//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty Two: Return // Story: Paper Spike and the Thousand Year Door // by Sakunyan //------------------------------// Chapter Twenty Two: Return The reunion with Rarity was a long one. They weren't sure for how long exactly they had been in the Palace of the Shadow, but they didn't care now that they knew they had won. Filthy Rich and his henchmen were gone, the Shadow Queen was securely shut once again inside of her chest, and they were safe together. "Thank you… thank you so much… I-I'm not sure I would have made it without you all…" Rarity was sobbing into Twilight's hair as Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, and Spike crowded around her in a group hug. Scootaloo watched from the side. "Rarity… I'm so sorry we didn't come to you sooner. I… I can't even imagine what it must have been like trapped like that, in that THING. It must have been horrific!" Rarity swept the tears from her face. "I can't exactly remember what was happening. It was dark and I was trying to find a way out… but it's mostly all a blur. Until I heard Spike and Sweetie Belle calling to me, that is." She broke out into loud sobs again, hugging the two both tightly. "And Fluttershy, dear, you were so brave! I'm so proud of the pony you've become!" Fluttershy embraced her friend tightly. "I'm so glad I was able to help you, Rarity. I-I thought I would just get in the way, but I help save you! I don't know what I would have been able to do with myself if you ended up that way forever!" She had tears streaming herself. Rarity suddenly reached out a hoof to Scootaloo, who was standing awkwardly aside from the group. "Come here, darling. I know you had your share of help too. I'm sure you were also able to support Sweetie Belle as a friend, and I cannot ever thank you enough for that." Scootaloo gingerly stepped forward and was dragged into the pile. Sweetie Belle and Rarity hugged her tightly. "Scootaloo, you're one of the best friends I've ever had!" "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome… I'm just glad things turned out how they did." Scootaloo, not being the sappy type, felt out of place, but was truly grateful that everything worked out in the end for them. Eventually, Twilight pulled away from the group, wiping the few tears from her eyes and clearing her throat. "So, it's probably for the best that we leave this place now. It's not the ideal location, and I'm sure Cheerilee is wondering how it went. I'd like to get back to Equestria as well to check in with Princess Celestia. Discord is still out there and I'm sure she'll need help with that." They agreed with her and she lead the way out of the Palace of Shadow, back up through the passageways of Underground Rogueport and to the abode of Cheerilee. "I’m so glad to see that everypony is alright!" the teacher said after they had settled into the main room of her house. Fluttershy had reunited with Angel, who was more than happy with the idea of returning to their home in Ponyville. All of them, in fact, were eager to return to Equestria. Cheerilee had finished her studies in Rogueport and was ready to head back to her old teaching job, considering summer vacation was almost over. "It was so crazy when we had to take down Discord! Not to mention Queen Chrysalis and the Shadow Queen!" "Yeah! And Diamond Tiara, you should have seen her face! It was so priceless! I wonder what Princess Celestia's going to do with her and her dad?" "I don't know, but wait until Apple Bloom hears this! It's too bad she couldn't be with us." The fillies had been busy telling Cheerilee the details of their adventure. They left out the details of the particular time they were kicked off of the train, and other stories they thought their teacher may find cringe-worthy and unacceptable. She found some of their stories shocking nonetheless, considering they were her students. At certain parts of their retelling, she would only bite her cheek and nod, forcing a smile. They didn't seem to take notice. "Sweetie Belle, we should collect our things and head out if we want to catch the next boat ride back to Equestria. Are you about ready?" Sweetie Belle looked up at her sister. She had been wanting to go back to Equestria a long time ago. "Of course I'm ready!" She rushed to the back of Cheerilee's laboratory, pulling up her bag of luggage. "Oh, good. Hold on dear, I'll help you with that." Rarity trotted to the back of the room and levitated a complete set of luggage with her magic. It seemed to be enough for ten ponies, but it was all her own. "Fluttershy, Twilight, are you going to be accompanying us as well?" "Well, considering the only reason I came here was to meet up with you, yes, I shall be accompanying you back to Ponyville!" Rarity turned to Fluttershy to await her response. "Oh yes, of course. Angel told me he's been tired of staying in this cramped up place and wants to go back home as quickly as possible." Cheerilee shot the rabbit an annoyed glance, hinting that the time the two had spent together hadn't been the best. Angel stuck out his tongue childishly. Scootaloo hopped up to Sweetie Belle. "And I'm coming with you guys! I don't have anything to do here anyways, and I'm not heading back to Glitzville, even IF Rainbow Dash was there! Besides, I'm sure she'll come back to Ponyville." She cleared her throat and straightened her mane, trying to look like she didn't actually care. Sweetie Belle grinned. "Then we get to share bunks again! You better not kick in your sleep this time, though." "Hey, at least I don't snore like a maniac!" "That doesn't even make any sense! I don't snore!" "Yeah you do, how would you even know?" The two were shoving each other back and forth now. Cheerilee got in between the two, separating them with her hooves. "Now, children, that's enough roughhousing! We don’t need any arguing if we're going to be spending time together on the ship. Do you understand?" "Yes Miss Cheerilee." the fillies said in unison, hanging their heads in shame. Cheerilee smiled. "Good. Now then, does everyone have all their belongings before we leave?" "Yep!" Twilight said, just finishing the retrieval of her own possessions. "Oh, yes, my things are right over here." Fluttershy said, taking her small amount of luggage from a corner. "So I'm ready to go." "Great! Let me lock up this place and we can head off to the docks!" The ship was boarding passengers for quite a while and by the time it was ready to head off, the sun was beginning to set. They had settled into their rooms, which were much nicer than the ones on the ship taken to Keelhaul Key, and were now watching the docks to wave to the onlookers. With the sounding of a horn, the ship began to take off. "Goodbye Rogueport!" Spike called out, relieved that their adventure was over. "I'll miss you! Hope to see you again!" Spike turned to find Pinkie Pie standing beside him, waving frantically to the city. "Pinkie Pie? When did you get here?" "Oh, I was the first one on! Even before the captain got back from his break! He told me I shouldn't do that, but it's ok, we're friends now!" Spike dismissed her Pinkie Pie logic and looked back at the docks. "Oh, Rarity! I'm so, so glad to see that you're ok! Give me a hug, you crazy Unicorn!" "Pinkie Pie, lovely to see you agai-" She didn't have time to finish her sentence before Pinkie had tackled her to the ground in a hug. Pinkie giggled as she squeezed her friend tightly. Spike sighed as he watched all of the attention Rarity had given to the other ponies. He felt as though all his efforts were going unrecognized. As the ship left port, he watched the ponies on the docks slowly appearing to get smaller and smaller. After a while, Rogueport was out of sight and the other ponies had already gone elsewhere. Spike was alone watching the sea, which they were surrounded by. The sun was directly on the horizon now and it would be only minutes before it would seem to disappear beneath the water. To his surprise, a pony walked up next to him. "Enjoying the view, Spike?" He looked up and his heart fluttered at the sight of Rarity. He looked at his hands awkwardly, blushing. "Uh, yeah, the sunset is beautiful. I-It's really nice to watch over the ocean, too." Rarity sighed as she gazed over the ship's railing. "Spike, I never did get to thank you properly for going out to save me. When I heard that you and Sweetie Belle had gone off on your own to find me, I didn't know what to think. I'm incredibly sorry if I had any doubts in you at all." He scratched his head. "Oh, well, it's alright, I'd do anything like that for a friend." "Oh, now, don't be so modest! I can never possibly repay you enough for what you've done for me! But…" She paused for a second, pretending to concentrate deeply. "I think I may know of one thing that may contribute to my thanking you a little bit…" With that, she leaned down and kissed Spike on the cheek. "Thank you, Spikey-Wikey." Even with all he had done, he still couldn't foresee that coming. He had been wishing for it to happen, but he thought it was just wishful thinking. He swayed suddenly, Rarity grabbing him before he fell over. "Careful, now, don't want to get seasick!" She laughed as she set him back upright. "I'm going to head back to the cabin now. I'll talk to you later, Spike!" "B… Bye, Rarity." He only managed to get out that as she trotted away, looking gleeful. He held a hand to his chest, ensuring he was still alive and breathing. He let out a sigh as she went away, touching the place on his cheek where she had kissed him. "Wow… she's so amazing… I would do that all over again just to have her kiss me a second time… Maybe Discord could kidnap her this time?"