//------------------------------//
// Castle Cupidity 
// Story: The Tail of Robin Jack 
// by CartoonNerd12 
//------------------------------//

The snarling and drooling wolves drew ever closer to him when a rock bashed at one of them and he heard her voice.

"Come and get me, you big goons!"

He looked up to see Applejack as she shouted, "Run!" and threw another rock at the wolves.

"I'm running! I'm running!" he called back to her and ran off as the wolves chased after her.



"Wow, Applejack! That was incredible! I mean you rocked those boulders at them like it was nothing! Pow! Pow! Pow! You saved my life!" then realization dawn on him as his eyes grew big, "You… you saved my life…" he leaned in for an embrace before she gently pushed him away with a smile.

"Aw, don't mention it, Spike. We should be heading on back now."



"Listen Spike, I respect your Code of Honor and all… Truly I do, but I just can't cotton with ya permanently serving me."

His eyes went wide before he pleaded, "Please Applejack, my Code of Honor is a part of me, I have to stay true to myself! If you don't let me do this, I won't be able to become a noble knight!"

"Oh…" her eyes went soft, "I can't have ya feeling like you can't become a noble knight, now can I?"

"Great! Then from here on in, your wish is my command!" he bowed down to her making her gape in astonishment.



Her leg was stuck between two large rocks as she shouted to him.

"Forget it, Spike! You got to get out of here!"

The wolf stalked closer to her that he could see the foam in the wolf's mouth while it was growling at her.

She kept yelling, "Would you forget your Code of Honor already and go?!"

With a defiant look, he shouted, "No! I have to save you!" he climbed onto the rock pile going behind a huge boulder and with all his might he pushed the large rock down as it rolled toward the wolf, scaring him off. Then grabbing a large stick he pushed the rocks away from her leg and quickly they ran off.



"I know this code thing is important to you but if something like this comes up again in the future, can we just go back to my code say that's what friends do? And leave it at that?" she tenderly added, "I promise I won't think of you as any less noble…"

He nodded with a smile, "Sounds good to me…" then he slightly frowned, "But maybe we should avoid situations that require saving the other's life?"

She held out her hand, "You got yourself a deal!"

He grasped her hand and they shook on it.



Spike sat up from his bed and moaned as he rubbed his temple. Mornings were never easy on him and neither were memories of his past that kept popping up into his dreams. Especially if it was the memory of him doing his Code of Honor on Applejack for saving his life.

He muttered as he got up to get dressed, "Another one… That's the sixth time this has happen this month." he put on his pants and tunic before putting on the chainmail followed by the breastplate. Then finally he put on his crest of his golden dragon gleaming in the bright sunlight coming from his bedroom window.

He walked out of his room to see the servants going about doing their chores. Then he spotted Princess Cadence's ladies maids down the hall along with the head housekeeper, Madam Cinch.

She turned to the girls as she instructed, "Remember ladies, even though our lady is away, you must remain as proper as you are as if she was still here."

Sugarcoat deadpanned, "Of course we would."

Sour Sweet said sweetly, "We could never misbehave while our dear princess is away." then she muttered, "At least we don't have to listen to her gushing about her husband every day now…"

Sunny Flare heard her and whispered, "I know, it's just a poor reminder that we can't seem to get husbands of our own…"

Indigo Zapp added in, "Aw, who needs husbands when you can live a life of staying single?"

Cinch overhear this and addressed her, "You do, Miss Zapp, if you ever wish to get ahead. Any husband you marry can either lower your status or heighten it. Now what do you say to that?"

"I say… where do I find a husband that can make me higher then what I am now?"

Cinch nodded in approval, "That's the spirit." By then Spike was walking pass them when the older woman saw him and greeted him with a curtsy, "Good morning, Sir Spike."

Spike inwardly groaned as he faced the ladies with a force smile, "Good morning to you too, dear ladies."

The maids giggled and put on their best smiles while replying sweetly, "Good morning, Sir Spike!"

He thought, Oh sure, they're nice to me but they ignore Twilight and I also know for a fact they say terrible things behind her back… 

Lemon Zest batted her eyelashes and inquired, "Where is our most noble knight heading off to?"

He replied nicely, "To the kitchens for some breakfast, and then I shall get in some sword practice with some jousting. After all, a knight of the realm must always keep himself in shape in case a threat ever comes around."

Sour Sweet said in a perky tone, "Oh, certainly!"

Sugarcoat didn't beat around the bush and said outright, "Do you have a lady that you are currently courting?"

Spike saw the eagerness in their eyes and gulped, knowing he couldn't lie but at the same time he didn't want to be pursued, so he said, "I… I do not have a lady fair but when I do, I will love her unconditionally and never stray from her side…"

They sighed lovingly.

He continued, "But most importantly, she will accept me and my sister without strife for I cannot be married without my dear sister nearby."

That seemed to make them stop swooning as Spike was grinning on the inside.

Madam Cinch spoke up, "An admirable speech, sir knight. Yes, Maid Twilight Sparkle does mean a great deal to you, and it's a good thing too… As she unfortunately cannot attain a suitable husband so it'll have to be up to you to provide for her should anything happen to Prince Shining Armor."

Spike slightly frowned at those words. He knew Twilight didn't want to marry unless it was for love and it was hard for her to find a husband since all the men at the castle were arrogant to say the least.

He unsteadily replied, "I'll… I'll keep that in mind." he bowed, "Good day, ladies." he went on his way being glad to get some distance from them. When he had moved further down the hall he could heard music playing and three voices singing. He knew who those three voices belonged to as he sneaked a peek into the room seeing three finely dressed women who were the daughters of the castle minstrels.

Adagio Dazzle sat between Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk though she had to avoid their headwear as Aria wore two cones to go with her veil and Sonata wore a single cone hat with a veil flowing down from the top. Adagio had no head piece, rather the silk fabric of her dress covered the entire back of her head.

Their fathers were playing on their lyres as the girls harmonized.

One the minstrels said over the music, "Good, girls! Make sure you sound just like that for the banquet tonight!"

When they stopped singing they noticed a certain knight hanging in doorway, making the three women exchange smirks.

Adagio addressed him, "How did you like our singing, Sir Spike?"

Spike cringed at being seen and told them, "It was very good as usual, girls."

Sonata flashed a flirtatious smile, "Will we see you at the banquet tonight?"

Aria stated, "We better, you're one of the reasons we even perform at all."

Spike nervously chuckled, "That's very flattering of you to say, but I'm curious as to why you would say that."

Adagio swayed her hips as she went up to him, saying with a playful tone, "Come now, Spike, everyone knows you're the most handsome out of all the knights…"

Sonata mentioned, "Expect for Shining Armor, who was the most handsome until he got married and then we were force to look elsewhere and-" she cut herself off when Adagio made a motion to her to keep quiet.

Adagio saw the confusion on Spike's face and quickly said with a force laugh, "What she meant to say is that as handsome as Shining Armor was, you're even more dashing then he ever was…"

Sonata went, "Ohh! Right, that's what I meant to say!"

Spike inquired, "Really?"

Aria went to him and slowly circled around, "Oh, certainly… Shining Armor could never compare to you…" slinking her hands on his shoulders.

Sweat welled up on his brow, he always did have a nervous time talking to these gifted singers, not only did they have beautiful yet mesmerizing voices, but they were very attractive as well. And it was because of that, the entire castle called them sirens. Twilight had warned him countless of times to never be alone in the same room with them given they were the prince's wenches. Twilight even told him that they were only after wealth and power and since the prince refuses to marry either of them they are force to look for substitutes and as such he was a likely candidate.

"Well, um… I…" his tongue felt tied.

Suddenly a voice called out, "Spike! There you are!"

They turned to see Sunset Shimmer wearing her usual lady-in-waiting attire as she continued to talk, "When you didn't show up in the kitchen, I was beginning to worry."

Spike quickly replied, "Sorry, about that Sunset, I was… delayed by some people."

Sunset gave a skeptical look but replied with a nonchalant tone, "I see. Well, we better get down there before our food gets cold."

He quickly said his goodbyes to the singers and once they were in the hallway he told Sunset, "Thanks."

She inquired, "Just why were you there? You know they're always up to no good."

"I heard them singing and I took just a tiny peek when they spotted me."

"And it slipped your mind that you are one of the most sought out bachelors in this castle?"

"No, it did not slip my mind! Frankly, I don't get why the ladies of the castle even want me!"

Sunset explained, "It's very simple, Spike, you are a member of nobility, you're a knight of the kingdom, and you are quite good-looking. Making you have all the qualities of a fitting husband, and let's not forget your age, you're young yet old enough to help sire many children."

Spike hotly asked, "So they just want me for my body?"

Sunset nodded, "And that's why you have to be careful around here. Any of these girls living here will try to take advantage of you."

"Then why haven't you pursued me?"

"Because, Twilight is my lady and I could never go behind her back of trying to marry her brother for my own selfish gain. Besides, I'm not attracted to you."

"Well why not?! You said so yourself that I have lot of good qualities, and you actually know me and care about my sister, so why aren't you interested?"

Sunset sighed, "Yes, Spike, it would be ideal for me to fall for you but… I just don't feel anything, and I'm pretty sure you don't either."

He sighed this time and confessed, "Yeah, okay… you're right, you are a wonderful person, Sunset, but… there's just nothing there between us."

Sunset nodded, "Exactly."

He smiled before asking, "Hey, you up to some horse racing this afternoon?"

"Sure! Twilight will be in the library around that time, so I'll see you then."

"Great, see you then." he beamed as they continued to walk. So life in the castle wasn't too bad as long as you had a good friend by your side. Still, it begs the question of whether or not Spike could find someone that would love him and only him. Between his strange dreams and avoiding women who only want one thing from him, it seemed very unlikely.