//------------------------------//
// Covert Controvertible Cover-up 
// Story: Elements of Spike 
// by Yinglung 
//------------------------------//

Back in the library, the mares sat guardedly at the table. Spike walked back and forth in front of them.

He suddenly turned to them. "Now, we’re finally all here. I must make sure about a few things. Are you all really me?"

"Absolutely positively." "Yep!" *Sigh* "Yeah." "Yes..." "Ah'd think so."

Spike breathed in heavily, and sat himself on the table in the middle of the library. 



His gaze swept across the mares’ faces, and then he said with a cut-glass voice. 

"I’m gonna check this through a Spike trivia test. Something that only the real Spike would know."

The mares mostly frowned but nodded. Only Pinkie grinned enthusiastically and proclaimed, "Yippie, a game show quiz!"

Spike facepalmed at Pinkie's flippant comment. "This is not... Fine, I’m first going to ask Ap-"

He stopped in his own track, and asked the assembled mares with a serious face. "Wait, before we begin, I must clarify another thing. What names do you guys prefer being called?"

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked.

"I mean, you’re all Spikes… I assume, so it feels right to just call you all Spike. But on the other hand, it will be a mess, and none of you seem opposed to me calling you by the names of the mares themselves. So-"

"Meh, I can’t care less." Rainbow Dash waved Spike down and shrugged.

"Um… It’s less confusing this way?" Fluttershy offered weakly.

"Plus I thought you don’t want to rouse suspicion." Twilight said with a thoughtful look. "We can't be trotting around calling each other Spike No. 1, Spike No. 2, can we?"

"Ah dunno. Just feel comfortable either way." Applejack grinned. "You can call me Spike too if you want, though it will plum sure get confusin’."

"Okay…" Spike tapped on his cheek hesitantly. He eventually shook his head and asked. "Let's begin with Applejack. So Applejack. what was the color of my egg?"

"Hah, that’s an easy one. Twi gave you a piece of the shell on yer first birthday, and you've been keepin' it wrapped under yer basket. Purple with even more purple dots onnit, right?"

"Hm, not bad." Spike nodded. "Now, Fluttershy."

The yellow mare flinched.

"I don’t mean to be rude or anything, and this is distressing to you and me both." Spike wagged his claw in disapproval. "But if you’re me, can you please come on and dragon up a little bit? Stop being all fidgety and stuff!"

Fluttershy lowered her head and stayed silent. Tears began rolling in her eyes. Apparently, she was taking the chastisement not really well.

‘Holy buck!’ Spike thought to himself in horror, as the mares around him gave him stares. "Okay, no no no no no nuh-uh. For the love of my scaly goodness, I don’t mean to put you down or anything... I’m sorry! Now, just answer an easy question about me. What is my favorite kind of gem?"

Fluttershy paused, and then wiped her eyes and burst into a light chortle. "This is silly. You love all of them... But the green ones are the best."

"Ah… of course." Spike smirked. His gaze darted hurriedly away from the demure pegasus for fear of provoking her again. "So now, Rainbow Dash. What is my dream after I grow up?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes up. "You ask that? All of us here know you dream all the time to be a strong muscular dragon-knight that rescue damsels in distress across Equestria. With a liberal sprinkle of easily accessible gem snacks anytime anywhere, of course."

"Well pu-"

"And yesterday you fantasized about Rarity to be that damsel in distress."

Spike and a few mares in audience immediately blushed in embarrassment. Especially Rarity, whose cheeks were almost as red as ripe tomatoes.

"A- Anyway, that's enough for now. We all know that piece of information, of course, there is absolutely no need for embarrassment." 

Spike cleared his throat with a dismissing claw-waving, his last sentence seemed to be directed more to himself than to anypony. He then surreptitiously turned to the white unicorn. "So uh Rarity, um… how do Rarity think of… me?"

"Wait! This is not a question about yerself!" Applejack immediately protested, her face tinted with annoyance but also visible amusement.

"Answer me anyway!" Spike almost yelled.

The white unicorn shifted awkwardly, and sighed in a mix of sadness and disappointment. "S- Sorry. Spike is just a baby in her eyes. She had absolutely no romantic affection for you whatsoever, and I believe she thinks any relationship would be p- preposterous."

"Pre-what?"

"It means absurd, Spike." Twilight supplied helpfully.

"Yikes! That’s harsh." Rainbow Dash wheezed. 

Spike sulked for a moment, then bounced up and covered his disappointment with a poker face. "Okay, that’s perhaps not really the time. So next up, Pin-"

"Spike? That counted as one for Rarity?" The pink mare asked in doubt. "You need to be fair to all of us."

"Fine, fine." Spike huffed unamusedly. "Rarity, tell me one of the worst blunders I have made, when I was living in Canterlot with Twilight."

"D- Does accidentally burning down the entire shelf of Twilight’s reference books, when you were trying to send the one she wanted through magic fire, but couldn’t find the one she requested… count?"

"Yes, yes, it does. Twilight’s lecture afterwards was a dang pain in the ass."

Spike mumbled, until he realized that there was a lack of reprimand for his dirty mouth from the purple mare as he had expected. He looked to the face of Twilight, who was looking to him with only unease.

With a shrug, he turned back to Pinkie. "Alright, now are you satisfied and ready to answer my question, Pinkie?"

"Sure and sure!" Pinkie smiled. "Ask away!"

"Okay, what was my secret handshake with the gem dealer behind the Canterlot Tower?"

Pinkie narrowed her eyes. "This is trick question, isn’t it? Yep, the Royal Treasury is behind the Canterlot Tower, but we don’t usually call the Lieutenant Minister of the Exchequer a ‘dealer’ and a Letter of Royal Assent a ‘secret handshake’."

"Darn, you’re good." Spike inhaled deeply. "So last… Twilight."

Spike knit his brows. This was going to be difficult. He had been living with Twilight his whole life. She knew practically everything of him because she brought her up. What could he ask?

Spike suddenly thought of one thing. He paced forward and began, "… Twilight, do you remember the time I ran away from the Ivory Tower because you don’t bother talking or playing with me for a long time, as you were preparing for the magical aptitude examination?"

Twilight raised her brows with a stunned expression, and then nodded.

"Then you should know I hid in the hedge maze. Before you come, I scribble something on the back side of one of the statues. After we reconciled, I secretly rushed to erase my markings. Since I’m sure that Twilight never saw it, my question is, what did I write?"

Twilight grimaced, and then through pained breaths, she uttered the words one by one, "… ‘I wish I was never hatched’."

Everyone grew silent. Spike looked at Twilight, threw his arms up and nodded briskly. "Good."

The group then turned quiet as nobody had an idea of what to say or do next. However, after a protracted silence, the dragon suddenly pounded on the table with his fist, creating a booming sound. 

The mares were startled, but Spike merely angrily shouted. "I’m an idiot! I screw it all up! Darn it all to Tartarus!"

Pinkie immediately interrupted. "Wait! Spike, we haven’t discussed yet! Maybe there’s a way out of this! Also, I know for a fact that at least Pinkie will not be mad at you."

"How can you know for sure?"

The pink mare beamed. "Just my Pinkie Sense!"

"What are you talking about? You aren’t even her! None of you are the ponies you’re supposed to be!"

Pinkie gasped and flinched, lowering her head as if taking his words as a harsh chastisement. The other ponies did not offer support or retort, as they too gazed downwards and apparently sulked.

Spike looked on and felt a bit guilty for his hurtful outburst, but he was in no mood to be thoughtful. "… We’re kidding ourselves if we believe this can be solved easily, when this is something that even somepony with Twilight’s knowledge cannot solve."

Closing his eyes tightly, he yelled. "I really wish I hadn’t been born, then at least I wouldn’t have messed up the lives of six ponies with my own stupid mistake!"

Suddenly, Spike was shoved onto the ground. He blinked in shock, until he saw who had stood over him in an unamused expression.

"What is wrong with you?" Rainbow Dash berated. "You stand here and interrogate each of us on whether we are you. But now, you yourself are acting like a complete wimp and totally un-Spike!"

Applejack also added, "Yeah, what use is there to act all fickled? We’re here to solve problems, not to make more of them. You need to calm down and dragon up yerself, sugarcube."

Gazing widely into the magenta eyes of the pegasus, he loudly gulped and said. "S- Sorry, I- I have let my emotions come over me. I’m just very afraid! I'm worried that I have made an mistake that I can't fix…" 

"Y'know what they say - It ain't over till the fat lady sings." Applejack chuckled. "Just have it easy and figure this out slowly."

"And together!" Pinkie added emphatically.

The dragon turned his head away and bit his lips. "… You are right, we should-"

He suddenly widened his eyes and almost shouted, "Wait a second! Are we sure that you six are the only ones who are affected?!"

The mares looked to each other.

"Well, my sister was not affected, I’m pretty sure." Rarity said. "She's still the clingy filly from what I remember."

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake are perfectly normal. I think you probably noticed that already." Pinkie said sheepishly. "It was only I who went a lil' bit unhinged."

"Yeah… lil' bit." Twilight rolled her eyes.

"I saw Derpy Hooves today on my way to town center. Although I was rushing through, but she seemed alright." Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"None of my animals looked strange…" Fluttershy added.

"Nor did any o’ mah family." Applejack said.

"That’s a relief." Spike exhaled. 

The dragon scratched his head. "But wait a minute, you all said my this and my that. And your mannerisms are clearly more they than me. What’s up with that then?"

The mares looked quite astonished at his query. After some brief looks of confusion, they either frowned or grimaced. 

"I told you." Twilight said with a sigh. "I had Twilight’s memories and felt her feelings. But what I haven’t told you is that how confusing that it is making me. I knew for a fact that I’m not her, but I’m beginning to think things in her perspectives… you understand?"

"No, I don’t understand." 

Twilight groaned. Rarity then hesitantly spoke up, "It’s kind of like daydreaming as someone you’re not. Except that it feels really, really real."

"But I’ve only ever daydreamed as myself, but bigger and stronger."

"Oh gosh!" Rainbow Dash facehoofed. "It's making me crazy to see how dense I can look from the outside."

"Hey! Are you saying that I’m dumb?"

"It’s not an insult if it’s talking about yourself, kind of." Rainbow Dash deadpanned.

"Ah doubt you’re ever goin’ to understand the feelin’ except if you go through this like all of us. Ah doubt you’d want to though." 

Applejack breathed out heavily with a glazed look. "But Ah suspect if we don’t fix this, this is only goin' to get worse. Even right now, Ah’m beginnin' to feel more used to think things as AJ would more than Spike would."

Spike gasped. "So how are we going to fix this? Any idea?"

"Have you tried getting the gems out from your tummy?" Pinkie asked.

Spike’s face turned slightly green as he remembered the self-inflicted blow on his belly. "Trust me, I have tried."

"Uh… it’s not like the gems wouldn’t have been digested in full after a night anyway." Rainbow Dash said. "So unicorns, do you have any idea with your magic doohickeys?"

"I think you mean ‘unicorn’. Not every unicorn is as magically inclined as the one who was hoofpicked by Princess Celestia does. I only know telekinesis and gem finding. I have absolutely no idea about the Elements before Twilight brought them up."

Twilight closed her eyes. "The Elements are the most powerful magical artefact known to ponydom. It was an ultimate weapon to guard the peace and harmony in Equestria. The six Elements are tied to six Element-bearers, representing six virtues deemed by the spirits of Harmony as the most crucial virtues."

"Now tell us something we don’t know." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"I can’t. That’s all I know." Twilight sighed. "These are just speculations. I suppose that Princess Celestia was the original wielder of the Elements alongside Princess Luna. Then during the events that led to Luna’s banishment, she might have somehow wrestled the control of the Elements and connected all six to herself. I don’t know why she then decided to just leave the Elements in the old castle. Maybe no threat was big enough to warrant the use of the Elements after that. I do-"

Twilight gulped. "I doubt that they are still connected to the Elements. But if they are, then…"

"Holy Guacamole…" Spike’s eyes widened.

"It won’t be too bad though Ah think." Applejack said. "If the princesses are also one of us, then we don’t even have to worry about the problem of exposin’ ourselves."

"I don’t think hoping for more ponies to get into this mess is the right way to go." Rarity was much less enthusiastic. "Especially those who are as important as the princesses. I can't even imagine having to rule Equestria in their stead..."

"Meh. Could be worse." Rainbow Dash wryly grinned.

"In any case," Twilight continued. "I don’t think any of them is still connected to the Elements, or else Celestia would be able to wield them to defeat Nightmare Moon, or that we couldn’t have used the Elements to attack an Element-bearer in the first place."

Twilight then lowered her head. "I… I mean, Twi would have studied the Elements in deeper depth, if not for this unfortunate happening. Now I don’t even know where the princesses got the Elements in the first place, not to mention I can never ask them about what they know about the Elements unless I want all these to be thrown out all in the open."

Spike gazed at his feet long and hard, and he suddenly said. "Although my initial reaction was to cover this up… But perhaps we should really tell the princesses."

"No!" All the six mares cried out simultaneously.

"W- Wha- Why?" Spike was a bit stunned by the emphatic rejection from everypony.

"You said it yourself, dude." The cyan mare shook her head. "If we fess up, we’re certainly going to labs, or asylum, or even labs in asylum. You’d be badly punished for destroying the extremely important artefacts and causing this to us."

"I just don’t want to see you or anypony locked up." Fluttershy said sadly.

"What’s more," Applejack narrowed one of her eyes. "Call it a hunch o’ mine. Ah don’t think the princesses will have an idea of how to deal with this, because it had certainly not happened before."

Pinkie made a scary noise. "I think they might even try opening up your belly with a scalpel to take out whatever are left of the Elements!"

Fluttershy let out a frightful ‘Eep’, and Spike involuntarily shivered.

"Pinkie, don’t make up scare stories. The princesses will never do something like that!" Twilight huffed, albeit a bit uncertainly.

"I hope so." Rainbow Dash wryly added.

"I just don’t want you to get hurt." Rarity said quietly. "I believe we all don’t mind returning our lives to what they were. But I believe even the... hmm, real Rarity would be saddened if you get lifelong infamy and punishment because of this." 

"Don’t be reckless, Spike. I beg you." Twilight pleaded. "I will continue the research by myself, perhaps I will find something new. But before that, don’t do anything silly. Twilight would be heartbroken to see you go."

"B- But what are we going to do now?" Spike asked with a hesitant voice.

"Didn’t you ask if I have spare gems?" Rarity smiled. "I do. And I will need Twilight’s help to cut and enchant them. Now that they’re not even connected to the Elements, there is no chance for them to ever discover this…"


***


Spike let out a big sigh as he held up a tray of freshly brewed tea. He then walked to the assembled mares in the treehouse, who had gathered once again a week after the incident.

"Thank goodness the guards did not suspect a thing when we handed over the Elements." 

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "And why would they? I say you stop worrying over nothing."

"... You might be right." Spike licked his lips. "So, are everypony here having a normal week?" 

"Normal is the least likely word I'd use to describe this week." 

Rainbow Dash snorted. "But yeah, I pretty much just kick clouds around like the old Rainbow Dash. Nothing much, except the occasional odd daydream about joining the Wonderbolts. I can see why Rainbow Dash loves them, but I… uh… well, yeah, it’s cool I guess."

"I have to apologize to my clients about the delay in delivery, but at the end, I managed to finish those dresses the next day. Though one client commented to me that the dress was more… purple and scaly than usual." 

Rarity then showed an awkward smile. "I also was briefly excited about being able to cast magic to find some lovely gems, until I realized that I can’t eat gems as a pony."

"Only if Pinkie realized that back then." Spike smirked to the narrow stare from the pink mare, and then turned back to Rarity. "You can still give me some of your finds, Rarity."

"S- Sure. I’d love to." Rarity lightly smiled, and then muttered under her breath with a reddened face, "…. Spikey-wikey."

"Hey Spike!" Pinkie wiped her frown and swiftly replaced it with a wide grin. "You won’t believe how big the birthday cake I made for Matilda was! It was both the first time and the two hundredth time I baked a birthday cake, so it was really special!"

"Really? I’m happy for you then." Spike smiled.

"Sounds mighty excitin’." Applejack grinned for a moment, and then she turned thoughtful. "All Ah did was buckin’ apples all day, but Ah’m thinkin' about somethin' else."

"Such as?" Spike asked.

"Ah’m jus’ thinkin’ that the Apple family has been here fer so long, and we’re among the founders of this town, but we’re still feelin’ the pinch each year. That's a bunch of bumping gums. Ah jus' feel this is unfair, y'know? At least for all the gems you used to find, you got to keep half of them, right?"

"It isn't like that in here?" Spike asked.

"Of course not. If we're gettin' half the cut at the Acres, we could've raised a darn gem-encrusted barn. And then a few more." Applejack waved her hoof with a seemingly knowing look. "But enough of this talk about gems and bits."

Spike nodded and turned to Fluttershy, who was looking cheerless and despondent. "What’s wrong, Fluttershy?"

"I… I had a big argument with Angel yesterday." Fluttershy bit her lips. "It has never happened before."

"Eh? Why did you argue with him?" Spike asked.

"That critter can be quite spirited, Ah know." Applejack said.

"But it’s still not a reason to get angry with him, he’s just a bit forceful in his way of caring about me." Fluttershy lowered her head. "I’m just sick at hearts that I can’t tell the truth to someone who cares about me so much and clear the misunderstanding."

Fluttershy raised her head and sniffled. "W- What if Angel and the animals hate me for now on?"

"Silly Fluttershy, that’s even more unlikely than the princesses are now sending in the guards to grab Spike away!"

"P- P- Pinkie!" Spike stuttered. "Don’t joke about that! Tempting fate is never a good idea!"

Spike gingerly looked towards the door and gazed at it for a few moments. He eventually sighed in relief. "Heh… So Twilight, tell us how you’re been adjusting this week."

Twilight immediately felt a slew of complicated emotions, but she began regardless, "I’ve been researching in the Golden Oak Library. But as I expected, there is no record of the Elements in a town library like this. I suspect any book containing detailed information about them must be either in the capital or in the library of the old castle ruins."

"I see. Thank you very much for your work." Spike nodded.

Twilight felt inexplicably glad to hear Spike’s gratitude. "Y- You’re welcome."

"But what about how you feel about yourself?"

Twilight widened her eyes and gulped. She was very conflicted about herself. Spike clearly wanted to find a way to restore everypony to their original selves. She did not exactly mind the implications, instead, she was frustrated by the lack of progress in her research. Meanwhile, she tried to be as ‘Twilight’ to original Spike as possible, but she was finding it particularly difficult to look convincing to him. She found it more distressing to see all the other mares do it without much difficulty. The fear of causing his disappointment was paralyzing.

With difficulties, Twilight thought of a way to cursorily express her feelings. "I-"

Suddenly, Spike belched and coughed up a letter in green flame. All the mares gasped in shock. Spike himself was especially alarmed, as he immediately grabbed it from mid-air and began reading it.

"W- What does it say?" Pinkie asked. "Not an arrest warrant, isn’t it?"

"Pinkie, you don’t send arrest warrant to the accused." Twilight deadpanned. "It’s used and held by the authorities who carry out the arrest. What’s more, if you inform the accused beforehand, what if they run away?"

Spike sighed and sat back on the ground. "It’s nothing, thank goodness!"

"What kind of ‘nothing’, though?" Rarity asked.

"It’s an invitation, let me read it to you:

Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce The Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot…  Okay, basically it invites Twilight and one guest to the Grand Galloping Gala."

"Nice and dandy. Our little cover-up is not exposed or anything." Rainbow Dash remarked.

"But just one more guest?" Rarity frowned. "This sounds fishy. The princess know we are seven-strong here."

"But the problem is, do we all want to go? Except Twilight of course." Spike said.

"What about you?" Applejack smirked knowingly. "You hate girly frou-frou stuffs."

"Darn right you’re!" Spike grinned.

"To be fair…" Rarity looked left and right. "None of us have really been to the Gala before, so we don’t know what it’s like. I…"

"You what?"

"I kind of want to go…" Rarity looked to the floor with burning cheeks. "D- Don’t judge me!"

"Worry ye not, mares doing marish matters, it's the natural order of things." Spike said with a Zen-like tone. "But the most important thing is, can you accept yourself after you accept it yourself, huh?"

"Stop screwing with her head, Spike." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Would you still mock her like this if she’s the bona-fide Rarity?"

Spike stuck his tongue out, "Sorry. I just want to know why though."

"I just want to experience the glamour of the balls and the lives of upper classes in Canterlot a bit. I know I lived in Canterlot and this sounds weird… But I, I mean, Rarity probably longs for it for a long time. It also seems wrong for me to reject this on her behalf, especially since it's so far away. Maybe by then things would've been all fixed up?"

"I only hope so..." Spike scratched his cheek. "So it’s Twilight and Rarity?"

"But I’d need a dance partner." Rarity fidgeted. "I would have wanted to look for a royal prince like Blueblood, if not for the fact that I now know everyone in Canterlot knows he’s a colossal tw- I mean, not exactly a gentlecolt. If you can go, Spike, I would be glad."

"Uh…" Spike blinked and struggled to formulate a reply.

"Ah don’t mean ta add any more trouble or anythin’." Applejack awkwardly smiled. "But ‘bout that… I wonder if goin’ to the Gala can help mah family’s bits get goin’."

"Mm? How?" Spike asked.

"Ah have done a bit research mahself on the Apple family history. It turned out that a lot o’ our profits have been taken by the middleponies like the Riches. Granny don’t seem to mind it, but Ah don’t think it’s fair for us to stay on the line all the time and yet doin’ all the tough work, just for them to sit their rich plots in their mansions."

"Hah." Rainbow Dash smirked. "So what you gonna do? Chase the Riches out of the town?"

"No. The Riches did help the town grow by reselling our apple products and attracting settlers back in the early days. They aren’t exactly scroungers. But Ah think it’s time for us to find a way to cut out the middlepony and earn more bits. Ah think Ah might be able to find potential buyers in Canterlot who might want to buy directly from us. Or failing that, we can at least set up a stall and introduce the name of Sweet Apple Acres to them."

"That’s not bad in theory." Twilight tapped her chin. "But Canterlot are full of the upper-class types who won’t give a moment's notice to whoever that is beneath them. The Gala will be a veritable black hole of these types. No offense, Applejack, but they would likely think that your rural outlook do not match with their perception of refined taste."

Applejack’s enthusiasm got doused a bit. However, she said, "… Ah know, but tryin’ doesn’t hurt, does it? Now that we’re aware o’ that, Ah can do something to… class up, Ah suppose. Ah got plenty o’ time."

"… If you insist, we will help." Spike nodded.

"I want to check out the Wonderbolts too, if you don’t mind."

"Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah, they will attend the Gala, right?"

"Yeah… But they are an elite troupe. They aren’t going to just mix in with commoners like us."

"It’s totally uncool if they consider those who saved the kingdom by defeating Nightmare Moon ‘some commoners’." Rainbow Dash huffed.

"I suppose I can try sorting it out with the organizers or the princess…" Twilight shifted her gaze.

"Awesome! It would be cool if they see how I fly and invite me to join them on the spot… But yeah, that seems unlikely. So I’d settle for checking them out to see if they’re as cool as I think they are."

"If the Gala is like a big party, then I’d love to attend too!" Pinkie grinned.

Twilight again awkwardly smiled. "I love your parties, Pinkie. But like what I said to Applejack, Canterlot ponies’ perception of entertainment is likely different to yours. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t come, but just be careful that they might be more stuck-up than you expect."

"Roger that." Pinkie nodded.

"I also love to see some rare animal in the Royal Sanctuary and meet ponies involve in the conservation of rare species." Fluttershy gingerly smiled.

Twilight nodded, "Great, we-" 

"Is no one here thinking about how much frou-frou nonsense the Gala is going to involve?" Spike mumbled. "You guys will have to dress up to the T and dance and stuffs."

"I don’t like it, but as we said, we have other reasons." Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Are you not going, Spike?" Twilight frowned.

Spike sighed as he looked down to the floor. "I’m not exactly in the mood. With this mess still going on, I don’t feel like going off to some balls in Canterlot."

"But it is still moons away from the Gala. We might be able to solve this before that, Spikey-wikey." Rarity said.

"... Spikey-wikey?" Spike looked exactly as if he heard himself propositioning himself - completely dumbfounded.

"U- U- Um-" Rarity stuttered. "S- Sorry if this sounds weird. It’s just how Rarity would call you off the cuff. Just a weird verbal tic of mine, ha… ha ha!"

"No need to be embarrassed. AJ’s accent’s pretty obvious too, ain’t it?" Rainbow Dash teased.

"Ah ain’t got no acksent!" Applejack jokingly retorted, defusing the awkwardness completely.

"Heh." Spike exhaled. "So yeah, I understand that I cannot fully understand what you all are going through. But do you really think that it’d be a good idea for me to go?"

"O- Of course!" Rarity beamed.

"If you say so, then I’ll go." Spike smiled. 

"So, uh…" Twilight shiftily said. "You need me to write a letter to the princess to tell her we need more tickets?"

"Isn’t that usually my job?" Spike raised a brow, and then he realized something. "Well, technically it’s a job open for any of us now. But I think I’m still the best candidate to do it because… claws and stuff."

He whipped out a piece of paper and a quill, quickly scribbled something on it. Then he passed it to the purple mare. "Do you mind if I use your name?"

"I don’t mind… But I don’t know if-"

"Done." Spike already engulfed the letter with his green flame. "What did you say again?"

The purple mare blinked, and then blinked some more. 

"Uhh... Alright, nothing then."