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// The Execution 
// Story: Rainbow Dash's Foolish Prank 
// by Troyjan 
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Spike made his way down to Rarity’s main estate in the afternoon of the third of April. He made sure to arrive just at start of the hour, as Rarity had instructed him to do the day before. Spike wondered why Rainbow Dash of all ponies had wanted to speak with him private. He also wondered why Rarity apparently did not know why Rainbow Dash had asked this, and why Rarity had told him to arrive at such a particular time. Spike then thought that perhaps there was some sort of surprise awaiting him that Rarity and Rainbow dash were trying to keep secret. Although, what that surprise could be was still a mystery. Unless Pinkie Pie was involved in some sort of surprise celebration, there had to be some deliberate reason as to why he had been requested to come to Rarity’s abode. Spike figured he was going to find out why soon enough anyway, and kept marching forward.
Over the past years, it was difficult to miss how much Spike had changed. No longer did Spike have that cute, stout, toddler like, physique he had before. Spike’s body, arms, legs, tail, and even his neck had grown, and he was overall much larger. His wings now spanned a much wider area, making fast flight easier than ever for him. The sets of claws on his arms and legs, and the teeth in his still elongating maw, were visibly longer and sharper than ever. Even the soft, green spurs that spanned the back of Spike’s head, spine, and tail, had grown out and solidified. His larger, broader, and slightly muscular physique was part of the very image of a young adult dragon. Whenever Spike stood upright, he towered over any pony he knew, as well as most other creatures. And yet, Spike was not nearly done growing. Through extensive research and some exchanges with the other dragons living in the Dragon Realms, Spike learned more about his draconic biology. Most importantly, he discovered how all breeds of dragons grow and mature very slowly relative to most other creatures. It would take at least several centuries until he was a fully mature, elder dragon. At that point, he would be as large as he was during that incident where he let his greed consume him, which allowed him to loom over buildings. Spike shook his head, and tried to not think of that horrid incident. He had matured more than just physically over the last decade. During his time serving Princess Twilight as her first assistant, Spike learned more about Equestrian legislature, politics, and customs that most ponies would ever learn during their whole lives. Through this, he had learned to be responsible and dependable enough on his own. While Spike was still in service to his close friend and now full time employer, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and living in his quarters in Canterlot Castle, he was otherwise his own dragon. It would be laughable to even compare Spike as he was now, to the dragon he was just a decade ago.
Spike arrived at the Carousel Boutique. He knocked on the door and paused. “Hello, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, are you there?”, Spike called.
“Come in”, said a muffled voice from the other side, that likely belonged to Rainbow Dash.
Spike opened the door, walked inside, and closed the door behind him. All the drapes on the windows on the ground floor were closed, and no lights were on. While there was enough ambient light coming through the outlines of the windows too see the surroundings easily enough, the room was still rather dark. Spike walked further inside while looking around.
“Hey there Spike”, a voice called out from above. Spike looked up and saw Rainbow Dash descend from above, and land right in front of him. “Right on time.”
“Oh, Rainbow Dash”, said Spike, somewhat startled. “What did you want to talk to me about? And why did you want me to come here? And where’s Rarity?”
“Oh, don’t you worry about Rarity, Spike. She will be arriving soon enough. As to why I wanted to meet you here specifically, I just wanted to speak to you in private. In the meantime, I suggest you get comfortable. The rest of us will keep you entertained for now.”
“Huh, the rest of you?”
“She’s talking about us”, said a familiar voice that most certainly belonged to Applejack. Spike turned and indeed see Applejack emerge from behind some furniture.
“SURPRISE, I’M HERE TOO”, said another familiarly loud, and energetic, voice. Spike turned to his other side to see Pinkie Pie hop towards him.
“I’m glad you could make it”, said another familiar, professionally passive voice. Spike looked over to see Starlight Glimmer emerge into his field of view from the cover of a shadow.
“Welcome Spike”, said another familiar, soft and quiet, voice. Spike turned around and saw that Flutter Shy was standing right behind him.
Spike quickly looked around again to see that Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Flutter Shy, and Starlight Glimmer were walking towards the center of the room and were staring directly at him with passive expressions. The five of them closed in on Spike, surrounding him. “Oh, you’re all here too”, observed Spike, visually puzzled. “Did Rainbow Dash tell the rest of you anything, because I have no idea what’s going on?”
“Rainbow Dash told us everything, but she said to let her explain things to you”, responded Pinkie Pie in her extremely fast voice.
“Spike, I brought you here for, how I should say, a kind of initiation”, said Rainbow Dash with a suspicious smirk on her face.
“Initiation?”, Spike questioned.
“Spike, we all have been looking over you for a long time, along with Twilight. We watched you from when you first arrived to Ponyville, all the way up until you grew up into the dragon you are today. And as of recently, I thought that it was time to test you.”
“Test, what test?”
“You see Spike, there is a well-kept secret about a certain custom that is practiced throughout Equestria. All colts must go through what I would describe as a ‘coming of age ceremony’ before they can truly be called a stallion. All ponies who know about this custom are expected to keep it secret from those who don’t, until the time is just right. You may be a dragon Spike, but the rest of us all agree that you shouldn’t be exempt from this tradition. Afterall, you practically grew up with us ponies, and I’m more than sure that you’re ready for a test of maturity”, explained Rainbow Dash. The suspicious smirk on her face had grown wider.
“What about this test of maturity?”, asked Spike, sounding just a bit nervous. He observed that the others were all looking at him in a very knowing way, which only raised more concern. There was clearly something important they all knew, and that he did not. Despite now being far larger than any of the ponies in the room, ponies that happened to be some of his closest and most trusted friends, Spike still could not help but succumb to a bizarre sensation of fear from within his subconscious. He hunched over and lowered his head defensively. Spike quickly glanced all around him, trying to find answers, but Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Flutter Shy, and Starlight Glimmer all just looked back at him blankly. Spike faced forward again, his head now just above eye level from Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, I don’t think I have the words to tell you exactly what type of test this is. It would be easier for me just to show you”, answered Rainbow Dash as she took another step towards Spike, putting her face just in front of his face.
“What are you going to show me?”
Before Spike could say anything else, Rainbow Dash put a hoof on his cheek, pulled his head towards her, closed her eyes, and kissed Spike on the front of the maw. Spike stared forward, eyes wide, and completely speechless, as the scales on his cheeks turned bright red. Rainbow Dash held her muzzle in place for several seconds before releasing them. “We’re going to find out just how big of a dragon you really are, Spike”, said Rainbow Dash in a deeper tone.
“Come here you”, said Applejack.
Before Spike could recover from what just happened, Applejack had stepped forward, pulled Spike’s head towards her own, and kissed him on the maw. Once more, Spike remained still while this happened. The blush on his face spread even further and burned brighter. Spike felt Applejack’s muzzle press against his front teeth before she decided to release him.
“OOOOOO”, cooed Pinkie Pie, as she bounced around Spike. “It looks like Spike doesn’t know what to say about his super awesome, totally legitimate, highly intensive, coming of age ceremony party”, Pinkie Pie said as quickly as she could. Then she let out a massive gasp, as if she had just made one of the most important revelations of her life. “OH MY GOSH, PARTY!”, yelled Pinkie Pie, nearly as loudly as she could.
Pinkie Pie jumped and ran about, doing flips and other maneuvers. Then she began to pull out several cardboard boxes that she must have previously hidden behind the furniture in the room. Spike just stood still with his mouth clenched shut, unable to say a word. Rainbow Dash and Applejack moved beside each other, both lowering their eyebrows and curling their lips into confident smiles, gazing intently back at Spike. Spike quickly looked back and forth between the two mares as they closed in.
“So, you think your cool enough to be a real dragon Spike?”, taunted Rainbow Dash. “You think you’re all grown up? You think you can please a mare? If so, then prove it. That’s your test.”
“This is your chance, sugar cube. If things get too hot to handle, you better say so, because we won’t be holding anything back.”
“I suggest you prepare yourself Spike, because we intend on really putting you to the test”, added Starlight, in a joking tone.
Thoughts were racing through Spike’s mind at rates he could not even comprehend. Trying to rationalize the situation was futile for him. He finally broke his attention from the two advancing mares and glanced back towards Flutter Shy, desperately trying to get a grasp on situation. Flutter Shy just gave a comforting smile back.
“We won’t make you do anything you aren’t comfortable with Spike”, said Flutter Shy, just barely above a whisper. “If you feel like you need to leave, the door is right there. We won’t stop you if you don’t want to do this, right girls?”
“Yeah!”, exclaimed Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Starlight, in agreement, all at once.
Spike’s mind was racing. Amidst his other confusing and conflicting emotions, he was rather suspicious of Rainbow Dash’s claim. Spike wondered how he could possibly have been ignorant of such a decadent tradition that was allegedly practiced throughout all of Equestria, and how no pony, no other creature, not even Twilight herself, had ever made any mention of it until now.
“Do all colts really have to do this sort of thing before they’re considered stallions? How come no pony has never told me about this before?”, asked Spike.
“Well, all stallions that I know of had likely gone through this at some point. We mares try our best to keep this tradition secret. We don’t want to ruin the surprise factor”, responded Rainbow Dash playfully. “In fact, I was there when Big Mac was initiated, remember AJ?”
“Yep”, vouched Applejack, who now appeared to be struggling to keep a straight face.
Spike could not help but notice how Applejack had looked away when answering Rainbow Dash, or how they both appeared to be holding back laughter. But before Spike could question further, Rainbow Dash had made her next move. She turned away from Spike, slowly and purposely brushing her multicolored tail against both of Spike’s knees. Spike’s attention immediately shifted back to Rainbow Dash, and away from his skeptical questioning.
Then, Rainbow Dash did the unthinkable. She bent her forelegs, lowered her head, and raised her flank upwards. She then started to move her lower body in a rapid, gyrating motion. “Do you like what you see Spike?”, teased Rainbow Dash.
At this point, beads of sweat ran over Spike’s scales. While Rainbow Dash had verbally teased him in the past, it was never anything like this. Not even close. Still, Spike could not help but admire how bold and brazen Rainbow Dash was. She sure knew what she wanted, and how to get it. Her form was also admirable. Rainbow Dash was very thin, yet muscular and firm. There was no doubt that such an athletic stature was the result of years of physical training. And she certainly knew how to move…
Spike shook his head before completing that thought. Rainbow Dash was just his friend. He never through of her like that before, and didn’t want to start now. Despite whatever was going on, he could not give in. Spike knew he had to remain decent, even in circumstances like these.
While Spike was occupied, Applejack had taken the opportunity to move right beside Rainbow Dash. Then, with all her might, she ungraciously slammed her own flank into hers. The impact nearly toppled Rainbow Dash over, leaving Applejack to take over for her friend as she mimicked her motions.
“Hey, watch it”, complained Rainbow Dash, as she regained her balance. Back on all four hooves, Rainbow Dash walked alongside Applejack and continued her routine.
“You’re in for more than just a good time Spike. I’d reckon we got all you could possibly want, and then some more”, advertised Applejack. She then turned her head to face Rainbow Dash. “And I suppose that after all of this is over, you will probably want your share too, huh, sugar cube?”
“Ha, you know it, AJ”, Rainbow Dash responded. The two mares looked at each other, as they continued motioning their flanks in synchronization alongside each other. Blushes formed on their faces as they gave each other knowing smiles.
Spike knew that Applejack was always honest when it mattered. That was something anyone who knew her, could count on. Spike could certainly admire just how open she was with the truth, no matter the situation. And there was another certain truth that had to be acknowledged. Besides Rainbow Dash, Applejack’s frame was noticeably a wider than her friend’s. While not nearly as lean, Applejack was far more muscular than Rainbow Dash, likely due to her long, daily work routine on her family’s farm. Spike was certain that with hips that strong…
Spike shook his head again and looked away from the two mares before completing that other thought. He also decided to temporarily ignore that odd yet brief exchange between Rainbow Dash and Applejack, in light of his other concerns. Suddenly, a blur of pink hair that resembled Pinkie Pie, raced past Spike. Spike looked around to notice that she had somehow already setup makeshift decor for a festive event. Around the room were multicolored balloons on strings anchored around the floor, generic yet vibrant banners strung on the ceiling, several bright revolving projectors shining all frequencies of visible light every which way about the previously dark room, and a sound system with two speakers along the far wall. It was Pinkie Pie’s trademark talent of makeshift party planning on full display. Then, Spike made the mistake of making eye contact with the crazy mare. Immediately, Pinkie Pie stopped whatever she was doing, and began bouncing in place.
“I can tell that this is going to be a wild kind of party. Cheese Sandwich told me all about some of the wild parties he attended and even hosted before we met”, Pinkie said rapidly, as she pranced by. She then reached the sound system she had rapidly set up, and hit a button. Immediately, loud, ambient techno music filled the entire place.
“He told me how they usually take place in a dark space, with loud music like this, and bright multicolored lights flashing everywhere”, continued Pinkie Pie as she ran back around behind Spike, jumping over his tail.
“Of course, there are all also the high, brightly lit platforms that mares are supposed to dance on. There are also supposed to be tall metal poles with revolving shafts in the middle of those platforms that the mares are supposed to use while dancing. I mean, one would think that a large pole would just get in the way, but the point is to use the pole to perform certain dance moves”, mentioned Pinkie Pie as she darted out of Spike’s vision again.
Spike suddenly felt four hooves land onto his two shoulders. Looking towards his backside, Spike saw that Pinkie Pie was now standing on top of him, trying to keep her balance. It was a rather odd experience for Spike as he realized that he was now just large enough to support an adult pony across his shoulders. Pinkie Pie used her rear hooves to latch under Spike’s shoulders, and rested her body over Spike’s neck and draped her body forward. She hung her head down in front of Spike’s, so that her face was directly in front Spike’s own apparently upside down face.
“Hey Spike, how do you like your super awesome, totally legitimate, highly intensive, coming of age ceremony, party, so far?  Are you enjoying yourself? How much fun are you having? Is there something else I should add? Should I install those revolving poles I mentioned?”, asked Pinkie Pie rapidly, not taking a single breath.
“Uh, you did a good job. You don’t need to add anything else”, answered Spike, unsure what else to say.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie grabbed Spike’s cheeks with her fore hooves, and quickly pressed her muzzle into spike’s maw. After holding for a few seconds, she released her hold with hind legs, dropped down to the floor below, and landed on all four hooves.
“AMAZING!”, she yelled. Then she gasped as she made another realization. “Oh, I almost forgot! At these kinds of wild parties, every-pony is expected to bust out their wildest, craziest, and most insane ever, dance moves.”
Without spending another instance to think, Pinkie Pie moved to an empty space in the room, and a stray spotlight conveniently shined onto her. She then broke out into an intense flurry of flips, spins, and poses. After that, she lowered her stance to the same posture that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had demonstrated, except that she was facing Spike with her rear pointing towards the opposite direction. Then Pinkie Pie began to rapidly shake her flank vigorously up and down, in beat with the loud music playing from the booming speakers.
“Hey, am I doing this move right Rainbow Dash?!”, cried out Pinkie Pie over the noise as she turned her head back around towards Rainbow Dash, who was now standing behind her.
“You’re doing great Pinkie!”, Rainbow Dash responded, giggling at the display in front of her.
Seeing an opening, Spike stepped away to catch his breath and organize his thoughts. However, Spike immediately felt a hoof pressed against his lower hip. Spike looked up, drawing his attention towards mare who owned the stray hoof. “Hey there hot stuff”, said Starlight Glimmer. Feeling overwhelmed at the moment, Spike took a step back, breaking contact with Starlight.
“Don’t think that I never noticed the big hunk of dragon that you’ve become Spike” asserted Starlight, raising her eyebrows. “I can certainly see what the others see in you Spike. And our friend Twilight you all to herself, nearly every single day. Honestly, I’m kind of jealous.”
“Starlight, come on, you know it’s not…”
“…not like that between you and Twilight”, interrupted Starlight, taking another step towards Spike. “If so, then she sure doesn’t know what she’s missing out on.”
Starlight Glimmer continued to slowly close in again, as Spike continued to clumsily step backwards. Suddenly, Spike stumbled over some unidentified piece of furniture, and lost his balance. Trying to minimize the impact, Spike lowered his stance and sprawled down onto his back as he fell. At the end of his descent, Spike felt something soft on the back of his head, as if he had landed on some sort of pillow. He turned his neck to see Flutter Shy’s calm gaze meet his own. She was laying down on her side, and Spike’s head was now resting on top of her body like a pillow.
“Oh, don’t be afraid Spike. I’m sure this is a lot to overcome. I never enjoyed loud or intense gatherings either. I just want you to know that you’re in good hooves now”, said Flutter Shy, just loud enough to be heard over the booming music.
“What do you mean”, asked Spike, now desperate for a moment of tranquility. Spike felt Flutter Shy’s free wing rest on his back, and one of her fore hooves gently move its way around his neck. He noticed a red blush form across her face, complimenting her sweet smile. Then, she leaned her head in, and gently kissed Spike on the forehead.
“Now, now, Flutter Shy is going to take good care of you” continued Flutter Shy, using the same gentle voice that she used to sooth small, scared mammals. “We can go slowly if you want to. I promise to be gentle.”
Suddenly, Spike remembered the situation he was in. He looked away and saw the door he walked through just minutes ago, when he was completely ignorant of what awaited him on the other side. Nothing was stopping him from getting up and leaving. And yet, for reasons that Spike could not explain, he couldn’t seem to find the will to resist the urge to remain exactly where he was.
Rainbow Dash paced towards Spike with the same confident smirk as before. “So, you ready to get serious, or what?”, she asked slyly. Applejack closed in too, both their bodies now looming over Spike, as he was still resting on his back. Starlight Glimmer joined in, standing beside them. Pinkie Pie began eagerly jumping up down behind the others, appearing in Spike’s field of vision at the apex of each jump. Flutter Shy remained put, continuing to gently caress Spike’s neck with her hoof.
“Oh, he seems ready to me”, observed Applejack. Applejack extended a forehoof, and placed it on Spike’s tense underside. She then began to slowly stroke her hoof over Spike’s abs and across his pectorals. “You sure have a lot more muscle than I thought Spike”, complimented Applejack.
“Oh, I definitely want a turn with all of that”, said Starlight, as she licked along her own muzzle.
“Oh, me too, me too!” chanted Pinkie Pie.
Now Spike was really sweating. A small part of his conscious was telling him to flee the place immediately, and to not find out what these mares had planned for him. He knew he had every right to do so. And yet, nearly every other part of Spike was still urging him to stay put. Afterall, how could he deny the good company of five of his closest friends while he was in such high demand.
“C-come on guys, I-I know we’re all friends, and all, and I’m really f-flattered but…, this… really…, it’s just…”, stammered Spike before trailing off. Spike tried to continue speaking, but only incoherent noises left his mouth. The loud ambient techno track was getting progressively louder, slowly reaching towards its climax. Spike clenched his eyes shut, feeling that he was about ready to faint. Spike was going to have to make the decision before his own body made one for him.
“That’s quite enough!”, called out a familiar voice. Spike, Flutter Shy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Starlight froze in place. Pinkie Pie quickly stepped aside, and kicked one of her rear hooves at her sound system. The two large speakers were silenced. The flashing strobe lights Pinkie Pie set up had conveniently powered down out at that moment. In the now deafening silence and dim room, Spike could hear the breaths and heartbeat of the ponies beside him.
“This has gone on for too long already. I’m coming down there to settle this matter myself”, called out the voice, from the top of the only stairway on the far side of the room. The voice was unmistakably Rarity’s. Then, dainty hooves steps could be heard as Rarity descended down her stairs.