... after I'VE dealt with them.

She watched. How the dragon pressed against the changeling's body, urging her to lean to the left, falling slightly, though finding herself caught by his arm. His head hovered inches above her own, smiling, before lowering his lips...

“Ouch ouch ouch! Get up get up!” Chrysalis's expression went deadpan at his crying, rolling her eyes as she stood back up. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him gripping the bandages along his wrist—red soaking against the white. “I went too far! I went too far!” He clutched the arm against his chest as though it would repress the pain. “I seriously am not as cool as I think I am!”

Applejack stopped walking at once. Tears welled in her eyes, burning their corners with a harsh sting. The pain, however, was nothing compared to the spear of guilt that then pierced her heart. The very reason Spike couldn't hold the villain was the same one as to why Applejack was still breathing then and there.

So she stepped back.

One hoof after the other.

Until hearing the snap of a branch.

Spike's head jerked over at once. His glowing eyes narrowed, granting them greater brightness to see through the dark. With a huff, he stepped over a food, standing behind Chrysalis. “What happened to your friends being clueless about this place?”

“Placing the blame on me already? That's not very kind of you, hero.” Chrysalis eyes squinted even harder than is, and a second later, her tongue poked out from her mouth, slithering in the air. “Though it's someone's friend indeed?”

Spike glared back at her for a second, her words causing him to raise his sword, the bandaged arm going for it.

“You plan on using your bad arm?”

“It's the only one I'm trained with for the moment.” Spike drew the blade over his back, and cutting around in the air of front of him, then held it out. Its tip directed at the entrance to the chamber. “I'd rather take the pain of holding up this sword then the regret of failing us.”

Chrysalis stepped behind him, letting her tongue flick along his right cheek. “You're using 'us' now? How romantic you are!”

Spike shook his head, and thus, her tongue off. Not once had his eyes strayed away from the dimness of the entrance. “You might as well come out! We don't want any trouble. Maybe we can talk this out?”

His narrowed gaze didn't last for long. When the orange pony walked out from the thin wall of dimness, her rope taut around her neck, his expression broke into a pure mixture of confusion and concern.

And for whatever reason, he kept holding up his sword, even though it was pointed at a friend.

“How dare you... finding you here... and with her... how could you... HOW COULD YOU?” Applejack clenched her eyes, inching her muzzle to the rope. “You were a part of us! We raised you since you were a little thing. And then you go off and do something like this... with someone like her!”

“A-Applejack?” Spike blinked away the tears he felt building, then shaking his head just to be safe. “Wait! Don't... don't jump to any conclusions! I can explain all of this! Just don't do anything silly now, alright?”

“Silly? You don't want me actin' silly?” Applejack opened her eyes, their green hue glowing as brightly as his—though their source of fuel was vastly different. “You expect me to just keep calm as you talk about lovin' the villain who nearly took over Canterlot? You're training all to protect something like that... and not the girls that have loved and cared for you since day one!”

“Hey! You know very well it wasn't like that day one.” Spike found his lips lifting over his teeth, the sharp contours of his fangs glinting in the dimness of the cave. “It took you girls a while to start treating me like how you treated Twilight. And even then... it doesn't feel like you see me like how you see her.”

“That's your stinkin' reason!” Applejack exposed her own teeth, letting him brush against her rope. “That we didn't come around to ya close enough? That we still ain't close... even though we all stuck together to take down HER army of changelings? You'd betray us over somethin' like that!?”

Spike gripped his sword tighter, even though blood pooled faster into his bandages. “Will you shut up and listen to me for once? I haven't betrayed you!”

“Only, you slept with one of our greatest villains, and kept it a secret this whole time!”

“Because I needed a girl who saw me as something more than a kid! Who didn't think me becoming a hero wasn't a cute thing to do... but took it seriously!” He lowered the sword slightly to his belly, using the weight of his body to help with how heavy the blade was becoming. “I'm not some innocent kid! I have... bad things about me... that only she can make better?”

Chrysalis came to the side of the dragon, her expression bored, and one of her eyebrow's raised. “Have you two about finished? The petty fears leaking through here? They were cute at first, but I'd like to sneak in a word—“

“Not now!”

“Scatter you vermin!”

Her eyebrow dropped. “Of course. My bad.” She turned around, waving a foreleg. “You two continue with your squabble then.”

“It's about to be more than just that in a second, missy!” Applejack finally brought her mouth down on the rope. “Spike will get a lickin' once we get back into the castle.” She bit down on it, pulling on the cord, feeling the rest of it become loose from around her neck. “But you'll be seeing the Royal Guard before that!”

But Spike only stepped to the right, blocking Applejack from his lover. “That won't be happening.”

Applejack furrowed her brow. “You really have changed then, haven't ya? Going as far to protect that vermin... even if... you have to choose her over one of your friends.” She closed right eye to keep it from crying. “Just wished I saw when you started to change.”

But Spike only held his sword straight, up by his muzzle, bearing the unbearable weight. “I haven't changed one bit, Applejack.” He winced as his right foot slid along the rock, putting him in a defensive stance. “You're the one that's forcing a bad choice on me. None of this has to happen.”

But Applejack didn't listen to his words, or care for the pain on his expression. She didn't dare to silence the voice of pain that screamed from her gut, nor did she try to listen to what her heart was trying to whisper.

Pain, matched with guilt, made her whip her rope into the air. It flew forward while she stepped back, gaining control over its movement as the lasso shot toward the dragon. She was sure to have it fly over his shoulder, but with a quick flick, it could easily knock him out of the way with a hot snap.

It was Chrysalis who watched the scene in silence and stillness. She wasn't frightened. In fact, knowing that the dragon would face one of his closet friends for her sake, though it was a case of misunderstanding, touched her deeply. Because things were fair between them, he was willing to fight, even those whom he loved, for what was right.

Even if that meant bringing more pain to himself.

Spike growled. From his right should, he slashed his sword down left—seconds before the rope could even reach it. As he twirled in place, he dug his blade into the rock, impaling it in place. Then, in raising his arm through the loop of the moving lasso, he gripped the rope and pulled it down.

“Nice try lil bugger!” Applejack bit down on her rope... and yanked it back. “But this is where I've—“

“GUUUUAH!” Tear spewed out of the dragon's eyes as blood squirted out from his wrist, the white of his bandage becoming red at once. He collapsed to his knees, nearing falling forward, his other claw gripping his arm, applying pressure to his wound. “NNNNNGH! AAAAH! JUST... NNNGH!”

Spike was crying as he held on to the rope, it yanking on his arm, his damaged arm. Giving up his blade, he didn't fight his friend, and he didn't betray his lover, taking undeserved pain unto himself, all so everypony else wouldn't have to scream like he did.

And Applejack froze. She stared at the dragon while he cried, while he bled, while he softly whimpered her name. At once, the rope dropped out of her mouth. At once, tears welled from her eyes. At once, her heart ceased to beat on.

“Enough!” No longer lurking in the shadows, the former queen of changelings entered the stage. She threw herself in front of the dragon, and though she looked ready for a fight, her horn had yet to charge. “You've come here to capture me for my crimes? Then very well! But listen to me now, young mare, because I may very well hurt you if you don't.”

Applejack limply lowered herself to pick the rope between her teeth again, though the trembling of her legs barely held her up.

“I am the one who nearly destroyed your home, who attempted to overtake your kind, and to exert my rule over all. If you are seeking evil, then you will find it in me.” Chrysalis then turned around, facing Spike, and exposing her back to her foe. “But this dragon here has committed no crimes—loving me may be the only one.”

Applejack tried to pull back on the rope, but her everything about her body was shallow, unable to move. Any second felt like she'd break apart. One action and her very being would rip apart. She felt dead. Or, wanting to die.

“You are lucky I've pledged my love and my loyalty to this dragon, mare.” Chrysalis charged her horn with a green glow, and though Applejack went to pull on the rope, she didn't. Magic then exploded—embers floating into the bloodied bandage. “For your wicked words and horrible deeds, I would have encased you in a cocoon of horrible nightmares, something you would have endured for the rest of your life.”

Applejack watched as the red of the bandage then pulled away from the fabric. Slowly, whiteness returned to the article. The whimpers of the dragon soon stopped echoing from the cave's walls. And when her black lips then kissed his wound, his crying ceased entirely, though he continued to pant.

“But it's because of this dragon that I no longer go hungry. Because this dragon is kind enough to see what lies beneath the surface of all, I find that, no longer, am I alone with myself.” Her lips had pulled away from his forearm, but she kept close, her green magic channeling into his wrist. “Plus, he's a fun tease.”

Applejack exhaled. “Don't try to speak fancy with me. I-I know what you've done! It's your magic, ain't it? Corrupting him like you did Twilight's brother!”

“Is that what you think? All I've done is heal the wound that you not only caused, but then worsened.” Chrysalis shook her head, her eyes glowing green, though she bit her bottom lip to repress their intensity. “No matter what you have said, it was you who attacked us, who threw claims at him. How could a mare be that cruel?”

“You d-dare call—“

“You say that this dragon has betrayed you? After he's given his arm up for you?” Chrysalis stood up and turned around, towering over the mare. Applejack didn't shiver because she now stood in her shadow, but rather, because of the words she now spoke. “And even when you choose to fight him, he'd rather lose his arm for good rather than fight you on a mere misunderstanding.”

Chrysalis clenched her eyes. “How could ponies become so vain?”

Applejack tried to work her jaw, but no words came out, and even if they did, nothing could save her. Past the changeling, she saw the dragon, sitting there, simply holding his arm. At once, the walls of the cave contracted around her.

“It's... not right.... no...” Applejack barely felt the rope slip from her teeth. “It was him gettin' too big for himself... and... and it was you who's supposed to be evil.” She shook her head, hard enough, to shake her hat off. It landed next to her rope. “I was just actin' on my... on my... oh my...”

Applejack cried before she could fully turn around, and though she ran away, her whimpers echoed off the walls. The distant clopping of her hooves faded away, leaving the fight, and the lovers, alone.

“How mares get so conceited,” Chrysalis said while holding a foreleg over her chest, “I will never know. Always feeling like they're in the right. Never trying to think beyond that.” She went to glance over at her dragon. “How do you ever put up with them?”

“That's funny.” Spike was already rising to his feet when she had turned around. In his claw, he gripped the rope still there. “You know, I think that's the first time I've heard that question phrased that way?”

Chrysalis arched an eyebrow. “And what do you mean by that, lover boy?”

“It means I'd always wondered how the girls put up with me.” Spike lowered his claw, opening it up, and letting the rope go. It fell by his feet, something which he then stepped over. “It's only after meeting you... that I started thinking more for myself.”

Spike then walked past her, his shoulder nearly brushing against her own, all while he stepped down from the rock. She pouted as she watched him walk. “Are you saying I'm a bad influence?”

He was already bending over, with his bad arm out, picking up the fallen hat. Lifting it slowly, he smiled at it. Then, holding it by his side, he turned around, a wide grin across his muzzle. He walked backward while he spoke, his other arm held out to his left. “In that way? I think you're actually a positive one.”

And then he turned around and walked into the dim wall of darkness.

Chrysalis pouted. “And just where do you think you're going?”

Spike waved at her with the back of his left claw. “To find the other positive influence.”

And then he was gone.

“Hmmph! Very well.” Chrysalis sat down in place, looking to her left, and picking up the rope. She played around with it using her forelegs. “But just remember something, lover. Just because you're a hero, hehe, doesn't mean you have to be a goody-two-shoes while you're at it.”

Chrysalis spoke to herself, but that fact, she did not mind.

Applejack sat against the stone wall, hunched forward, with her muzzle buried into her crossed forelegs. The tears on her cheeks at since dried, leaving the fur there feeling rough. Worse yet, was that her whimpers had still yet to go away.

So much for cryin' on the inside.

“Is this spot taken?”

A huff. “Go away, Spike.”

“...I'll take as a warm invitation.” She felt how his body slid down next to hers, his scales rubbing against her fur, a pleasant destination that she rejected. Tighter, she huddled into herself; closer, he wiggled into her. “If... you're still crying down there, if it helps, I could rip off some of my bandages. They should make for decent tissues, y'know?”

Applejack, despite her best efforts not to, laughed.

“You're reading the scene wrong, Spike.” Applejack spoke more into her wrist than she did the drake. Can he even hear me speak? “I'm the one that's supposed to be crawlin' back to you. Not supposed to be the other way around.”

“Hmm. Naaaah.” She heard the light thud of his head laying back against the wall. “Things you're supposed to do are boring. Do chores, eat healthy—stuff like that.” He chuckled. “Made my mind up about those kinds of things a while back.”

“Did ya now?”

“Indeed I did.”

“And just what did you decide?”

Spike giggled. “That I'm supposed to do all the things I'm not supposed to do!”

“Like becomin' a hero?”

“Yup!”

“And datin' a villain?”

“...yup.”

Applejack sighed. “And you're sure that's a good idea?”

“Felt right at the time,” he replied. “Look. I'm not going to say I have this fully thought out. Because I don't. All I know is that it still feels right now. And, if I'm lucky, it'll lead to something more than right later.”

Applejack hugged herself a bit tighter. “Is she better than the girls?”

“You know I don't look at anypony like that.” Spike's claws clicked against the ground. “Do I really need to spell this out for you? I think all you girls are great, wonderful, and... far better than a dragon like me deserves. Heck, I don't think I'm even worthy of Chrysalis.”

And then it was Applejack's turn to laugh.

Spike frowned. “I say something funny?”

Applejack finally pulled back her muzzle. She laid it atop her forelegs, and then glanced up at the dragon from the corner of her eyes. “Not at all, sugarcube. I just happened to realize somethin' is all.”

“Oh?”

“Everypony seems to think my head is always on straight.” She smiled. “Only, I'm a lot sillier underneath the hood than most ponies get to see.”

“I like silly?”

“Even if it's whipin' your bad arm?”

Spike leaned fully into the wall, tilting his head back, exhaling heavily. “Depends on why you did it, I guess.”

“If you find out, do me a favor? I'd like to know as well.” Applejack then stared forward. “But, just promise me one thing, Spike? If I was in my right mind, I would have never done something like that to you. Seeing you with her was just...”

“Just what?”

“Just that it's been a long time since I've felt protected.” Applejack's eyes swiftly came to a close. “Go ahead and laugh if you like. I deserve a little humiliation for what I put you through.” But when she heard no laughter, but a claw placing itself along her wrist, she couldn't repress her relieved joy. “After Big Mac got hitched, it felt like me against the world again.”

Spike sighed. “That sucks.”

“That's one way of puttin' it, sugarcube.” When her eyes opened again, they came with a smile, all three set on him. “But not once did I feel that when I was around you. Even though you were searchin' for a fight all the time, I never felt safer in my life when I was standing by your side.”

She exhaled slowly, if only to quell the trembling that found itself in her foreleg. “But as time went by, and I saw you gettin' better, there was a part of me that was gettin' awfully worried.” She laughed a laugh that was of sadness rather than joy. “Dragon like you, growin' the way you were. Back then, all the girls thought you becomin' a hero was you just tryin' to be cute. When you were little, we weren't expectin' much to come out of it.”

Spike cleared his throat. “But now, I'm not so little anymore.”

“And it wouldn't be long until that head of yours got swollen with pride.” Applejack laughed at herself this time. “Would you look at me go? Assuming you'd be the one to turn rotten first, when it's been me thinkin' rotten of you this whole time.”

Spike opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

“Feelin' protected by a big strong dragon made me feel a bit lighter in a way. Bit happier too, if ya want to know the truth.” She then shook her head quickly, strands of her mane becoming loose from her ponytail. When she had stopped, the blush on her cheeks was still there. “After all the troubles we been through, it's enough to leave a gal feelin' a bit shocked after it all. Havin' you there through it all... seemed to make everything better.”

Spike had looked away while she spoke and, when she had finished, swallowed. “I, a-ah, um, n-n-never knew I had that much, you k-know, of an effect on you girls.”

“You'll stick up for that villain over there, but have nothin' pleasant to say for yourself?” Applejack smiled when she shouldn't have, and the guilt of that drained away her blush. “How could I have been so wrong about you all this time? And here I thought, you left the girls... you left me all to protect some girl new.”

“You know I wouldn't do that.”

“I know.” Applejack dropped her gaze to the ground. “Ya could have sliced my rope if you wanted to with that sword, but ya choose not to.” She bit her bottom lip. “You already know the story behind that rope. One of the last few things my pops left me.”

Spike gazed back at her. “R-Really? I didn't—“

“You're just as mad as me at lyin'.”

“S-Sorry.”

The two sat in silence, side by side, digesting each other's words. Their breathing echoed off the walls of the cave. Beyond that, there was nothing else. Words said lingered in the air, heard by each other, even though it may not have echoed through the tunnel.

“So,” Spike started, turning slightly to the mare, “you liked feeling protected?”

Applejack raised her head from her forelegs. She stared up at him, her shoulders slumped. “You're not gonna make a girl repeat somethin' like that, are ya?”

Spike smiled before shaking his head. “Of course not. It's just... I like the sounds of that a lot...” He glanced at the claw still on her foreleg, which still trembled in place, though by one squeeze of his digits, her trembles slowed. “You've girls have always been the ones protecting me, and now, it finally feels like I'm paying back the favor. Like I'm finally being useful. Almost like you're my marefriend and—“

“Your what now?”

“I... er!” Spike went to pull away his claw, his whole body suddenly set on fire. But the other hoof came down on his claw, pinning him in place. “N-Not that I see you as stunning and beautiful and far too good for me or—“

His lips would have kept spewing words were it not for the lips pressing against him. Soft, the layer of orange fur tickled his every scale. Firm, when they pressed harder against his own, they transferred something surreal into his core—the feeling of sitting atop a hill, together, on a warm and sunny afternoon back on the farm.

Kissing Applejack wasn't just a moment of time passing.

It was an experience of a place beyond this cave they shared.

“That,” Applejack said the second her lips pulled away, “is somethin' I've been dyin' to do for far too long now.” She had leaned up to kiss him, her other hoof leaning on his shoulder. “You still hangin' in there, dragon boy?”

“Spike has checked out for the evening!” Spike held up his other claw, his index digit pointing up. “Try sending a letter to the moon?”

“Ain't that cute.” Applejack came off the side of him, then leaned back against the wall. “Never knew my kisses packed a punch.” She dipped a hoof against her lips, poking the lingering feel of his scales against them. “Next time, I should see if I can knock ya further to the stars.”

Spike only let his body collapse forward, his expression love struck. “I'm so lucky Chryalsis is understanding.”

Applejack blinked as she flicked her gaze back on him. “Aw shoot! Is your girl even—“

“She's very accepting.” Spike scratched the side of his head. “In a very confusing way.”

Applejack sighed. “Guess I better go back and speak to her.” She rose forward, coming onto all four hooves. She then spun around. “But don't think for a second that I'm a fan of her! I'm trustin' your judgment on this one, Spike.” She then faced the tunnel. “Somethin' I should have done since the start of this mess.”

Spike quickly rose behind her, though he picked the hat he'd set next to himself. “You wanna put this back on before then?”

Applejack glanced back at him and, with a smile, shook her head. “Hold onto it for a while, will ya? Try tying it around your neck for the moment.”

Spike didn't have a chance to say anything more. The orange mare walked off into the tunnel, swaying her hips while she did so, the jiggle of her flanks catching his gaze at once. The way how each cheek would slightly rise, falling seconds later, her glutes beckoning him to follow...

The dragon tied that hat around his neck. Gulping, he followed her, feeling confused by only everything.

There was one thing that was for sure for him.

Mares were weird.

“Don't think for a second that I like ya.”

Both of their muzzles pushed against the other, their eyes mere inches apart, each glowing brightly. Chrysalis smirked in response to the words, her eyes going wide. “Good. Because I hate you. So that puts me above you.”

Spike stood a few feet away from the show of girls, shaking his head, letting it drop slightly. “Would it kill any of you to try and get along? It doesn't even have to be for all that long! Like, five minutes—tops!”

Chrysalis's gaze flicked on him, the brightness of her eyes burning through his scales. “This mare took your lips without my permission. You'd think lower of me if I didn't feel just the tiniest bit protective over you.”

Spike shook his head. “You said we were just friends with benefits at first!”

She glared back at Applejack. “But this one hasn't proven herself to be much of a friend now, has she?”

Applejack opened her mouth to speak but knew nothing could save herself now. Backing away a few steps, she lowered her head in defeat. “You got me. Maybe I acted a bit rash with your dragon.”

“Just like a mare to say!” Applejack looked up to see Chrysalis towering over her. With her tongue out of her mouth, it curved in the air. “He's not my dragon. He's a dragon! His greed demands more than just me. Even all the love I require isn't enough to drain him of his dread.”

Applejack whipped her head to the dragon at once. “Your greed came back?”

“Whole reason I went into the hero business.” He shrugged and looked aside. “It wasn't until I met Chrysalis that I stopped worrying so much about it. My greed is enough to feed her, and she doesn't have to suck love from others. Though lately, we've been going, y-you know, a bit more tough then I would like to do with her.”

Applejack blinked. When she glanced over at Chrysalis, she found the tall mare blushing and looking away. She even rubbed her one of her forelegs against the other. In a second, the towering queen had reverted to a guilty girl.

“The dragon must be with others than me,” Chrysalis said, “or else he may lose himself. Unlike you mares, I do not try to own him for myself. No matter whom he is with, I knew a part of his heart now belongs to me.”

Applejack shook her head and took a step toward her former foe. “But how can you be so sure about somethin' like that?”

Chrysalis looked back at her. This time, however, her expression was now more tired than it was anything else. “Because Spike thinks that most ponies are better than him. Have you not seen the way he talks and acts? Ponies aren't better than each other—they are simply different. He is not vain like you mares tend to be.”

Applejack bit her tongue.

“That's why I do what I can to please him, to show him that he matters, even though I may tease him otherwise.” Chrysalis set her tired gaze on the dragon, who himself stood away from the scene, his head lowered, his claw holding his damaged arm. “This is my truth on our relationship. A dragon who values himself less than me causes for his actions to mean less. Acts of love should be done out of love—not insecurity.”

Applejack actually laid her hoof on the changeling's chest, feeling it clench at her touch, though it did not pull away. “Surely our Spike doesn't feel that way.” She glanced over at the dragon... who lowered his head. “Right, Spike?”

Spike only sighed as he kept looking down. “Afraid she's got it right, Applejack.” Although he didn't lift his head, he still raised his eyes to look up at her. “You girls are so much better than what I could ever be. If the choice that day was between me and you...”

Spike didn't have to finish that sentence. At the entrance of the chamber was where he stood, walking to its slide, and coming along the wall there. He leaned his back against it, still keeping his head down. He kept quiet.

“Now you see why I dislike you mares? Always caught up in what others matter to yourself, and nothing else.” Chrysalis raised her foreleg, gently pushing down the hoof of the mare. “Sometimes, I wonder which one of us is the villain.”

There it was. That feeling of guilt within Applejack's heart that could stand the pain no longer. In the core of her being, she felt how unfair all of this was, to both him and the changeling. Then, she had taken a kiss she didn't deserve to take.

But now?

All that was going to change.

“And if I were going to trust your words in all of this,” Applejack began as she stared up at the queen, “what exactly would I have to do to make things right again?” She shook her head, letting her gaze fall to the side, to fall on Spike. “There's a disconnect between us. One that I don't like one bit.”

Chrysalis tilted her head back as she stared down. “Interesting. You would assist aid from your foe?”

“If it means putting things straight between Spike and me?” Applejack dipped her head. “Then yes. I'd trust your advice on the matter.” She sighed. “What's right is right. No matter who said it. Family rules.”

Chrysalis stared at them from afar, her gaze curious, her heart mysterious. With the closing of her eyes, she laid her hoof on the hilt of Spike's sword, which was still impaled into the rock. “Wisdom still runs in some families, I see. Fine. Very well.”

With a spark of her greenhorn, the sword blew a chunk of rock into the air, the blade itself twirling upward. Chrysalis was a foot behind it, grinning widely, opening her eyes as she flew forward a step—chucking the sword directly at Spike. “Behind you, lover!”

Spike turned at once, his eyes had gone wide, though he quickly stepped back. The waft of air swept across his cheek, dust settling into the air from the impact, from the sword that stuck halfway inside the wall of the cave.

He sighed as the dust settled. “Sometimes, I don't think our relationship is very safe.”

“You already choose improvement over safety.” Chrysalis grinned, then set her sights on the mare standing just behind him. “And you. Your claim that your relationship is out of balance? Then do what must be done.” Her horn then levitated the rope into the air, uncurling it. “Tip back the scale for our dragon. Go and stand by his sword, turned around—and don't move.”

Applejack gulped as she started to walk. Gazing up at the sword, it was higher off the ground then what she was comfortable with—and a lot longer than what she was expecting. She felt the forceful eyes of the queen, which pricked fear into her heart, as well as the calm ones of the dragon, who only made her heart beat that much faster.

Is it too late to back out of this? Applejack then shook her head, coming underneath the blade. My words would have been as good as mud after that. Even if I don't trust her one bit, there's no way I could betray Spike after saying something like that. She turned around, gulped, and then waited.

“Huh! Maybe there's hope for you after all!” Chrysalis snickered as she flew the rope forward, letting it curl around the orange forelegs, then along her barrel—raising her slightly into the air. “But don't forget you've also been a very bad mare, Applejack! Causing our hero so much pain...”

Chrysalis tongue flicked into the air while her mouth opened with glee. “And me as well! The poor dragon cannot move fast, hold much, or even lift his arm! He's a creature of needs, Applejack, and ones that he can't even take care of himself!”

You be careful with me! Applejack bit her lip as her body was pulled into the air. Looking up, she saw her rope cross and tie over the sword, her forelegs doing the same over the hilt, binding her to it. No longer could she turn around. Her rump was laid bare to the room. She's got it so I can't move at all... I KNEW this was a bad idea!

“Well, would you look at that? I do suppose pony pussy is a lot different after all.” Chrysalis let her tongue slither back inside her mouth. Her horn ceased its green glow. “It's much softer and smaller than I was expecting. Forgive my words, but it almost looks cute in a way.”

Why in the hay is she using words like THAT for? Applejack couldn't explain why her body felt so hot, why her cheeks were so warm, and why her exposed crotch tingled. That last thought made her blink. Her tail flicked over her groin at once. No no no no! Those two did NOT just see my.... my...

“This is not fair, young mare.” Chrysalis hopped down from the rock and walked toward her at once. On her way, she slipped her forelegs through Spike's arm, forcing him to turn and tag along. “You're wet, and not even letting the one who made it so bask in the reward for his efforts.”

“W-Wet!” Applejack coughed. “I am not wet!”

Spike, for his part, kept his head down. The two stood over her, while she was tied and bounded, unable to do anything. It felt like they had power over her, able to do whatever they pleased, only Spike didn't bask in it like Chrysalis did, which pumped hope into Applejack's heart.

“Then explain why your tail is sticking to your thighs?”

Applejack lowered her head down to her forelegs, looking upside down along her underbody. Tufts of fur puffed out at her chest. Down the soft slope of her belly, she saw that between her legs, where though her tail was down, strands of it stuck to her thighs. Her orange thickness had caught them, though the slime across her hairs was what stuck them there.

“O-Oh.”

“Now then. Move your tail if you will.” Chrysalis stepped back. Placing a foreleg on Spike's back, she pushed him forward. “And you, dragon. Look at the mare that's offering herself to you.” She then shook her head and turned around. “At this point, I might as well open a love agency.” Seconds later, she then tilted her head. “Maybe that's not such a bad idea.”

Applejack raised her head and looked over her back, seeing only the dragon only raising his head, their eyes meeting, greeting, and needing each other in a silent way. Swallowing, the mare then lifted her tail, feeling the heat of her crotch escape into the air.

“Go on and take a look, hon.” Applejack offered him a weak smile. “I'm like that back there all because of you.”

Spike opened his mouth to speak, but knew better than that. Lowering himself, slowly, onto his one knee, he brought his muzzle down to her thighs. There, he saw how her orange body curved into her crotch, of the soft orange mounds on either side of her pussy—her slit lubricated by her own juices.

“Do... whatever you like to me down there.” Applejack had trouble not rubbing her thighs together, needing to let her plushness squish over the inflamed lips of her pussy. “If you're gonna put yourself at risk solely for the sake of me, then it's only fair that I do the same for you.”

Laughter sounded from afar. “Isn't that just grand? Now I won't have to listen to him complain. He used that arm to jerk off, ya know!”

Applejack blinked. “That true?”

Spike gave a guilty smile. “Sorta?”

“Then that's something I gotta make right then.” Even though she was the one that was tied, Applejack felt like she was in control—even if that meant ordering the dragon to play with her body in a way she'd let few others. “When you finish down there, I want you to—NNNGH!”

Applejack clenched her eyes, tilted her head, then gazed down. Below, the dragon had kneeled to the ground, pressing his lips against her slit. His mouth impressed into her mouth, her heated folds stimulated by the toughness of his lips.

She cried and whimpered in joy at finally being touched.

“Sorry!” Spike shot up at once, wiping his good wrist against his lips. “It was just so soft and fuzzy and small and—“

“Spike?”

“Y-Yes?”

“You have two?”

“Huh?” Spike glanced down at his crotch from above, seeing that both of his cocks were out, each stiffening in the open air. He gritted his teeth at once, feeling them both radiate heat into the open air. “O-Oh. Right. You wouldn't have known about that yet.”

Applejack stared at them, licking her lips, and feeling her heart race.

“Why don't ya come over to the side here and... let me take a closer look at 'em?”

Two of them. How the heck are they so thick and yet so long at the same time? And the ridges running along their bottoms. Spike had walked over, placing his one bad claw on the sword, leaning onto it for support. Below it, she came face to face with his left cock, his slim head throbbing just before her muzzle.

She blew a warm exhale across it. It twitched and shivered in return. Growing faster because of her, Applejack laughed as it inched closer to her lips—and she didn't even have to move.Tipping the scale back in his favor? The dragon is due for some pleasure after all of this, but this ain't no punishment for me!

“Spike? Can ya do me a favor?”

Spike nodded from above. He looked conflicted with having both of his cocks presented before the bound mare, but the position also made him feel strangely powerful, knowing that she couldn't avoid them even if she wanted to.

“Yes?”

“Bring one of 'em closer for me?”

Spike gulped, but complied, and brought his left cock to her lips. Uncurling her tongue, she licked his tips; he clenched his claw in response. The aching in his member was killing him more than his arm was.

And then Applejack took the plunge.

She tilted her head while her muzzle came forward. Her mouth opened, drool and spit dipping along his shaft, though those spots were soon engulfed by the rest of her mouth. Applejack closed her eyes as his cock throbbed inside her mouth, its underside resting comfortably on her tongue.

If anypony else saw me like this! My hooves bound over my head and my mouth full of dragon dick. Applejack opened her eyes, giggling, the vibrations of which made the dragon twitch. He stared down at her, slightly concerned, but she only gave him a sultry gaze back. Unable able to help yourself with your own claw? Let me make you feel all better, sugarcube.

Applejack moaned at the salty taste of his meat, at feeling the blood thumping along his girth, at the way how it sometimes throbbed against the ceiling of her maw. Slowly, she worked herself forward, feeling his head poke against the back of her throat.

“What are you waiting for, lover boy?” Chrysalis voice sounded somewhere behind the two. “You've still got one good claw on you. Her pussy had caught your gaze because of how soft it looked, correct? Why haven't you gone trying to feel it?”

Applejack's eyes went wide, and a few seconds later, went even wider. While she bobbed her head forward, taking the head of his dick into the tight confines of her silky throat, she felt his other claw stretch to the left, rubbing down her back, the hardness there transitioning into the softness of her rump.

His claw settled on her right cheek and, once there, gave her plushness a squeeze. Her ass filled out in the gaps between his digits, flattening against the scales of his palm.

And then the tips of his digits pressed down on either side of her mounds, sinking slightly into them, enough of a scratch to send tingles along her spine. She arched in the air, stuffing more of his cock down her throat, all while her legs danced in place, trying to urge his claw into her.

Spike met her request like how she met his.

His digits rubbed up and down her slit, collecting her juices along with them, each swipe quickening. Two of his digits then sunk inside her tight little hole, pumping in and out, pressing out against her contracting walls.

“Mfmmfhm!”

“Huh?” Spike had closed his eyes. Opening them at her gagging, he saw the mare below him, taking his cock into her mouth. He didn't know when, but he had started flicking his hips, nearly humping her face and fucking her throat. “Oh! Ahaha. Um. My bad.”

Spike pulled out his cock at once, feeling her spit cool along with his member.

“Take me, oh, take me now!” Applejack cried up at him as she swung in place, her hips flicking in the air. When his digits popped out from her pussy, juices trickled out soon after. “Do whatever you like to me. Grab my ass! I don't care. Just have me!”

Laughter rang out from behind him. “Do more to her ass than just touch it, Spike.”

Spike glanced down at Applejack. She nodded her head continuously. For a second, it felt like a part of him had faded away. His eyes became brighter and he moved faster than he should of. Stepping behind her once more, he let his crotch fall against her rump, letting his weak body leaning against her hanging and sloping softness.

It took a second for it to click. His weak arm slipped underneath her barrel. Her soft coat impressed as he held her up slightly. Above her, his other claw took the sword out from the wall, lifting it higher into the air—and her along with it.

SHWEING!

Spike impaled the sword back into the wall. Trickles of dust and stone poured from the bottom of the hole, seeping onto her mane. She nearly stood on her hind legs now, the front of her body raised up; the back of her body pressed out.

“Sorry about that,” his voice whispered down at her from above. “Just needed to bring your… ahem… backside up a bit.” A mad blush flushed along his cheeks. “Can’t exactly f-fuck you comfortably with you so low.”

Will he just take me already? He's got me hung up, my legs apart, all waiting just for him! Applejack then yelped as she felt his claw snake down to her butt, letting his digits play along her rump. Then, without warning, his palm squeezed her right flank—but there was simply too much there for him to grab. Hehehe. Sorry 'bout that, hero. There may just a little too much back there for ya to handle.

But Applejack's confidence faded the second she felt something hard and long slip into the crack of her ass, feeling the plushness of her cheeks enveloping one of her shafts, something which she shuddered against.

She felt the same was true with his other shaft. Glancing down, she saw and sensed how his other cock rubbed up and down her slit, the tip of his dick poking against her engorged clit. He was wet from her spit.

And she was just plain wet.

“Heh. Think... you've got me pretty good, don't ya?” Applejack laughed a drunk giggle. “Playin' with my pussy like that. I know you've been gettin' some practice from her.” She then grinned. “But for us pony folks? We've got bigger asses than them bugs—and a lot more we can do with 'em!”

Applejack clenched her cheeks at once, sandwiching his cock in-between her soft walls, letting her squishiness rub all the sides of his hardness. When she felt him throb, she only clenched her ass harder, willing him into place. His dick burned against her flank, and her rump rubbing against it wasn't helping at all.

“You better stick it in 'fore your other one comes bursting out.”

Spike groaned as he tilted back his head. He kept rocking his hips against her crotch, feeling one cock riding up her crack, the other up her slit and against her belly, the latter burning into her skin. Humping quicker, his cock shot deeper into her slit, brushing her clit every time, all while his tip became enveloped by her lips.

And then, just like that, his cock found its way into her tight little hole. It squeezed in at once, pressing out against her walls, forcing space inside of her for him to fit in. Applejack screamed, wailing, seeking to beat her hooves against his chest, but found all she could do was flick her hips and squeeze her ass.

“Oh? Do you know his pain now? Of being near something good, but bound by his insecurity, forced to endure needless torture?” Chrysalis kept to the shadows, allowing the two their fun. “It was in those state that you threw those harmful words at him. Now's the time to make it right.”

Applejack clenched her pussy around his cock, trying to slow him down, but feeling his hardness slip through her softness. His crotch smacked into her own, her lips spreading apart to accommodate all of him.

“Nnngh... Apple... Applejack?”

Applejack willed open an eye back at him, feeling the weight in her stomach released once he pulled out. In the space left behind, it felt hollow and clenching, wanting to be fully filled by him again. “Y-Yeah, sugarcube?”

He slipped himself back inside of her, feeling his thighs smack into her own, the tip of his other cock slipping into the strands near her dock. “This feels really good right now. Like, I can't even feel my art—that kind of good.”

“Heh... that... so?”

“The idea of a strong mare like you being tied up... I don't know... it's very sexy.”

“Then hurry up and rut me, stud.”

Spike nodded his head and slammed himself fully inside. She clenched down on him when he pulled out, milking his hardness for every second and every inch that she could take. She tried to time herself. To thrust back into him seconds before he could enter her.

Their labored breathes echoed off the cave's walls. Both of them were sweating, their thighs smacking together. Applejack had arched her back like a cat, letting her pussy being ravaged by his cock, the raw force of his thrusts something her arousal desperately needed to feel.

And that was how they continued. Her bound by his sword, her body hung up for him, all because he was too weak to do much himself. He couldn't hold her or lay with her. His wound prevented him that kind of pleasure. It was because of that she had to offer herself this that way—putting them both at an equal level of disability.

Because of that, for whatever reason, made the two even hotter for each other. The wet slaps of his cock thrusting into her pussy was enough to mat the ground at their feet with their combined juices. Her flanks kept squeezing against his other cock, which thrust along her crack, pressing along her slope.

“Don't think... I have... much longer....”

Spike grunted as his claw smacked her right flank, feeling it jiggle against his dick. He grabbed her cheek before it could stop. Though that wasn't really a problem. His every thrust was enough to lift the mare slightly off the floor. Their every motion caused the globes of her rump to shift all over the place.

“...when... dragons finish....”

Applejack gave a strained laugh. “I already know. So finish me!”

Spike did as he was commanded. Down below, she could feel the cock in her cunt expanding, knotting to her walls. With a weak moan, she clenched down on him the best she could, loving how he still spread her further apart.

Even better was the feeling in her ass. She clenched her cheeks hard against his member, doing so more when she felt him knot ball against her flanks, it feeling so hard, that she pressed even harder against it. The combined sensations overloaded her nerves. She came.

Applejack arched her head all the way back. Letting her eyes close, her lips curled into a full smile at the feeling his hot seed shoot deeply inside of her—an act she matched as her walls broke lose with her own femcum.

The warmth only belt in her belly... along with standing the underside of her tail with his hot jizz. His cock had poked through it, more of his cum pumping through his cock, landing and staining along her back. She twitched in pleasure. Turning her cheek, his load touched down on her cheek—something she was quick to lick.

They stayed like that for a while. Both of them panting, looking at the other, no words needed to express what had happened. Even though she was tied up, the farmer still hadn't felt safer in her life—nor more connected to another.

And then a thought popped into her head, a harmless joke, one she laughed at before she even spoke it. “Say, sugarcube? How many times and how many ways do you gotta do it to me... before we even?”

Spike only gulped

The rays of sunlight touched the entrance of the cave, where the pony, the dragon, and the changeling all stood together. Applejack stood just outside of it, smiling at the two still inside, who both were standing together.

“So this will stay our little secret for the time being?”

Chrysalis nodded. “We barely managed to stop you from capturing me.” She flicked her head aside. “I doubt your friends will take this reveal much better.”

Spike threw his good arm over her shoulders, then holding her close to his chest. “And I still need to find a way to deal with my greed. For the moment, this is the best solution I got.” He gave his changeling a little squeeze. “And the one I enjoy the most.”

“I read ya. Lips sealed. Cowgirl's promise.” She then turned around. “I better get goin' then. Leave you two lovers to shack up.” She winked. “Though, maybe try for a new hide-out?” She took a step forward, and then another...

“Wait!” Applejack turned around to see Spike having shouted at her. “I've still got your hat here!” His other arm untied the lace around his neck, then held it out to her. “Here. You can—ah!” He winced as his claw dropped the hat at once. His arm swung back to his side. “Ouch!”

Applejack only giggled at the display. The cute dragon had swung his good arm over the girl, and didn't dare to take it off her. He's protective of everyone, ain't he? What in tarnation was I ever so worried for?

She came into the cave to pick up the hat—seconds before his claw reached back down for it—and brought it back to around his neck. Having raised into her hind legs, she pressed a foreleg against his chest for balance. With her teeth, she tied the string back around his throat.

“Do me a favor, hero?” Applejack looked up into his eyes, those innocent green eyes, the ones belonging to a poor boy caught in an unfortunate and complex situation. “Hold onto this for a bit for me. If your greed ever sends you for a loop as it does, then try breathing into that. It helped me more than you could know.”

And then she kissed him.

And then she turned came off him, turned around, and started to run.

Spike was dazed by her actions, but with a shake of his head, quickly shouted after her. “But won't you need it?”

Her laughter reached them from afar. She stopped in the distance, coming to stand next to the tree where everything had begun. With a smile, she flicked her head, sending her blond mane over her back—it was one of the few times she'd left it undone.

“You kiddin'?” Applejack blew him a kiss. “It'll be all the reason I need to see you two again.” She then turned around, and with a shake of her rump, ran off like a giggling little filly. “Y'all better not have too much fun without me!”

And just like that, she was gone, leaving the hero, and the villain, alone once more. They didn't stand together for long, deciding instead to turn around, slowly walking back into the darkness of the cave.

“You know, I've been wondering about something.”

Chrysalis still leaned against him, even though her gaze was set elsewhere. “How you've been blind to a needy mare for so long?”

“Not that, though now I'm also wondering about that.” Spike glanced down at his lower, tilting his head slightly. “It's just that, when we first got together, I thought all of this might have been a ploy to slowly make me into a worse dragon.”

“I'm glad your first impression of me was so accurate.”

“But now I'm starting to think the opposite is true.” Spike took his arm off her and brought it to his neck. Gripping the hat, he brought it over his head—his spines prevented him from wearing the thing. “Now? I think you're slowly making me into a better dragon... through methods, I'm not so sure are good?”

When Chrysalis finally looked at him again, she made sure to roll her eyes. “You used to write friendship reports, no? As far as I can tell, your princess doesn't like inconclusive lessons.”

Spike only smiled. “That's just because this lesson isn't over!”

And with that, he put the hat on the bug, which at once sent a blush red blush to contrast against her black cheeks. Looking up, her expression dropped at seeing the rim of the stetson. It bunched her hair together in a strange way, and gave her a feeling that her aura hadn't been able to do before.

“And you look so cute like that!”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and let out a small growl. “You know, she also left her rope.” Then, with closed eyes and a sinister smile, she tilted her head at him. “Would you like me to try it on you?” She then gave the cutest giggle in her life. “Of course, that wasn't a question.”

Spike would have made a run for it...

...if his arm hadn't hurt so much.

Even if the villain wasn't making the hero into a better dragon, there was still one thing, despite it all, that was true about them both. The villain, opposite of the hero, didn't make him more heroic, but rather, allowed him to be whatever dragon he wanted to be.

And the same was true for the villain, of course.

Are you bored, wanting to hang with others, and fancy doing some big CHILLAGE? Then come chill with The Boys on, gasp, The Boys discord server! Besides that, if you are wanting to help B in his keyboard typing ways, then consider covering him for a coffee, or try my Patron. (Though it's still in infancy.)