Chapter 22: We Need to Talk
The train whistle howled with a deafening screech. Steam blasted from the ear piercing device, wheels started rolling as the train departed the station; heading towards Ponyville. Inside sat 3 weary looking passengers: a purple Alicorn, a white unicorn mare and a purple dragon with green spines. Several ponies cringed awkwardly as they passed the trio of friends.
Every one of them looked like they had just returned from a funeral.
Twilight, Rarity and Spike stared in every direction other than towards each other. Twilight’s violet orbs gazed lifelessly out the window; watching the fields and buildings pass her by in a meaningless blur. Rarity looked at her hooves for what seemed like an eternity. It was especially strange because her hooves had not been polished or treated at a spa recently; Rarity would normally never stare at such imperfection for such a long period of time. Spike found his sullen gaze leeching onto the bits of trash bouncing under the seat of the pony sitting across from him. He found solace watching loose change and a half eaten potato chip rattle with every thump along the tracks.
The trio looked more like depressed strangers rather than close friends. Each one of them felt lost, hurt and alone…and not one of them wished to speak about it.
Something dreadful had happened to the trio of friends, and though they were happy to be heading back home, not one of them looked forward to explaining what dreadful misery had afflicted them.
“Food cart, food cart! Can I offer any of you three something to eat or drink?” asked a cheerful earth pony. He had orange fur, black hair and faint brown eyes. He smiled cheerfully as he extended an assortment of snacks to the dreary trio, “Anything for you princess?”
Twilight and Spike continued to stare elsewhere; treating the pony like a ghost. Rarity, however, looked up and glared diamond blue daggers at the clueless clerk. She looked like she was going to behead him with those grim filled eyes. The food cart pony laughed nervously and quickly dashed off.
Twilight sighed heavily, her breath lightly fogging up the window. The mentioning of “drinks” triggered a most unpleasant memory in her dreary mind. It was the source of her current state.
FLASHBACK
“Now where in Equestria can he be? I’ve looked all over the castle and asked every guard but still no sign of him,” Twilight mused to herself. The purple pony had been searching for Moonstruck ever since she spoke with Princess Celestia. Unfortunately for her, he was nowhere to be found and she was growing concerned. “Princess Luna said he was in a better mood when she last saw him. I figured we could talk things over, but obviously something’s wrong because he wouldn’t just go out alone…right?” Twilight audibly groaned and rolled her eyes. She forgot she was still talking to herself and not Spike. “When I find that dragon, we need to have a serious talking about…um…whatever it is that he wouldn’t talk…to me…about…I really need to stop talking to myself!”
Twilight’s awkwardly audible monologue had attracted several ponies’ attention. She hoped their gawking was attributed to the fact she was a princess walking around casually, though deep down, she was fairly certain it was because she was talking to herself out loud.
The princess teleported herself to various spots in Canterlot; checking all possible locations Moonstruck might be at. The mare grew more and more anxious with each failed attempt to find her sarcastic friend. She contemplated asking other ponies if they had seen him, but she knew there were still quite a few citizens who distrusted Moonstruck due to his criminal record; despite the fact Celestia had pardoned him. Twilight overheard some of Canterlot’s elite speaking despicably about Moonstruck as she passed them, it only made her feel more fearful about what might happen if she doesn’t find him soon.
“BUUUUURP”
“And then I said…I said…you can take that book-that buh blah book and shove it up your own flank lady HA, HA! Then she said something all smarty and I was like ‘well we all can’t be smart enough to uh…to make the uh…with the uh…something…ooh look, a shiny bottle cap!”
Twilight’s ears flickered. She could have sworn that drunken voice sounded familiar, but there was something off about it. The voice had a disgruntled grunge to it.
“No, that can’t be him, he doesn’t sound like that,” she muttered to herself.
CRASH!
“Hey, you’re gonna have to pay for that too; stinking convict!” a second, angrier voice shouted.
Twilight shook her head. It was unmistakable now, that had to be Moonstruck she heard. She flapped her wings and quickly soared over towards the source of the escalating conflict. Twilight found herself arriving at an outdoor cider bar. There, slumping drunkenly on a brown barstool was Moonstruck. His hair was drooping, face was slack from intoxication and he swerved on the seat like a child trying to stay awake in its high chair.
The gruff looking, blonde bartender was shouting fiercely at the fallen Moonstruck. He was a unicorn; he had pale green eyes, short, white stubbly hair and wearing a grungy red bowtie.
“What in the world?” she gasped alarmingly.
“HEY princess, you’re here! See? See? I told you I wasn’t l-l-lilacing you, I totally know that royal crown head lady over there,” he said; stuttering in a drunken stupor.
Twilight was at a loss. She’s never seen Moonstruck like this before. He seemed like a completely different pony, even his voice sounded strange. She watched him guzzle down 3 more shots of cider; packing it away even faster than Spike did when he ate gemstones.
“I take it you’re the princess he’s billing for all of this?” the bartender grumbled.
“Wait-what? What are you talking about?” Twilight blurted out.
The bartender levitated Moonstruck’s bill towards Twilight’s face. Her plum eyes bulged in shock at the staggering charges her friend had racked up, it was almost as long as one of her checklists.
“No offense your majesty, but you didn’t really think some dead beat ex-con was going to have that kind of money now did you?” he said bitterly.
Twilight raised an irritated eyebrow. She found it most vexing that the bartender referred to her friend with such disdain. Moonstruck’s behavior was anything but dignified. She could spot several broken glasses and bottles strewn about the counter and behind it as well. None the less, he was still her friend and she didn’t appreciate his character being slandered like that.
What in Equestria happened to him? I’ve never driven him to drinking before, and Princess Luna said he seemed much better when she last saw him. What could have possibly happened between now and then that caused…this to happen? She thought to herself.
The drunken unicorn levitated himself another bottle of cider to chug. Twilight didn’t want his brain to get soaked with anymore cider, nor did she want his bill getting any larger. She teleported the bottle away from his aura, Moonstruck whimpered like a dog having its favorite toy taken away.
“Look, I’m terribly sorry for all the damage and problems my friend has caused. I’ll of course pay for all the drinks and expenses-”
“Hold up, you mean he really does know you, personally? This low life crook is actually friends with a royal princess?” he said bewilderingly.
“Ugh…yes, we are friends and I’d kindly like to remind you that another princess, Celestia, pardoned him so he is NOT a-”, she paused to rub her hoof between her eyes in annoyance, “can we just skip that part already, please? I need to know what happened when he first came here. How was he acting, how did he seem when you first met him?”
“Like a great big whiny crybaby. He was moaning on and on about how horrible and scummy he felt, asked for the strongest cider I got and said you rich folks were hoofing the bill. I gave it to him; never thinking he’d drink THAT much that fast,” he exclaimed. The bartender sounded mildly impressed with Moonstruck’s cider intake amount. “After a couple bottles, he starts turning into this giggling wacko. I’ve seen plenty of ponies act differently after downing some hard cider, but nothing like this. It’s like there’s a whole ‘nother pony in the driver seat now.”
Moonstruck looked up at Twilight. His face was half smushed by the indents on the counter, the other half was dripping; having been soaked in a blurry puddle of drool and spilled cider. He made the weirdest goofy looking smile at her. She groaned miserably. She only hoped he avoided making things worse, at least until she got him out of here and back to the castle.
“Hey it’s princess plum everybody! So nice to sweep ya,” he said groggily. The drunken colt spun his stool around to greet the princess. As he turned, the half-filled cider glass in his hoof spilled out near Twilight’s hooves. “Whoa hey, you made me drink my spill…heh…made me drink my spill.”
Twilight felt completely sunk. Moonstruck was in no condition to talk, at least not until he’s rested for a bit and gotten the cider out of his system. She reached out to help him to his hooves but he collapsed onto the ground. His wobbling hooves barely made contact with Twilight’s before he dropped down, his green hair was matted by the puddles of cider by his stool.
“Oh my gosh! Moonstruck, are you all right?” she asked fearfully.
Moonstruck eyes were half open, half closed. He looked at Twilight as if he was looking at some shimmering mirage in the Saddle Arabian desert.
WHARF!
Gurgling upchucks of green vomit violently blasted into Twilight’s face with the force of an erupting volcano. Her colorful locks were soaked; dripping with half eaten chunks of Moonstruck’s last meal. Twilight’s purple fur and dark hair had taken on several noxious shades of vomit green. The bartender gasped in revulsion. Moonstruck gurgled nosily and collapsed onto the ground, his lips dripping with saliva and more gurgling green goop.
“Oh yes…this is exactly what was missing from my day,” Twilight groaned flatly.
The bartender kindly offered a wet towel for Twilight to clean herself with. She thanked him and started cleaning the puke from her bangs and fur. The bartender then immediately pulled out a large bucket of ice and water and hurled it violently at the fallen Moonstruck. The icy water and frozen cubes struck him like a frozen punch to the jaw. He weakly crawled away from the bartender; sputtering and clutching his throbbing cheek where the bucket struck him. Twilight was stunned by the bartender’s cold blooded behavior.
“How dare you violate the princess you worthless piece of gutter trash!” the bartender snarled.
“HEY, that was totally uncalled for,” Twilight angrily barked.
“You can’t be serious princess, that disgusting creep just barfed all over you. You don’t get more disrespectful than that.”
“You don’t know the first thing about him,” she said with fierce determination. Twilight knew it was because of reactions like this that Moonstruck was under house arrest; despite being pardoned. “Moonstruck was framed. He’s not a killer or a creep or anything like that. He’s actually kind, intelligent and a very honest-”, her voice trailed off before she could finish.
The princess’s eyes widened in alarm, there was a strange sensation altering her senses. It was at this time Twilight realized she hadn’t been keeping an eye on where Moonstruck had gone. The drunken colt was spotted hovering behind Twilight’s flanks, his hooves perversely caressing and kneading the mare’s rump cheeks like dough. Her cheeks flashed a vibrant shade of pink.
Moonstruck laughed wearily in his drunken daze, swaggering lop sided but still maintaining an inappropriately firm grip on those flanks. “I knew it! These things are super, super tight, like off the chain tight. No wonder Moonstruck keeps drooling over these hot buns.”
Twilight grumbled in exasperation. She levitated Moonstruck off the ground; away from his groping distance and scolded him with her disapproving eyes. “Your. Not. Helping!” she said through gritted teeth. She placed him back on the ground and released him from her aura. He blinked dazedly, snorting drunkenly as he wobbled to stay balanced.
“You were saying?” the bartender remarked with a smug, omniscient tone.
“Look, he’s sick from all the drinking. He didn’t mean it. You don’t have to treat him like that, I’m taking him back to the castle to clean the both of us up anyway,” Twilight insisted.
“Pfft, I didn’t know murderers were allowed to stay at the castle,” he grunted under his breath. The bartender started wiping down the counter. Despite his remarks visibly agitating Twilight, he stood by what he said about Moonstruck.
Twilight’s anger was rapidly shifting away from Moonstruck and more towards this fowl mouthed unicorn. It always bothered Twilight, formerly being a unicorn, how the snotty upper class ponies in Canterlot often ended up being unicorns.
“Excuse me, but I believe I already clearly told you that this is my friend your talking about, and more importantly,” she confronted the bartender aggressively, “He was PARDONED by Princess CELESTIA. Moonstruck is 100% innocent and was welcomed to stay at the castle as my guest, as well as a guest of Princess Celestia.”
“Please, every pony knows how good natured and forgiving Celestia is. She probably felt sorry for that slime and took him on as a charity case. Doesn’t mean I believe he’s innocent or that he deserves the kind of cushy treatment you princesses are showering him with,” he said with a sterile, scornful tone. He magically wiped his glasses down with a rag.
“You can expect your payment in the mail, thank you” Twilight said through gritted teeth. She turned to Moonstruck and lifted him onto her back with her magic. The pair of purple ponies slowly started making their way towards the castle.
“You’re too nice for your own good princess. Pardoned or not, if that creep shows up at my business again, I’ll haul his carcass back to Tartarus where he belongs,” he shouted; calling out to Twilight as she and Moonstruck trotted off.
Twilight felt like a taxi service cart. Hauling a drunken friend who had vomited on her, fondled her flanks and caused numerous disruptive incidents with other ponies was not how she wished to spend the day. The dejected princess was hoping to talk things over with Moonstruck about their argument, and hopefully, ease their relationship back into a state of stability; instead of stress and chaos.
“Look Leo…I’m FLYING,” Moonstruck shouted. He stretched his arms out and waved them around in a soaring motion, he started blowing air from his lips to simulate a breeze.
Obviously, that talk Twilight desperately longed for would have to wait until Moonstruck had sobered up after a good night sleep, and after she took a long shower to wash out the bits of puke and bile still stuck in her locks.
Twilight looked up at her nonsense spouting companion. She hated having to wait so long to talk to him. What was even worse, it was a long walk back to the castle and she had to satisfy her curiosity at least a little bit. She contemplated just teleporting back, but she worried the sudden surge of motion sickness would cause Moonstruck to vomit again. “As much as I know how pointless it is to try and talk to a pony when they’re completely plastered, there’s something I need to know and I don’t think it can wait til we get back,” Twilight probed softly.
Moonstruck belched loudly, Twilight visibly groaned. The rank stench of his cider soaked breath nearly caused her to puke as well.
“Back at the cider bar when you were…ahem…behind me…you referred to yourself in the third person. You’ve never done that before, is that something you do when you get drunk like this?” she curiously asked.
“Heh, no-no it’s nothing like that. I ssssssaid that be-because I, good magpie, am not Moonstruck,” he said with a profuse slur.
“Um, if you’re not Moonstruck then who are you?” she said, displaying an unusual, bewildered look on her face.
“I’m B-b-b-Brian. No wait, I’m buddy? Bobby, yes Bebop, no wait, Buggy-ding-dong. No, no, that’s something else,” he mumbled erratically. The colt babbled countless names, each one more nonsensical than the last. Twilight was starting to regret asking him. “Ah ha, now I remember…I think? Yeah, yeah, no, I totally got it this time: my name is Brain! That’s the one, Brain-Brain-Brain,” he said with a newfound sense of vigor and pride.
“Brain…as in Moonstruck’s actual brain?” she asked more loudly than she intended. As ludicrous as this notion sounded, Twilight did faintly remember hearing Moonstruck said he spoke to his brain. Spike claimed he saw him actually doing it when he first met him.
“OH, OH, I just got this great idea: we should totally have our own show!” he announced proudly; boasting as if it were the greatest idea ever spoken aloud. “We’ll be…Twinky and the brain, yes! Were Twinky and the Brain, Twinky and the Brain, one is a genius the other’s…umm…the other is…uhhh…what was the middle part?” his lips wordlessly flapped; trying to remember the next verse of the song. He proceeded to poke Twilight in the cheek, trying to grab her attention.
Twilight’s hair started to frazzle. She could actually feel her hairs splitting from the agonizing idiocy of this conversation.
“Ugh just forget it! This is stupid. All I wanted to know was why stupid Moonstruck left the stupid castle and was getting stupid drunk in the first place…GRAH” she screamed in frustration.
“Oh that’s easy, it’s because he was trying to forget the fact he remembered killing his parents when he was little,” he stated with a surprisingly strong air of certainty.
“He WHAT?!?”
“Hey, let’s do a trust fall. I’ll go first, WHEEE!”
Moonstruck suddenly dropped off Twilight’s back before she could recover from that jarring revelation. He grabbed Twilight’s hair; dragging her down to the ground with him. The ponies rolled on the ground, one yelling frantically while the other laughed like a deranged hyena. The princess shook herself free of any dirt and dust and rushed quickly to the still laughing colt.
“Wheeee…wasn’t that fun, let’s try something else,” he sputtered as his head swayed from side to side.
“Nononononononnono, don’t fade out on me now, I need answers,” she grabbed his face with her hooves. She aligned they’re eyes directly into contact, staring him down. Twilight’s violet irises shimmered with concern. She feared his statement may not have been a drunken delusional one. “Look at me, whoever you are, I need you to look at me and listen very carefully. Is it true, is what you said about Moonstruck killing his parents true?” he stared at her with a goofy, slack jawed smile on his stupefied face. A drunken chuckle was the only answer she received. “Come on Brain, Brian, Brandon err whatever your name is! I really need you to talk to me. This is extremely important, so could you please just pull yourself together for 1 minute and just ANSWER ME?” she shrieked with a frantic shrill in her voice.
“Princess Twilight, oh what perfect timing!”
Twilight was jarred out of focus by a new voice. She backed off of Moonstruck’s body, her mane and feathers were ruffled.
“Yes…perfect timing,” she said crossly under her breath.
The intrusive pony was a faint blue Pegasus with hair that looked like a cluster of puffy white clouds had nested on top of his head. His green eyes twinkled with enthusiastic glee. He adjusted his orange bow tie proudly, gangly legs clamoring forward; like a spider tripping over its 8 limbs.
“Hi there princess, my name is Fluffy Clouds. You may not remember me but I attended the Grand Equestria Pony summit you hosted, and I’ve been positively giddy to get a chance to talk to you in person,” he chirped with a bountiful spring in his step and voice, “you’re my favorite princess of all!” This gangly Pegasus couldn’t have picked a worse time to fan boy over the princess.
“Thank you, that’s very nice of you to say and I hate to come off as rude but, I’ve got a bit of a situation here,” she said; motioning towards Moonstruck lying on the ground. The stressed mare used her magic to lift Moonstruck up by his shoulders; hoisting his right arm over her backside. “So if you could maybe try and come back at another time, I could-”
“Oh don’t be silly princess, I’d be happy to help you out,” he cheerfully interrupted. Fluffy Clouds followed Twilight’s example and propped Moonstruck’s other arm across his backside. He was offensively oblivious to Twilight’s emotional state. The blue Pegasus maintained his peppy demeanor as he helped Twilight carry Moonstruck to the castle, unaware of her irritated mumblings.
“I appreciate the help, really I do, but I think I can manage on my own,” she politely stated with a strained smile. There was no way she could ask Moonstruck about his parents now. She felt trapped; pinned down by two ponies that have no idea how much trouble they’re causing her.
“Oh I’m sure you can, you’re so strong and smart, such a great friend expert. But I don’t mind, really,” he replied.
“No kidding,” she silently griped.
“Besides, this will give us plenty of time to talk along the way. I’ve always valued your opinion and your advice. I actually had a few ideas of my own that I think could help improve your image,” he commented.
Twilight almost stopped in her tracks. She looked at the chatty Pegasus with a raised eyebrow, she wasn’t aware she had an image problem.
He laughed jauntily, waving his hooves to alleviate her confusion. “Oh no, no, it’s not that there’s anything wrong per say with your image, which would imply it’s something you’re doing wrong and that is SO not the case. No, it more has to do with others who are affecting your image. Dragging you down one might say,” he said in his casual, yet babbling tone.
“You don’t say?” she replied in a low, frosty tone. Twilight didn’t like where this was going. She tried focusing on her task, hoping to tune out Fluffy’s rambling before it touched any nerves. The two winged ponies continued on their way.
“Perfect example: what we’re doing right now. I recognize this guy from Celestia’s announcement and all those wanted posters. Now, I don’t mean to impose, you are the princess after all so obviously; you make all the calls,” Fluffy’s voice had a twinge of pompousness to it; it seemed to increase the more he talked. “But I personally think hanging around with an ex-con is a real bad PR stunt. Sure, Celestia pardoned him, but I don’t think I’d want to be friends with someone who was accused of murder and grand theft.”
Twilight’s forehead sprouted a small vein over her temple. The vein pulsated every time the yakking Pegasus mentioned Moonstruck. She struggled to maintain her bubbling temper from rising to the surface, but the more he spoke, the harder it clawed at insides like a snarling Timber wolf.
“I mean look at him: he’s grungy, scary looking, got that ultra-creepy cutie mark. He’s not the kind of pony you should be friends with. I get the chills just looking at him,” he paused then chuckled mildly; realizing how that must sound. “But don’t worry; I’ll still help you bring him back. And besides, someone who’s been at the bottom as long as he has probably needs all the help he can get.”
Just keep your cool Twilight, keep your cool. You’ve ready plenty of books about relaxation mantras, breathing techniques. He doesn’t realize how this is affecting you. Just keep on walking and ignore him. Words are just that, words, you can’t let what some pony else says get you all bent out of shape.
“Speaking of help, I really think you should consider finding someone a bit more qualified to help you than that screw up dragon assistant,” he said with a speck of disdain in his voice. Fluffy Clouds spoke as if he were implying Spike the dragon was a nagging flea under his fur.
Twilight flinched. The vein on her forehead grew bigger and was pulsating much faster. She kept her teeth tightly clenched.
“I mean, I know he apologized for the summit meeting, but seriously, he had no business being in charge of anything. Lying to me and the fellow other delegates? Abusing his non-existent power? That dragon had no idea what he was doing and there was no reason we should have been taking advice from some dragon like him, not when we have a perfectly fabulous princess like you,” he scoffed briskly. “Botching that summit meeting like that was one boneheaded move if you ask me.”
“Oh will you just SHUT UP?!?” Twilight snapped thunderously.
Twilight’s destructive outburst sent a shockwave of silence across Fluffy Cloud’s face. Time seemed to freeze at this very moment. Everyone’s attention was unmistakably drawn to the now-public scene. Not a soul in Canterlot could say they had ever seen Twilight act that way before.
Moonstruck grunted nosily, his body stirring anemically. Twilight and Fluffy Clouds both released the drunken colt with a sudden drop.
“P-p-p-p-p-princess, I just…did I say something wrong?” Fluffy squeaked frightfully.
“I have been standing here, listening to you bad mouth two of my closest friends; one of which is LITERALLY right in front of you, and you’re actually asking me if you said something WRONG?”
“But I just-”
“I don’t know how many times I have to say it: Moonstruck. Is. Innocent! He was pardoned for crimes he never committed, yet nearly every pony I walk by still treats and looks at him like yesterday’s trash. Would YOU like it if you got locked up in Tartarus for 2 years for something you didn’t do, then get released and be hounded and harassed; to the point you don’t even want to come out in public anymore?”
“Well, no of course I-”
“And ANOTHER thing…that bonehead dragon is more than just my assistant; I took him in and raised him, which technically makes him my son. The only reason he made a mess of the summit is because he was trying to give me some peace and quiet so I could sleep and took it too far. You have no idea what kind of heartaches he’s gone through. Yet you stand here, flapping your mouth; talking about him like he’s some great, big disappointment that is embarrassing my image? Are you KIDDING ME?!?”
“B-b-b-b-but princess, I had no idea he was-er, I mean. I was only trying-”
“DON’T! Don’t try, don’t give advice, don’t ‘fix’ my image, and most importantly, don’t you EVER, EVER insult Moonstruck or my son in front of me again!”
Fluffy Clouds turned bluer than his usual shade. He whimpered and trembled all over like a frightened poodle, slowly he nodded in response; too crippled by fear to form any coherent words.
After panting heavily and snorting a few puffs of smoke from her nostrils, Princess Twilight soon realized the alarmingly large crowd she had attracted. Dozens of ponies stood in awe; gawking with judgmental glares at the incident. Even the chirping birds and squeaking squirrels stopped to observe what all the commotion was about.
Twilight didn’t think it was possible, but now she felt even worse than she did before. She levitated her intoxicated friend and draped his body over her back. “Sigh…that train leaving for Ponyville better get here soon,” she muttered miserably.
In a flash of purple light, Twilight teleported herself and Moonstruck back to the castle.
END FLASHBACK
Rarity stared lifelessly out the window, watching the scenery zoom past her dreary, diamond blue eyes in a shapeless blur. Anything she could make out just bored or mortified her. Dull colored barns passed by, ponies working in the tackiest, most unflattering clothing she ever laid her eyes on. She despised watching such fashion abominations. It was like watching a gallon of grape juice being dumped onto a pristine white wedding dress. Rarity cringed at the thought; causing shudders to ripple all the way down to her perfectly brushed purple tail. As much as the scenery caused her to go blind with boredom, it was better than acknowledging the large elephant in the room.
Or more accurately, acknowledging the small dragon in the room.
Rarity and Spike had not spoken to each other since they got on the train. Twilight didn’t have a clue what happened. Neither told her very much about what happened and neither one wanted to say another word on the subject. When she asked them about it, Spike told her he was “fine” and Rarity put on a fake smile and changed the subject. Twilight overheard brief sounds of what sounded like an argument coming from one of their rooms, but it never lasted long enough for to her to make out what was being said.
Twilight hated seeing them like this, especially after Spike told her how much progress the two of them had made. Spike was sitting next to Twilight and Rarity was on the opposing seat. The purple mare opened her mouth to say something to break the suffocating tension between the two of them, but she decided against it and closed her mouth instead.
THUMP!
The train caused a sudden bump throughout the cars. One of Rarity’s hoof bags in the overhead compartment dropped down and spilled open. She quickly levitated all of the contents back into the maroon colored, Kate Saddle designer bag…all except one.
It was Toplofty’s business card.
The wealthy business tycoon gave her this card after they finished lunch; he wanted her to contact him when she decided if she wanted to expand her “Carousel” line into his company. She stared at it with a bittersweet frown. It amazed the mare how such a small rectangle of paper could cause her simultaneous joy and misery over her future.
Rarity rested her horn against the window and sighed; closing her eyes. Her mind drifted to her luncheon with Toplofty.
FLASHBACK
The restaurant was bustling with lively laughter. Toplofty certainly knew how to find others of his kind when he wanted to. Their table was surrounded by the richest, snootiest, most pretentious high society members in Canterlot. Toplofty spoke and a dozen heads nodded or laughed in agreement with everything he said. Rarity hesitantly followed along, too fearful and anxious to jeopardize her potential connections to Toplofty by making waves.
She knew she was acting like a spineless ‘yes’ pony, but the opportunities before her were too grand to miss out on because of pride.
“So Rarity, tell me honestly, it’s everything you hoped for…isn’t it?” he boasted smugly.
“W-w-w-why yes, yes it is. Having my designs featured in your stores, in your hotels, to have so many new venues and connections available to me,” she paused to take a breath. Rarity’s hind legs trembled with excitement. She grabbed them with her fore legs, forcing herself to sit still and stay focused. “It’s a dream come true Toplofty. My name would become a household name right alongside other household names, it’s-it’s everything I ever dreamed of, everything I hoped for.”
“It’s most certainly a once in a lifetime deal gorgeous. You’d be rubbing elbows with the most luxurious ponies on a daily basis, ponies that can take your name and spread it farther across Equestria than you ever could alone. It takes years for designers to even get a meeting with me, you hot stuff; you’ll be doing business with me in months,” he said with a thrilling, hypnotic growl.
The red haired, pompous pony wagged his eyebrows at the conflicted unicorn. She tried to speak but was abruptly cut off by the odious advances from her two least favorite lemmings in all of Equestria: Jet Set and Upper Crust. Jet Set lined up a colossal, triple layer hot fudge sundae to the left of Rarity; it was topped with an imported, gourmet cherry; glistening like a ruby. Upper Crust had already refilled Rarity’s iced tea and served an even larger sized glass to the right of her.
Rarity felt like she was being asked to sign away her soul. All these generous offers, all these luxurious gifts, everything she dreamed of was being dangled in front of by the ponies who represent everything she loathes. But at the same time, putting up with Jet Set and Upper Crust just might be worth it if Toplofty can spread her business across Equestria like wildfire.
“All you gotta do is sign Rarity. One flick of a pen and your one woman show will be the hottest ticket in town, you’ll be getting orders from Saddle Arabia to Griffin Stone,” he smiled dashingly. Rarity gulped loudly, her eyes nervously darted between the obnoxious smiles of the pompous unicorn couple and Toplofty’s enveloping grin. “When ponies think of me, they’ll be thinking of you” he said temptingly, sliding a contract and pen forward.
I’d be able to become a success within a matter of months! Ponies across the country would be wearing my creations. I’d be the envious star of fashion designers everywhere. My two shops? Ha! I’d have chains of shops in every one of Toplofty’s hotels, my name could literally be everywhere, Rarity thought to herself.
The adrenaline of such possibilities fueled her like a surge of electricity. Rarity’s blue aura slowly covered the pen, she couldn’t hold the pen straight without it shaking and wobbling in midair. Sweat dribbled off the unicorn’s perfectly trimmed eyebrows as she sized up the contract.
“Miss Rarity, what a splendid surprise!”
The fashionista snapped back to the world of living thanks to that familiar voice. Rarity curiously turned her head towards the stallion that had greeted her; hoping to identify him. Her smile widened, the owner of that voice caused a great deal of stress to be alleviated from her body almost instantly. It was a unicorn. He had white fur, blue hair and moustache, blue rimmed monocle, black suit, gold cuffs and a purple tie.
“Why Fancy Pants, fancy meeting you here,” Rarity said; giggling teasingly.
“Ah Rarity, Rarity, my good friend,” he happily hugged the fashionista and released. Fancy Pants always knew his day would improve whenever he saw Rarity. To him, she was the perfect blend of the best parts of countryside ponies and Canterlot ponies; minus their unpleasant attributes. “I knew once I heard Spike was seen in town that you couldn’t be far behind, or one of your charmingly rustic pony friends,” he commented.
Fancy Pants curiously examined the company hovering over Rarity, like a pack of suit wearing vultures. The stallion’s smile wilted like a dying flower. He felt like someone had just spit in his tea, Jet Set and Upper Crust’s appearances clearly perturbed him.
“Such a pleasure to see you again old boy, isn’t it dear?” Jet Set said cheerfully, nudging his wife enthusiastically.
“Oh absolutely smashing honey. We’ve been trying to meet up with you for weeks now, you always seem to be out and about whenever were trying to pencil something in with you,” Upper Crust added.
“Apparently the concept of avoidance has eluded your powers of comprehension,” Fancy said dryly. The blue haired unicorn had made it scathingly clear how he felt about these two many times. Though clearly, they failed to get the message.
Jet Set and Upper Crust both burst into laughter. Their wailing voices grated on Fancy and Rarity’s ears, they cringed visibly. “Oh Fancy Pants, always the classy comedian,” Upper Crust wheezed; trying to hold back her laughter, “where do you come up with such dashing and witty remarks?”
“Real life inspiration,” he replied sarcastically. Toplofty rolled up the scroll and took back his pen, levitating a business card for Rarity to use when she made up her mind about signing. Fancy Pants raised a suspicious eyebrow to the pin suit wearing pony, his image reflecting dimly in the monocle. “Toplofty…I must say I’m quite surprised,” he said.
“Surprised with what?” Toplofty asked.
“Well, I knew you swam in their dingy little pond,” Fancy Pants motioned towards the ignorant unicorn couple, “but I didn’t know you were sampling from purer bodies of water as well,” he said; referring to Rarity.
“Oh she and I are just straightening out a few juicy details, mapping some groundwork for a beautiful friendship. Friendship is magic after all,” he chortled gloatingly. Fancy Pants felt like his ears needed a thorough washing after hearing such a loathsome abuse of the term. “This deal is going to make the town start talking. I tell ya, It’s gonna be huge, gloriously huge. You should stop by the office sometime, bring that tasty piece you call a wife. I’ll roll out the red carpet, the gold cups; the works. I’d love to work with you on something,” he babbled pompously.
Fancy Pants felt his cheeks burn with a scorching shade of red. If he wasn’t a proper gentleman, he’d gladly do something most unpleasant to that ghoulish swine for speaking of his wife in such deplorable terms. “As always Toplofty, our time together has been a most unforgettably egregious experience…another time perhaps,” he whispered scathingly to the putrid waste of flesh and fur.
Blissfully ignorant of Fancy Pants verbal jabs, Toplofty shook his hoof vigorously and left the restaurant. Jet Set and Upper Crust flashed sheep like smiles towards Fancy Pants as they followed suit.
The dapper unicorn sighed with relief the moment the obnoxious unicorns had left. Rarity could sense Fancy was uncomfortable in this particular crowd, even after Toplofty and the others had left. She wished to catch up with her friend outside; motioning for him to follow her out.
Rarity always admired Fancy Pants. He was such a well-regarded figure in Canterlot, always treated with the utmost class and respect. Fancy was invited to all the best parties and classiest of events. No party was worth attending if Fancy Pants wasn’t going to make an appearance. Yet despite all of the social power he wielded, he never treated those that were less fortunate than him any different. It was thanks to him that Rarity had become a part of so many elite circles when she was in Canterlot for Twilight’s birthday. Fancy Pants was the image of class and dignity that she wished the rest of Canterlot would live up to.
“So glad we have a moment to talk, just the two of us,” Rarity exhaled.
“Yes, I’ve missed our talks. Pardon my intrusion into your private business Miss Rarity, but I would advise you to reconsider making any bargains with that Toplofty character,” Fancy warned.
Rarity tilted her head curiously at his advice. She could sense Toplofty certainly wasn’t his cup of tea, nor was he hers for that matter. The way he spoke so flippantly about his wife was most disgraceful. Still, she knew that sacrifices were needed to make it ahead in business, perhaps Toplofty is the last sacrifice she would have to make in order to succeed. “Why do you say that? I agree that he’s not the most dignified of stallions, but he’s also one of the most successful and well connected ponies in Canterlot. With his resources, my fashions could be marketed across Equestria and-”
“Yes, yes I know” he politely interrupted, “I perfectly understand the business side of the arrangement; especially for one such as you who is looking to expand.” Few Canterlot ponies know what it’s like to build something up from nothing, but Fancy Pants knows. Over the years she’s known him, she’s shared her struggles and plans for expanding her “Carousel” line with him. It was thanks to Fancy Pants’s assistance she was able to find a proper location for Canterlot Carousel.
“Then why would you suggest I not do business with him?” she asked.
“Let’s just say what you’d lose would be far greater than anything you’d gain by working with him,” he gravely clarified. Rarity didn’t fully understand but admitted she would give the deal a bit more thought now. “Anyways, enough of that unpleasant matter, as much as I enjoy talking to you I’m afraid I was searching for someone other than your lovely self,” he said.
“Oh really, who?”
“Your scaly friend Spike, actually. As I said, I heard some ponies claim they saw him around this area and I was hoping I could speak to him,” he stated. The dapper colt started to look towards the restaurant windows, searching for any signs of him. “Is he in the bathroom by chance?”
“Oh uh no, actually, he’s not with me he’s back at the castle,” Rarity said stumblingly. She further explained that Spike was with her but he went back to the castle before she had lunch.
“Oh drat, well that’s unfortunate.”
“If I may Fancy Pants, I was wondering if you could tell me why you needed to speak to Spike in the first place,” she added curiously.
Her question invoked a shameful, dreary look on the stallion’s charming face. He looked at the ground, sighing heavily. Fancy Pants was always the picture of sophistication and grace to Rarity, yet now, he looked like he was sulking; like a foal that had been caught doing something his parents would disapprove of.
“I wanted to apologize to him for my ghastly behavior at the Grand Equestria Pony summit. Even if young Spike did get too carried away with his duties, my behavior was uncivilized and appalling,” he confessed solemnly. The shameful unicorn finally mustered the courage to look Rarity in the eye. “I dare say I wasn’t myself that day, none of us were. Everything about that incident was just handled poorly and for that, I wanted to apologize.”
“Oh darling, that’s so terribly sweet and noble of you. I know Spike will be touched once he hears it,” Rarity said adoringly.
“I say, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get roped into lunch with the likes of Toplofty and those other two finks?” he asked.
“They ran into me while I was out and mentioned Toplofty’s name. I was shocked that they were associates of his and couldn’t deny my curiosity, that’s when Toplofty himself appeared. He invited me to lunch, discussed future business plans and then…here we are,” she answered cheerfully.
“So then did Spike eat earlier by chance? Is that why he didn’t choose to eat lunch with you and the others?”
Rarity felt a spark of tension in her throat, like something seized up inside of her. She doesn’t know why but she suddenly felt hesitant to continue discussing this subject. Fancy Pants was most perplexed by her erratic shifting. “Well um…actually…no y-y-you see we were both actually about to go to lunch when they approached us. It’s just that,” she bit her lip and tried to form the right words, “he seemed uncomfortable by Toplofty’s company so…he went back…alone.”
Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow. He was unsettled by her answer, questioning it almost. Rarity felt like she was being interrogated inside a stone prison cell. She never felt that way around him before, why was she feeling it now?
“He seemed uncomfortable? How do you know for sure, did you ask him what was wrong?”
Again, Rarity felt anxiety strike her; like pin pricks down the edges of her spine. His questions were making her increasingly uneasy.
“W-w-w-well no, n-n-not exactly, you see I was already heading into the restaurant with Jet Set and Upper Crust and Toplofty seemed to take it upon himself to talk to Spike,” she replied nervously.
“So you let Toplofty talk to your close friend about his problem, while you went into a restaurant and then Spike went back…by himself?” he quipped; seeking confirmation from her.
Rarity weakly nodded.
“I see,” he said in a dry tone. The colt’s long silences caused Rarity to break into a nervous sweat. She didn’t understand or like this one little bit. Why was telling the truth making her feel like she was some shifty character in a Shadow Spade novel? “Did Toplofty give you any indication of how Spike was feeling after their little chat?” he asked intrusively.
For a moment Rarity went blank. During the entire luncheon, she can’t remember Toplofty once mentioning how things went with Spike. She at least asked him about Spike, didn’t she? For the life of the beautiful mare, she couldn’t remember!
“Ye-no…no he didn’t actually. I can’t recall him saying anything about how Spike was feeling,” Rarity admitted; looking slightly horrified by this realization.
“Tell me my dear, what were you and Spike doing at the time they approached you for lunch?”
“We were actually shopping…together…w-w-w-we agreed to spend the um…the uh,” Rarity gulped loudly. She found it unnervingly difficult to make her lips speak the next word. “Day…the day…we agreed to spend the day…together” she finished in an empty whisper. The fashionista felt like her face had gone even whiter than normal.
“So let me see if I can sort all this out: you and Spike promised to spend the entire day together; shopping and having lunch, but instead of having your planned lunch with him, you went to an impromptu lunch with Jet Set and Upper Crust and Toplofty. You knew something may have been bothering him, so you allowed Toplofty to speak to him instead, but you didn’t find out if he was all right when he went back to the castle…alone…no doubt carrying all of your purchases back with him. I believe that about sums it up?” he asked shrewdly.
Rarity felt a cold draft breeze through her body, yet there wasn’t a chill to be felt for miles. Fancy Pants question froze her colder than the blizzard she experienced during King Sombra’s return. She wanted to answer, she desperately, achingly, longingly wanted to answer…but she couldn’t. The question wounded her heart and silenced her voice. Perhaps she could answer but she did not want to, perhaps she was numbingly terrified of saying aloud; the one thing she didn’t want to admit: she abandoned Spike.
Her eyes watered slightly. The realization of her actions struck her like a sucker punch, and yet, it was a blow she should have expected. The mare placed a hoof to her face. Rarity held her cheek as it were made of glass, fearful a dark, gruesome seam would open up and spill out all the pain and shame she thought brewed inside of her. “Oh sweet Celestia…I…I can’t believe I did that,” she paused to gasp for air, “No I c-c-couldn’t, I didn’t, I wouldn’t have…but I did, it was right there in front of my face and I ignored it…I ignored him…what kind of friend am I?”
Fancy Pants opened his mouth to speak but the mare was too fast and too frantic to let him finish. Her hooves grabbed at his luxurious vest, shaking him as if all the answers to her problems would fall out if she rattled him hard enough. “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO FANCY PANTS?!? I have to fix this, I have to fix what’s wrong with me,” she pleaded.
“What’s wrong with you? Miss Rarity, I don’t-”
“Something terrible is happening to me. I would have never done this to Spikey Wikey, he’s my closest and dearest friend. I think there’s something vile and rotten inside of me and I don’t know what it is or how it got there,” she said breathlessly.
The dapper colt used his magic to calm Rarity down. She snapped out of her irrational state, shaking her head and breathing heavily to calm her frazzled nerves. The overwhelming panic surging in her was reduced to a simmering spark; minimized but still there. The frantic chills in her voice indicated to Fancy that there were far more demons drilling doubt into her mind than she realized. He knew she needed to speak to Spike to truly settle this matter, but neither one saw that ending well unless some time for contemplation and decompression took place first.
“It is not my place to tell you what choices you must make or who you choose to keep in your circles Miss Rarity,” her face withered in sorrow at hearing this, “However, setting my personal feelings for your most recent endeavors aside, it is clear to me that the best thing for you now is to take a good, long, hard look at where your priorities in life are taking you.” She nodded slowly. He approached her and placed a friendly hoof upon her shoulder. “You’ve taken steps today that put in motion a new path for you. While many paths lay before you, you are only one who can decide if this path is the best one for you, or if you should return to your old one,” he said.
“But what about Spike, does choosing my career path mean I have to leave him behind…or…do I stay on my old path just because of my guilt?” she pleaded achingly. Her voice trembled slightly.
He suspected there was something more to her desire to stay with Spike other than just guilt, but as he said, it is not his place to make life decisions for her.
“Every decision has a consequence. No matter which path you choose, someone will end up being pushed aside. In the end you have to decide which pain you can live with and which path will be worth that pain,” he said soothingly.
END FLASHBACK
Spike lazily flipped through the pages of his Power Ponies comic book. He kept the book high enough that Rarity was kept completely out of sight. The young drake had no desire to see her or speak to her, and judging by the closed off; frigid like stance of her body language, she had nothing to say to him either.
He hated this, he hated every moment of this seemingly endless misery they were stewing in.
The next page he flipped featured Radiance and Hum Drum wielding energy construct swords, fending off the lashing tendrils from the Mane-iac’s mane. The scene made his heart swell with fondness for the two masked heroes. They looked so fierce, so powerful; so close.
It’s not like they were romantically close though. Spike had secretly desired the two heroes would be more than teammates, to love one another as he loved his own dreamy mare of ivory perfection. Superheroes rarely get the girl. Even after becoming one when he and his friends were sucked into that comic book universe, he knew even as a successful hero he wasn’t going to get the girl.
The dragon loved super hero stories. They’re so simple: good vs. evil, good guys and girls rescuing others from bad guys and girls. Things were easy to understand, something bad happens and the good guys make sure the bad ponies pay for what they did. Comics were an easy way to un-complicate life’s many stressors.
Real life was always complicated…Rarity was always complicated.
He hated how she made him feel that day, it was one of the worst feelings he ever experienced, and the fact the pony of his dreams made him feel this way made the pain feel all the more worse. Why can’t things be simple like in his comic? Why can’t someone love someone else without it turning into a great big mess? Rarity did something horrible. She hurt him, only the bad guys were supposed to hurt you like that. But she’s not a bad guy. She’s Rarity; the Rarity, and now he didn’t know how he was supposed to feel about her or how she feels about him anymore.
Spike sighed and slumped in his seat. His scaly claws limply flipping another page, the drake’s emerald eyes drooped drearily across the panels.
Why can’t life be more like the Power Ponies life? He thought wistfully. They knew what was right and they knew what was wrong, they would have never done something like this to each other. No matter how bad things get, no matter how hard life dumps on them; they always stay loyal to each other. They’d never toy with each other’s hearts like that. That’s not honorable, that’s not something a hero does. That’s why they have a code.
FLASHBACK
Spike and Rarity sat comfortably at a small table; perfectly positioned at the window inside her private room at Canterlot castle. The pair sipped from their royal porcelain cups; enjoying a comforting cup of tea. Luna’s night sky glittered majestically in the window view.
“So, we’re really gonna spend the whole day together tomorrow?” Spike asked, struggling to contain his excitement.
“Absolutely darling, just the two of us. All I have to do is make a quick stop at Canterlot Carousel to see how things are doing, pick up my order for Sapphire Shores and drop it off. After that, it’ll be you and me enjoying everything the boardwalk has to offer,” Rarity cheerfully beamed.
Spike felt a heavenly glow warming his heart. He always got this glow whenever he and Rarity had some alone time, it was precious time that he always cherished. To some pony else, it probably sounded strange; getting so excited just to go shopping. The young drake believed every activity that involved Rarity was special. Twilight once read one of Rarity’s steamy romance novels that she had loaned to her. She nitpicked it to death and couldn’t stop complaining about the inaccuracies and improbabilities with the book’s plot points, but still, there was one line she mentioned that stuck with Spike.
“Love means finding someone, someone who you want to do the boring stuff with, and treat those mundane activities like they’re the most precious moments of your life.”
The diminutive dragon didn’t understand what that meant when Twilight first read it. In fact, many of the girls, his mom included; often told Spike he didn’t know what love was or how it really felt. But after thinking about how he felt during his first date with Rarity and during all the other times they spent together, he thinks he finally understands it.
If that’s what love is, than Spike’s known about love longer than any of his friends had.
“Spike, is everything all right darling?” she sweetly asked.
Spike shook his head, staring sheepishly at his rippling reflection in the tea nestled in his claws. He laughed and waved his claw at her dismissively. “Yeah, everything’s fine, nothing bad or anything like that,” he assured her.
“What were you thinking about if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I was…its silly actually but…I was just thinking how nice things have been going between us,” Rarity tilted her head to the side. Spike nervously tried to clarify his meaning, instantly remembering things were still delicate between the two of them. “Oh uh I mean just that, it-it’s nice that we’ve been able to do things, t-t-together, just us and have everything go so well. I mean, I was so scared to ask you out, and then you said yes and now were here, in Canterlot; having tea and g-g-going to spend the day together, it’s really awesome,” he said, rambling anxiously.
Rarity paused before speaking, the realization of his words slowly dawning on her. Her face wrinkled as if she was struggling to remember something, like a dream that drifted in and out of her memory. “Yes…I suppose things have been going well,” she said cautiously.
The snow white mare didn’t know why she said that in such an odd way, her voice seemed like it was searching for the appropriate tone to emphasize. She hadn’t been thinking of their “relationship” in that sense. However, it wasn’t a surprise Spike was seeing things the way he’s seeing them. She hadn’t declined Spike’s flickering advances, nor had she clarified or reworded the implication of their little meetings to mean something else.
Did she even want to change things? Was she getting used to the idea of actually dating Spike, as in, a real, boyfriend/girlfriend relationship? And if she was…did she want to stop it or see where it goes?
Rarity’s noticeable silence caused Spike to sweat profusely. Awkward silences were never a good thing to let linger, no matter what the situation. He quickly shook his arms in the air to break her out of her pondering trance. “B-b-b-b-but don’t worry, I’m not like in a rush to er uh rush things or anything, really! I’m perfectly happy with the way things are going,” Rarity showed mild signs of relaxation, “And-and I don’t want you to think I would try anything to go to the next level…whatever that would be,” he said, scratching his head idly.
The mare looked at him with a dry, disbelieving look. She was well aware how hard he had tried to woo her in the past. Her single, elevated eyebrow caused Spike to laugh nervously
“No, really, I mean it! It would go totally against my dragon code, and every pony knows you don’t EVER break dragon code,” he proudly declared. The dragon flashed his poorly drawn dragon code card, displaying it like a badge of honor.
Despite the childish craftsmanship, Rarity loved seeing that scribbly little card. She knows how important the code is to Spike. His dedication to that code was one of the many things she admired about him, that and the fact he was such a wonderful little helper; so quick to please and assist. Rarity often wished stallions had something like Spike’s dragon code to live by. Treating women fairly and respectfully, fulfilling your debts and being loyal to the very end; those are the qualities of a fine, upstanding noble stallion. That is the kind of stallion she could easily fall for.
She almost laughed at the irony of the situation. All her life she’s searched for the perfect man to embody those honorable qualities, and yet, they had existed right in front of her eyes all this time…in the form of a purple and green dragon. “I never doubted your devotion Spikey Wikey, to me or your code,” she said assuredly.
Spike sighed with relief. The young drake placed his card back and resumed drinking his tea, careful not to slurp in front of a lady.
“Actually, now that you mention it, there is something I’ve always wanted to ask you about your dragon code,” she mused curiously.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” he asked, placing his cup back on the table.
“Why did you create the dragon code Spike? Based on what little experience we had with the dragons, it’s highly unlikely any of them devised a similar system,” she theorized, rubbing her ankle with her hoof. The dragon was momentarily puzzled by her curious question. “Why did you feel the need to give yourself these rules that you follow so unquestionably?”
Spike didn’t respond at first. His emerald eyes shimmered in the rippling waves of his tea cup’s contents, his claws stirring the tea with a small spoon. “Remember how I told you guys I didn’t know who my parents were, or if I had any siblings or where I really came from?” he said in a meek, wavering tone.
Rarity nodded in reply.
“Even though I’m a dragon, everything I know comes from ponies: manners, school, books; everything I am I am because of ponies,” he calmly explained. “Without any information on dragons or their culture, I didn’t have anything that tied me to where I came from…wherever that is. I wanted to have something that was…mine, something that belonged to me and no one else.”
His eyes intensified, staring at the tea as if it were a roaring flame housing his destiny in its fiery core. Rarity could hear a stronger sense of focus in his voice. Spike spoke as if he was declaring his existence to the world, marking his territory on the world with only his words and his passion.
It was frightfully moving to watch. She felt her heart flutter as he spoke; the fire in his words bathed her in a warm and loving glow that made her cheeks turn pink.
“Dragons are usually the bad guys in most stories. I thought if…if I could make something to live by, some kind of goal or code of honor to follow, maybe I could show other ponies that not all dragons strive to be greedy and mean,” he laughed sheepishly; rubbing the back of his head. “I know it sounds stupid but, having a code makes me feel like I have some kind of past. I feel like I have something that makes me…me. It’s something I made for myself by myself. It’s not a pony thing, it’s not a dragon thing; I guess you could call it a uh…Spike thing.”
“I don’t think it’s stupid at all Spikey Wikey, in fact,” Rarity leaned forward, batting her eyes flirtatiously at him. Spike felt his heart leap into his throat. His face looked warm enough you could fry an egg on it, hypnotized by the angel in purple curls inches away from his face. “I think it’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Rarity kissed Spike’s forehead. The sweet scent of jasmine filling up his nostrils, his forehead tingling from the more than noticeable lipstick mark she left. Spike nearly collapsed face first into his tea, he grappled the table and quickly positioned himself back upright; cursing how easily he was reduced to goo. Rarity giggled and smiled tenderly to the fumbling dragon. She always found his nervousness to be the epitome of cuteness.
“T-t-t-t-t-thanks Rarity, I’ve never actually told any pony about this. Well, besides Twilight of course,” he said; chuckling innocently.
“I feel honored darling,” she replied courteously.
END FLASHBACK
Spike returned to the present, a look of dismal disappointment wilting his scales. Try as he might, he couldn’t understand how his day with Rarity turned into such a miserable nightmare. It was like that night drinking tea with her was the last time Spike would see the Rarity he loved.
What happened? Why did she have to go back to all of her bad habits? I thought she learned not to do this stuff anymore…or maybe it’s just with me. Oh Rarity. Why can’t we go back to that night drinking tea, why can’t we stay there and not be here…where everything hurts.
SCREECH!
The dragon’s wistful thoughts were violently derailed by the train’s brakes shrieking, the grinding metal sounded like some sort of demonic howling. Twilight, Rarity and everyone else on the train were simultaneously jarred out of their doings by the sudden halt. The train had arrived at Ponyville station.
As ponies piled out, Twilight, Rarity and Spike were among the last ones to exit the train car. The ride had done nothing to ease the trouble thoughts swirling in the trio’s mind, nor prepared them for the inevitable questioning from their friends on how their time in Canterlot was. Twilight already noticed her friends had gathered at the station, waiting to greet them as they always do.
She spotted Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Hopeful Romantic and Rainbow Dash from the window. Twilight took notice of two unusual traits surrounding Applejack and Dash: AJ looked especially snuggly with Hopeful, whereas Rainbow looked tense and ragged; Arrowhead was noticeably absent from her side.
What happened while they were away?
The trio reluctantly made their way to the platform, slowly exiting with as little haste as possible. The moment their hooves touched the ground they were showered by a sudden burst of confetti. Pinkie Pie’s party cannon unleashed a hurricane of streamers, confetti and other colorful decorations over the trio.
“WELCOME BACK TO PONYVILLE PARTY! I’ve been planning this party ever since you guys left. And of course, what’s a party without cake?” the party mare enthusiastically beamed. She reached into her poofy, pink mane and pulled out a medium sized vanilla custard cake; several bits of pink hair poked out of the cake’s layers like frizzy springs. “Nothing beats hair cake!”
Try as they might, Rarity, Twilight and Spike could not present anything but sour moods towards Pinkie’s sweet gesture. Pinkie blinked in surprise at her friend’s lackluster reaction to her festively warm welcome.
“I hope you all had a wonderful time in Canterlot,” Fluttershy sheepishly interjected, her shy yet sweet smile ever present. “So, how did everything go? That is if you don’t mind me asking.”
Applejack, Hopeful, Pinkie and Fluttershy looked more than delighted to hear their friend’s news. Rainbow Dash was struggling to withhold her urgent news regarding Twilight’s mentor and Spitfire’s imprisonment. She didn’t want to rush Twilight with such a tall order just seconds after arriving.
“It would be most un-lady like to discuss such a matter,” Rarity said briskly.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Twilight dryly replied.
“Ditto,” Spike said flatly.
The dreary responses left the gathered ponies speechless. Twilight, Rarity and Spike’s behavior was most perplexing, they spoke as if someone or something had sucked all the fun and joy out of their spirits. Fluttershy meekly tried to approach Twilight for further questioning, her face riddled with concern.
“B-b-b-but Twilight, what could have-”
“Enough chit chatting already, I got a full on EMERGENCY GOING ON HERE!”
Rainbow’s outburst enveloped the pony’s attention like a black hole. Twilight was quickly brought up to speed with everything that had happened with Princess Celestia, the theft of the Phoenix Gauntlet and the incarceration of Captain Spitfire. Alarmed by this startling revelation, Twilight and Rainbow blasted off into the sky to try and remedy the situation.
Appearing even more sullen and disengaged after Twilight’s departure, Spike and Rarity silently made their way back to their respective homes. Neither one of them looked at the other as they walked off. Fluttershy and the other remaining ponies were left clueless as to what had just transpired.
“Goodness, Twilight, Rarity and Spike looked so sad and gloomy. I wonder what happened to them,” Fluttershy said nervously.
“I’ll say, it must have been something pretty awful if they didn’t want to try out my vanilla custard hair cake,” Pinkie said worriedly. The party pony chomped into her neglected pastry. Her sour frown quickly turned into a smile after munching a few swallows of the cake down, bits of hair poking between her teeth.
Applejack and Hopeful looked at each other. The two ponies shrugged and decided now was as good a time as any, they motioned for Fluttershy and Pinkie to turn their attention towards them.
“Well…on a more positive note, the fair maiden and I are dating,” Hopeful announced; trying to sound positive and upbeat.
Fluttershy and Pinkie squealed with an unbridled surge of joy, their hearts and spirits soaring at the wonderful news. Pinkie jubilantly offered them the remaining pieces of hair cake to the happy couple. AJ and Hopeful looked uneasily at the tasteless looking treat and politely declined.
Applejack smiled tenderly at Hopeful’s pride in announcing their courtship, but she knew it was no time to celebrate. She looked intensely at her friends and tried to bring things back into a more serious perspective. “All right, all right, ya’ll are mighty kind but we got more important work to do. We gotta figure out what’s goin’ on with our friends lickety split,” the orange mare rubbed her chin ponderingly, “Ah wonder if it has anythin’ to do with old Moonstruck.”
“Did you see how grim they all looked? They didn’t look like they wanted to talk to each other, much less us,” Hopeful commented.
“I think it would be best if we gave them some time to relax and maybe try asking them nicely again later,” Fluttershy suggested. “I’m especially worried about poor Dashie. This whole thing with Spitfire has made her so miserable; she even broke up with Arrowhead over it.” Fluttershy looked solemnly into the sky, her thoughts drifting to her heartbroken fellow Pegasus. “I know Twilight can help her better than we can, but I just can’t help worrying about her.”
“What if we threw a HUGE party and invite every pony to it, but in faaaaact, we just invite Celestia, Twilight, Rainbow, Arrowhead and Spitfire and have them all hash it out. It’ll be the best Sorry-we-broke-up-over-the-Wonderbolt-captain-getting-arrested-by-the-princess-now-lets-eat-cake-and-make-it-all-better party,” Pinkie said excitedly. Her infectious smile failed to spread any cheer with her suggestion.
“That’s uh…nice of ya to offer Pinkie Pie, but Ah think Fluttershy is right,” Applejack said; crossing her legs. “We gotta give em some time to unwind before we start throwing any hootenannies. If they wanna talk, they’ll talk when the time is right.”
“I just hope it’s soon,” Fluttershy added.
Applejack slowly nodded, her eyes nervously shimmering with shades of doubt.
“Ah do too partner.”
Twilight walked along a mountainous assortment of black spikes and dark rock formations, cold, metallic chains dangled from each one of them. Multiple pairs of sinister, unfeeling eyes lecherously stared down upon her like she was a piece of meat. The Alicorn princess remembered all the stories Celestia told her about the monsters that reside inside the fiery walls of Tartarus. This was a dark, unforgiving place that concealed the darkest, most vile villains Equestria has ever known.
And she was walking right into the heart of it.
“Now I can understand why Moonstruck was in such a miserable state when I found him that night in the basement. This place is horrible! I can’t imagine some pony like him living in a nightmare world like this, it would drive any pony mad,” Twilight mused to herself. She scanned each chained prisoner, examining them like puzzle pieces and maintaining her cool composure. “I hate not being able to help Rainbow with this Spitfire case. Even though I’m a princess, I can’t change what I want when I want unless I have some kind of proof. I only hope I can find it here.”
After trotting past a number of unscrupulous looking characters, Twilight finally found the cell she was looking for. It was a dark, shadowy cell; so dark she couldn’t actually see if anyone was actually in the cell or not.
“Do my own eyes deceive me? Do I actually have a visitor?” said a dark, whispery voice from within the shadows.
Guess I found the right guy after all, she thought to herself.
“Come now sweet child…don’t be shy…please step into the light.”
Twilight gasped in horror. A monstrous shadow leapt towards her.
“So I can see the look in your eyes when I RIP OUT YOUR THROAT!”
CLANG!
A red, devil like Centaur creature with a white beard and small, black horns appeared from his shadowy hiding spot. His wheezing jaws roared as he flailed his claws savagely at Twilight. The princess flinched for a moment but quickly recovered. The creature grunted in fury as his chain cut his distance just short from reaching Twilight. He eventually eased back and rigidly clenched his four black horse legs. The devil’s hateful eyes glared scornfully at the unscathed face of the pony princess. Twilight stared unphased at the panting creature that stood menacingly before her.
“Ooooh how I loathe you; pony filth,” the devil wheezed bitterly.
“Hello Tirek. I’d like to say it’s nice to see you again, but after you stole all the magic in Equestria and nearly killed me and my friends…we both know I can’t,” Twilight said sternly.
“You really think I care about your meaningless attempts at kindness and friendship? We both know why you’re really here, so don’t bother pretending I care about pleasantries,” Tirek snapped.
“And why do you think I’m here?”
“To bask in your victory over my defeat, to prove your better than me because I failed to conquer a bunch of pathetic, mewling, little ponies with all the magic in Equestria,” he coldly answered. “Your very presence is just gives me another reason to despise you.”
“That’s not why I’m here and I certainly don’t think I’m better than you,” she fiercely defended.
“Ah but you must think your smarter than me at least. After all, you bested me when I had unlimited magical power, something that should have been impossible, and yet…it happened anyway,” he said with a sly sneer. Tirek hummed with a low, bitter growl, his white eyebrows rising.
“Ugh, I didn’t come here to talk about that, I came to talk about your old cell mate,” Twilight said; growing increasingly irritated with this prejudicial creep.
“You mean that whiny, blabbering cry baby who kept prattling on about his innocence? What about him? I haven’t seen him since I escaped Tartarus,” Tirek said.
“I’m not looking for him, I want to know more about him and you’re the only other person who knows him,” Twilight stated.
“Why, and more importantly, why should I bother telling you a blasted thing?” he curtly replied. Before Twilight could answer, Tirek turned around as best he could in his chained state; turning his cloaked Centaur form back on her and crossing his arms. “We’ve already made it abundantly clear that were enemies, not friends.”
“True, but it’s not like you have anything better to do,” Twilight said with a confident smirk, “it’ll help pass the time at the very least.”
Tirek’s eyes widened at that remark before slowly closing them into a half lidded state. He chuckled wickedly behind that shadowy cloak. Twilight couldn’t see his face, but something told her whatever look he was giving off indicated he was up to something. Twilight felt uncomfortable being alone with this devil; he always made her feel uneasy no matter who was with her. Still, if he could provide her even one scrap of evidence relating to Moonstruck’s past or possibly finding out about this mysterious imposter, it was worth it.
“So you want to know about Moonstruck eh?” he paused and let loose another gravely chuckle. Tirek slowly turned around, smiling in a way that made the fur on Twilight’s neck stand on edge. “Sure…why not? It’ll help kill time as you so elegantly put it. Though I must say, for someone who is not interested in finding Moonstruck, you’re showing a remarkable amount of curiosity in him. You even flew all the way here from Ponyville just to ask about him, how…unusual,” he said with a sickening smile.
“I h-h-have my reasons,” she said shakily. Even with all of her Alicorn magic, being so close to this monster made her feel cripplingly nervous. She maintained a guarded posture, keeping her eyes and horn locked on him. She couldn’t afford to show him the slightest bit of weakness. “Besides, I think it might be related to another friendship problem I’m working on.”
“Whatever you say pony, whatever you say,” he smugly teased.
“Are you going to tell me what I want to know, or just stand around all day making every statement sound creepy?”
“You haven’t asked me anything yet you royal twit!”
Twilight paused suddenly. Her eyes briefly widened at Tirek’s statement, the mare’s cheeks burned brightly with embarrassment. She laughed nervously and tried to compose herself.
“Oh…uh…right,” Twilight said awkwardly. She cleared her throat and exhaled any nervous energy or anxieties from her body. “During your time with Moonstruck, did he ever mention to you about killing someone? I’m not talking about the victims he was accused of killing; I’m talking about him actually admitting to killing someone while he was imprisoned next to you.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me of that equine’s useless whining! For days on end, he would cry and cry about how he was wrongfully imprisoned and how he was innocent of all his crimes. I wanted to tear my ears off it was so sickening to listen to,” he coldly sneered.
Twilight felt her anger spike every time Tirek said something crass about Moonstruck. She wanted to blast him in the face for every dirty remark, but for now, Twilight swallowed her fury and tolerated his ignorant slander for a little bit longer.
“Mind your impatience princess. To answer your question, no, he never admitted to killing any pony during his time here,” Tirek said. Twilight wiped a bit of sweat from her brow with one of her wings, she felt so relieved. Moonstruck must have been confused when he said he killed his parents. “However…he did mumble in his sleep quite a few times. Said something to the effect of I killed them, sounded like it might have been some pony he knew; based on the sobs that followed. Could be nightmares or could be bad memories, hard to tell the difference really,” Tirek said; grinning cruelly at the princess.
Twilight felt her defenses crumble like a house of cards. She could no longer keep up a brave face, Tirek’s words was a horrible confirmation of what she had feared. It was true then: Moonstruck really did kill his parents!
“I uh…I…I have to go,” Twilight blurted out.
“Thank you for your visit princess. Do stop by and see me again, anytime you like,” he said mockingly. “I hope you found what you were seeking princess…I know I did,” he said with a thunderous cackle. His heartless laughter grew louder and louder as it echoed across the hall of cells.
The princess flew towards the exit, her ears and heart unstable to withstand another devastating secret about Moonstruck revealed. Twilight refused to give Tirek any further satisfaction of seeing her in such agony. She flew past Cerberus and out of the exit. Small bits of tears leaked from her eyes, she rubbed her face with her hoof and headed back home as quickly as she could.
After what felt like an endlessly, miserable flight, Twilight returned to Ponyville. Celestia’s sun was starting to descend, while Luna’s moon was on the rise. The conflicted princess made sure she didn’t have any more tears or damp fur on her face before entering the Golden Oak library. Spike was sitting idly at a table with Owlicious, claws lazily rapping against the table’s surface.
“T-t-t-twilight? You’re back! I’ve been waiting for so long,” Spike said frantically. The young dragon ran towards her and embraced her in a gripping hug. Twilight smiled softly at her adopted son’s warm greeting. She stroked his green scales and nuzzled his cheek. “I didn’t think you’d be gone that long. I mean, you just left so quickly and-and I didn’t think much of it because we were all pretty bummed but…but then I calmed down and-and you still weren’t home,” he said; rambling on.
“It’s all right Spike, I’m home and I’m staying put this time,” she said comfortingly.
The pair separated from their hug. Owlicious hooted appreciatively of Twilight’s return, he flew over to her and nuzzled her cheek before returning to his perch.
Spike smiled, looking up curiously to the purple mare. “So, how did everything go with Rainbow Dash and the whole Spitfire thing? Did you make any progress convincing Celestia to let Spitfire go?”
Twilight shook her head. As much as she wanted to offer good news, not much had changed since her impromptu return visit to Canterlot. Spike’s smile slowly vanished. “I’m afraid not Spike. Her case isn’t like Moonstruck’s, the chain of events that led to the Phoenix gauntlet being stolen match up perfectly with the Pegasus guards and Wind Rider’s testimony. Spitfire has no alibi, and as of right now, no chance of getting out unless we can prove someone impersonated her,” she said miserably.
“Impersonated her? Wait, you mean this might be somehow tied to whoever or whatever impersonated Moonstruck?” Spike asked; shocked at his deduction.
“Maybe, but I can’t prove anything yet. Spitfire and Moonstruck are completely separate cases for the time being. Rainbow is still upset over everything. I spent most of my time there trying to calm her down and explain to her Celestia had to do this. She didn’t like it but she eventually learned to accept it. Unfortunately, now it feels like were back to square one,” Twilight grimly admitted.
“So then what do we do now?” he asked.
Twilight groaned as she cracked her neck; grunting in pain at the popping sounds. The flight time, the emotional energy drain from Rainbow’s situation and the painful realization of Moonstruck’s dark secret had taken its toll on the princess. She was drained physically, emotionally and mentally.
“Right now, the only thing I’m doing is grabbing a snack and going to bed. I’m beat and I’m not going to be able to think straight until I get some serious rest,” she said; releasing a yawn she had been holding back. The purple mare’s eyes blinked wearily. “I’ll see you in the morning, goodnight Spike.”
“Uh…Twilight…um I just wanted to…well” he said, struggling to find the courage to finish.
The sleepy princess turned her attention to her number one assistant. She offered him the best smile her tired cheeks could offer, awaiting his question.
“Heh…eh just-just forget it, it’s not important,” Spike said dismissively.
Twilight hazily nodded and wished him goodnight once more. She slowly trotted upstairs to her bed, tail swaying side to side.
Spike hung his head, his voice low and powerless. The young dragon actually had something terribly important he wished to discuss with his mother, but she was in no mental or physical state to hear it at this time.
The dragon uncoiled his tail. A small white piece of paper dropped from his wound appendage, its crumpled edges slowly unfolding. The paper was, in fact, a letter that had been delivered to the library an hour before Twilight had arrived. It had no address, no name and no initials. One whiff of the scent wafting off the letter though, and Spike knew exactly who it was from.
“Rarity” he said in a dry, husky whisper.
Though Spike had never been in an actual romantic relationship before, and he had never formally or officially defined his relationship Rarity; he had an above average understanding about certain aspects within a relationship. The letter had only 4 words written on it, but those 4 words struck Spike’s heart like a cannonball; shaking him to his core. Spike knew all too well how powerful and terrifying those 4 little words could be. They were the 4 words no pony in a relationship ever wanted to hear.
“We need to talk.”
To be continued…