With a grunt of effort, Dimmed Star levitated the last of the wooden braces into place, securing the structural integrity of the shadowy, medium-sized space where she stood, the little bit of light from a nearby lantern keeping it from being bathed in total darkness. Wiping the sweat and dirt from her brow, she trotted over to the lantern and levitated up a bottle of water from the saddlebags nearby, taking deep gulps as she sat.

'That should do it, hopefully.' Glancing about the room, she took note of the sturdy wooden walls, floor, ceiling, and pillars.

'Who would have thought that making a meat locker would take so long.' Reaching around the lantern, she pulled a text of construction towards her, opening it and going over the more simple details.

'It's not pretty or perfect, but it'll do for what I need.' She nodded as she placed the book into the saddlebag and pulled out another one, this one was a spellbook. Flipping through the pages, she hummed in thought as she came across a list of freezing spells.

'I could just go to the market and buy some ice to pack in here, but being that the ponies still won't come near me, that could be troublesome.' It had been three days since their return from Canterlot and although things on the outside seemed fine, there was a tense atmosphere around town whenever she went out. Sighing, she placed the book and water bottle inside the bag once more, before picking it up and settling it on her back. Grabbing the lantern in her teeth, she turned and trotted towards the only door into the locker and set the lantern just outside the entrance. Facing the interior, her horn lit up with a dark aura and her eyes closed as she concentrated. The humid air in the room began to grow chilly, and soon frost started to form on the walls and floor. The entire process of slowly freezing the room was taking a great deal of time. Sweat beaded down her brow as she focused harder, the magic of her horn growing brighter. With a final push, icicles began to grow from the ceiling and the walls were now covered in almost two inches of thick ice, it was perhaps a full half-hour before the room was cold enough to be considered a viable freezer.

Opening her eyes to see the progress, she released a breath and her magic faded. She breathed heavily as she glanced about the room, soft puffs of warm air visible before her. Reaching a hoof over, she tapped at the ice, humming in thought. Glancing to the wooden frame beneath the crystalized water, she grimaced internally.

'Now that I think about it, the instructions did say something about building out of metal or concrete for better results... Too late now I suppose.' Closing the heavy door and sliding its lock into place, she grabbed the lantern in her teeth and made her way up the small set of stairs, stepping out and into a small clearing in the Everfree Forest. The Moon sat high overhead, a half-crescent that was slow in the process of fading into a New Moon over the next several days. Taking a moment to stretch, she sighed in relief at finally being out of the stuffy underground.

The sound of a twig breaking snapped her from her reverie and made her turn a full one-eighty, her eyes searching for the source, only to see nothing within the trees behind her. She waited with bated breath for a few moments, expecting to see green eyes at any moment.

She had already encountered a few Timberwolves on her way into the forest at the start of the night, but after she had smashed them to pieces enough times, she had figured that they would have learned their lesson and left her alone. She watched the trees carefully, but nothing revealed itself. Slowly, she relaxed and released her breathe.

'Must have just been a bunny or something... hmmm bunnies...' As her mind drifted more towards a good meal after a night of hard work, she turned to begin the long trek back home, only to stumble as she bumped into something large, dropping the lantern and causing the light within to flicker and die. Jumping back, she glared at the creature that had ruined her fantasies of a good meal, only to blink in surprise as the light of the crescent moon revealed its features more.

What she had expected was another Timberwolf, but what she got was something else entirely as a large and angry-looking Manticore growled before her, its scorpion tail raised high and its fangs bared. She barely spared it a once over, before her face split into a toothy grin.

"Well then... Don't you look yummy." Her Ink began to bleed from her hooves, staining the grass around her and causing the nearby plants to begin to wither and die. The Manticore only roared back in challenge, raising a claw and slashing at the air before it threateningly. She only just caught the sight of a scar on his forepaw, and her grin wavered for a moment.

"Oh? Aren't you...?" She thought back to her first foray into the very forest that they stood when a Manticore had bared their path and threatened her and her friends, all because it had a thrice-damned thorn in its paw... Her grin widened, the skin of her cheeks splitting and showing even more of her own jagged teeth.

"I don't suppose you're still friends with Fluttershy are you?" The only response she got was in the form of a roar, just as the massive creature bounded forwards, its teeth bared and its claws outstretched. Dimmed Star licked her lips as her eyes narrowed, the puddle of Ink beneath her beginning to boil and rise.

"Good."

"YES!" Applebloom blurted out, before realizing what she had done and quickly drew back, looking everywhere but at her friends and Spike while her face turned a shining red.

It was Saturday and the market in town was in full swing, so the Crusaders and Spike decided to hang out at one of their homes for the day. Spike had volunteered the Library and so here they were, sitting in the main lobby. Spike had been hanging out with the girls every day after they got out of school, and up until now, he hadn't told them about the choice he was having to make by tomorrow. Applebloom's immediate reaction had surprised him, to say the least.

"A-ah mean, you should definitely come to our school with us! We can hang out a lot more and play more games and... and... ugh..." She covered her blushing face with her hooves while Sweetie Belle snickered at her plight. Spike only watched her with mild confusion, until Scootaloo got his attention by tapping his shoulder.

"Yeah! I mean, the homework sucks and Miss Cherilee can sometimes be really pushy about certain subjects, but it can be a lot of fun when you have friends there." She grinned and slugged his shoulder, causing him to pull away and rub at it vigorously.

"Yikes, watch that left hook!" They both chuckled until Sweetie Belle caught their attention.

"Well, there are a few other things you may have to worry about, but so long as you stick with us, things should be okay." She smiled at the drake while he looked to the three of them bewildered.

"I think I can handle homework and pushy teachers, I wouldn't have been able to live with Star all this time otherwise. But what other problems could I possibly have to deal with?" The girls looked to one another worriedly, before Applebloom groaned and Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

"Diamond Tiara." All three said at once, the very name seeming to cause grief among them. Spike's eyes widened suddenly and he too groaned in annoyance.

"I forgot that she was in your class." The girls had, ' regaled' him with many of their confrontations with the school bully and her lackey, Silver Spoon. Sweetie Belle gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry too much about it, as long as we stay where Miss Cherilee can see us during recess and lunch, she won't have a lot of chances to cause trouble." The other two nodded and smiled as well, helping to lift his spirits a bit more. He grinned as he leaned over to a nearby bowl of gems and snagged a small emerald.

"Well, at least it'll be better than what I normally do. Sitting around the library all day waiting for Star to call on me is pretty boring, especially since she actually hasn't called on me at all." His face dropped at this, a small indication that he wasn't sure how to handle not being needed like he had always been and struggling to fill the free time. The crusaders looked to one another worriedly, before glancing at the stairs that led up to the balcony of the library. Dimmed Star was currently in her room, another study session heavily underway.

"What do you think she's doing up there?" Scootaloo asked as she craned her neck a bit more as if that would somehow allow her to see into the room. Spike only shook his head as he leaned backwards a bit, turning to look at the balcony as well.

"I have no idea. Ever since we spoke about reducing my chores, she's insisted on doing her own notes, making her own schedules, and pretty much not letting me help her at all. Plus, with the whole school thing on top of it, I kind of feel like she's pushing me away at times." His tone of voice dropped as well as his shoulders, but only for a moment as he glanced back to the bowl of gems, a smile spreading across his face.

"But then she does something that shows me that that isn't the case. She got me this bowl of gems from Rarity as a surprise yesterday. I've been munching on them occasionally, but I want them to last as long as possible. And the night before, she actually tried her hoof at cooking dinner for us!" He burst into a fit of laughter as he recalled how panicked she looked after the first bit of smoke began to fill the library. It had taken her nearly an hour to make a decent meal for the two of them. The girls laughed with him as they tried to imagine Dimmed Star cooking.

"Speaking of food, how is she doin’ with... uh, y'know...?" Applebloom asked as they calmed down a bit more. Spike scratched the back of his head for a moment as he thought on how to respond.

"Well, she's been making an effort to try and cook meals for me only so far. The only food I've actually seen her eat has been large pieces of raw meat, but I haven't seen where she's been getting it from." The girls cringed a bit at the idea of a pony eating meat, but it only lasted a moment. It was strange to know that the topic of eating meat was beginning to become almost normal for them.

"Anyways, I don't think it's gonna do much good to dwell on it. Let's get back to what we were doing before." He smiled back at them, only for the girls to groan in dread.

"I would much rather we keep talking about ponies eating meat, it's soooo much more interesting then trying to do homework." Scootaloo grumbled as she looked down at the workbook in front of her. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both nodded in agreement as they each glared at their own workbooks, Spike could only chuckle at their expense.

"Well I did have plans to bring out a few board games for us to play, but a few fillies decided to put off their math assignments until the last minute. You had a month to do these pages, how in Equestria did you manage to put them off until a few days before they were due?" Spike asked bewildered as the girls began to open their books. Scootaloo gave a soft grunt, while Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked sheepish.

"Ah actually have mine almost done, Big Mac's been awful patient with me. Ah don't get a lot of these problems right the first time, but 'cause of him, ah almost always get em' the second go." Applebloom smiled brightly as she found her spot in the workbook and reached for a nearby quill, gripping it softly between her teeth. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked to her enviously while Spike only smiled back.

"At least there is one of you who I won't need to tutor." Applebloom nearly dropped the quill as she sputtered, her face turning red and her own smile growing more. The other crusaders only snickered, before getting to work on their own books.

Dimmed Star trotted down the stairs from her room, her face twisted in aggravation and the mutilated remains of a book on possible Changeling Migration practices in a small trash bin held aloft in her magic.

'I swear if I ever get my hooves on the author, I'll make what I did at the wedding look like a fiesta.' She promised to herself as she turned and headed towards the kitchen. She stopped however when she saw what sat between her and her destination, a small smile gracing her features.

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Spike were each sleeping soundly at the small table where she had left them some time ago. The first two were using their workbooks as pillows and Spike had fallen back, lying splayed out on the floor as he snored lightly. Every now a then a small green flame would jettison from his nostrils, making her very glad that she had invested a great deal of time making the home and most of the furniture flame resistant.

'Always pays to be prepared.' She thought idly as she shook her head at him. Hearing the scratching of a quill, she looked to see the final member of the crusaders still wide awake, a familiar frustration on her face. Raising an eyebrow, she closed the distance between herself and the table, peeking over Scootaloo's shoulder to see the problem she was working on.

'Well, it's mostly right, except for...' She leaned a bit more, her mind working the calculations while her shadow slowly crept over the young filly. So deep in thought was she, that she did not hear the quill stop. It was only the small gasp that pulled her away from the workbook to see Scootaloo looking up to her with nervous eyes and a slight smile.

"U-um... Hi?" She asked meekly. Dimmed Star blinked at her for a moment, before she felt her heart drop a bit.

'Ah... that's right... they're still afraid of me.' She took a deep breath as she backed away from the filly, her face betraying nothing but a blank expression as she turned to the kitchen.

"You've got the general idea, but you should try swapping the X with the thirty-six, also don't forget that in an equation like that, always do the multiplication first." Having said her piece, she continued her way to the kitchen as Scootaloo looked after her in surprise. Looking back to her workbook, she glanced between the kitchen and the notes carefully, before grabbing her quill once more and doing what had been suggested.

When she finished, she pulled Applebloom's workbook out from under her friend's head, nudging her carefully onto the table. With her tongue sticking out in concentration, she searched through the workbook until she found the same page and compared both problems. After only a moment her eyes widened and she smiled widely, dropping the workbooks and rushing towards the kitchen just in time for Dimmed Star to come walking out, an empty trash bin in her magic.

"Thank you so much!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she lept at the mare, wrapping her forelegs around her chest in a tight embrace and her wings beating rapidly. Dimmed Star stood in shock, staring at the filly as though she had grown a second head.

"Wha... I... um... You're... Welcome?" She wasn't entirely sure how to respond. Moments before, she had been under the impression that this filly was completely afraid of her, but now here she was, hugging her and thanking her for something so small. Awkwardly, she pushed the grinning filly back, but this did nothing to dissuade the young one's enthusiasm.

"Can you help me with a few more?" Her eyes begged as she jumped up and down before the mare, causing Dimmed Star's head to follow her bouncing. Dimmed Star for her part was still trying to recover from the momentary shock that she had endured.

"I... uh... yes?" She squeaked out, unsure. Scootaloo gave a shout of joy before her eyes widened and she looked back to her sleeping friends, the gurgled sound of Applebloom's own snore was all the assurance she needed to know that they were still sleeping soundly. Turning back to Dimmed Star, who had set the trash bin to the side, she grinned broadly.

"Can we go upstairs then? I don't wanna wake them up." Dimmed Star looked her over warily, before glancing to the other three and sighing.

"I... suppose, just... don't touch anything up there." Scootaloo nodded vigorously before she quickly went to retrieve her workbook and saddlebag. Dimmed Star watched her curiously, it was odd seeing somepony other than Spike who would want to actually spend time with her these days. Not even the other Element Bearers had been by all that much, sans Fluttershy of course, but she had only come over to deliver more tins of fish.

Once the filly had placed her bag upon her back, workbook inside, she rushed to the foot of the stairs and waited happily as Dimmed Star made her way around the table and three sleeping little ones. When she reached the stairs, she paused as she hovered a hoof on the first step.

"Are... you sure you want me to help you? Wouldn't you rather somepony else? Perhaps Spike, or even your own parents?" She asked cautiously. At first, Scootaloo's ears drooped a bit, before jumping back to attention and she smiled wider.

"Nah! Spikes great and all, but you taught him, which means you know a lot more!" Despite the childish logic, Dimmed Star couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that she didn't have an argument for that one.

"Alright then, but just so you know, I've been told I can be a boring teacher." She grinned as she took the first step, beginning to trot up the stairs as Scootaloo fell into step behind her.

"It can't be that bad!" She grinned happily as she followed after the older mare, a bright smile upon her face.

Dimmed Star waved goodbye to the crusaders as they trotted off to their homes, each of them smiling back and waving. Spike grinned as he waved after his friends before he and Dimmed Star stepped back inside.

"It's been quite a day, what do you want for dinner?" He asked as he made his way towards the kitchen, only to be halted as a hoof stepped on his tail, holding him in place. Looking back, he stared in confusion at Dimmed Star as she only shook her head.

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, remember what we discussed?" He took a moment as he thought back before his eyes widened and he chuckled.

"Oh yeah." She only smiled back before stepping past him and making her way to the kitchen, the young drake following shortly after with a grin.

Once they were in the kitchen, Dimmed Star trotted over to the fridge and opened it, looking through its contents carefully, nervously chewing at her lip. Spike sat at the table watching her as she pulled out a few vegetables, before making her way over to the pantry and collecting a few more items.

"Sooo, what were you and Scootaloo up to?" He asked casually, trying to pass the time with idle chat while she began to fill a pot with water. Dimmed Star glanced at him, before refocusing on the task at hoof.

"It wasn't much, she just wanted to have somepony help her with her homework. A certain drake had apparently fallen asleep during the study session." She shot him a wry smile, before ducking beneath the counter to find another pot. Spike could only smile sheepishly as he wrung out his claws.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Dimmed Star only rolled her eyes and smiled, before lighting her horn and turning on the stove. Spike watched as she retrieved a knife and a cutting board, beginning to chop some carrots as she waited for the water to boil. As she worked, his mind wandered to the question that had been burning in his thoughts for nearly a week now. He needed to give her an answer by tomorrow and although the crusaders were definitely pushing for him to say yes, he still felt like he needed a bit more time. One thought, in particular, had been eating at him, and he didn't quite know how to voice it.

After what seemed like a few minutes of kicking his hind legs in the chair and pondering, the smell of smoke caught his attention. Looking to Dimmed Star quickly, he gaped at the scene that had somehow unfolded.

Dimmed Star was rushing between the two pots of boiling water, each stuffed with almost whole, or poorly chopped ingredients. One had somehow caught fire, while the other was boiling over and the hot broth was leaking across the stove, counter, and dripping to the floor. The poor mare was in a panic as she tried to first put the fire out with a damp towel, only to have the towel itself burst into flames. She let out a yelp as she fell back from the inferno, before jumping back to her hooves, her frazzled mane sticking out in even more places. Seeing that Spike had his eyes on her, she smiled back nervously as she levitated a pitcher out of the cupboard and filled it with water at the sink, before quickly bringing it over and pouring it over the flames, dousing both the pot and the towel, then turning off the stove entirely.

"Um... Dinner's gonna be a bit late, why don't you uh, go read one of your comic books?" She suggested hesitantly, even as she began to refill the pitcher and set it nearby once more, just in case. Spike watched her wide-eyed as he slowly nodded.

"Okay... I'll guess I'll just... be in the bedroom... if you need me?" He asked cautiously as he stepped away from the table, slowly backing out of the kitchen. Dimmed Star gave a nervous laugh and waved him off.

"I-it'll be fine! You'll see!" Her demeanor did nothing to reassure the young drake as he smiled back nervously, before turning and darting out of the kitchen. Once he was gone, Dimmed Star sighed, turning back to the stove with an angry glare.

"I can recite the names and properties of every element known to pony kind on the periodic table, but for the life of me I can't cook a simple vegetable stew!?" She slammed her forehead against the counter, careful not to hit her horn despite her frustration.

"This is ridiculous!" Raising her head, she brought over the two cookbooks and went over the recipes again. As far as she could tell, she had followed the instructions, for the most part anyway. Glancing to the still-smoldering remains of the pot that had caught fire, she groaned in annoyance.

It took her a few minutes to clean up the mess from both pots, and although one had only been a rather bad case of an overflowing pot, the other had done far more damage to the stove than she had thought. With the stove unusable and nothing else to do, Dimmed Star collected a bowl and plate from the cupboard, before opening the fridge again and pulling out a few more fresh vegetables, along with something else that was wrapped in a thick paper, a deep red liquid staining its surface in places.

'I guess its salad and steak night... again.' She thought irritably as she set to work on making Spike's salad while dropping the package of meat on her own nearby plate. This time it only took her a few minutes to chop the vegetables and add a few small fruits and gems from a nearby cabinet. Taking both the plate and bowl in her magic, she made her way out of the kitchen and trotted up the stairs to the bedroom that she and Spike shared.

"Spike, I've got dinner ready." Stepping into the room, she found the young drake laying across the bed with one of his comic books in his claws. He glanced up and smiled at seeing what she held in her magic. As she made her way towards him, she had to navigate the hurricane of their room, books and scrolls were strewn everywhere, nearly hiding the floor entirely.

‘I need to clean this up… later.’ She thought idly as she finally made it to the bedside.

"Salad again?" She only glowered at this, dropping the bowl in his lap as her face glowed a bit in embarrassment.

"I need to get the stove fixed..." She mumbled, before jumping into the bed as well and sitting beside him. Spike only laughed and wiped a tear from his eye.

"If you weren't being so stubborn about it, I could just teach you how to cook." Dimmed Star grunted as she tore at the paper wrappings of her meal with her teeth. Tearing off the top portion, she spit the paper back onto the plate.

"I told you, Spike, I want to learn how to do this myself. I should have been the one doing the cooking in the first place, but I was always so absorbed in my studies. It was selfish of me." She nibbled at the large piece of meat that hung out from the opening of the wrapper as she glanced at him. Spike only grinned back, before looking down at his own salad, his mind deep in thought.

"You could at least let me give you a few pointers, even if I don't actually do much else." His low tone of voice caught her attention quickly, causing her to swallow the piece she had just bitten off and placed her meal back on the plate.

"Spike? What's the matter?" He looked up from his salad, he hadn't touched it since she had brought it to him, she noted. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it just as quickly, shaking his head.

"It's... nothing... I think I'm just being paranoid..." Creasing her eyebrows in concern, Dimmed Star set her plate to the side and rested a hoof on his back lightly.

"Spike, if something is bothering you, you can tell me." Spike bit his lip as he looked back up to her, before sighing and nodding his head.

"Do you... remember when Owlicious first came to stay with us?" Dimmed Star nodded carefully, before glancing to the empty bird stand near the window. When she had come back, her pet owl had been one of the first things she had checked on. But he was nowhere to be found. Even stranger was that the avian had not returned at all since they had been home. It wasn't uncommon for him to be gone a day or two, but almost a week? Shaking her head to rid herself of these thoughts, she focused back on Spike who continued his thoughts.

"Well... remember when I thought that you were replacing me with him? How I felt like you didn't need me anymore?" His voice grew lower with each word, and he trembled slightly while wringing his claws together. He looked back down to stare at his claws while Dimmed Star looked him over.

"I do, but I also remember telling you that no matter what, nopony would ever replace you as my number one assistant." She stroked his back softly as he smiled at this, leaning into her side a bit.

"I... I know... it's just... with everything that's happened... with the way you've changed and... cutting back on my chores... no longer needing me to help you study...." He mumbled to her as she paused in her strokes, realization dawning on her. Pushing him off of her and taking his face in her hooves, she turned him to look her in the eyes.

"Spike, just because I've cut back on your chores, does not mean that I don't want you around anymore or that I'm pushing you away." He stared back with glistening eyes as she spoke, his expression pleading.

"I will always need you, Spike... more than you know... I'm just giving you the freedom that you deserve. I'm sorry if it seems like I was trying to push you away, I just wanted to do right by you and take more responsibility." Spike took a few moments as he watched her, soaking in her words, before smiling slightly and nodding as he pulled away from her hooves. Raising an arm, he rubbed at his eyes to clear away the unshed tears.

"Okay then... Thanks for helping me get over that..." Dimmed Star smiled serenely at the young drake as he began to pick through his salad finally, making an effort to avoid the asparagus. Giving a light chuckle, she brought her plate back to her lap, before the two of them leaned into one another's side, simply enjoying each other's company as they ate.

“Do you think I can help with your studies at least a tiny bit?” Spike asked suddenly. Dimmed Star glanced to him curiously, he hadn’t looked up from his meal. She hummed in thought while watching him eat, before smiling deviously.

“Only if you eat your asparagus.” Spike looked up to her aghast.

“Oh come on!”

Author's Notes:

Twilight: Have you seen Shaded anywhere? He was supposed to post this at midnight.

Dimmed Star: He said something about having to hunt down that guy he was talking about earlier, asked me to post it when the time came.

Twilight: Damn him, pawning off his duties on others. I'll take care of the Disclaimer is you'll do me a favor and hold him in place next time.

Dimmed Star: I held him in place last time! You STILL cut me in half!

Twilight: Oh you'll be fine, let's get the disclaimer out of the way.

Twilight/ Dimmed Star: Shaded Blood does not own MLP: Fim or the Equinox Ponies, a special thanks to Kuunlehti for Proofreading!