“Wait, is Rarity gonna be there?” Spike's voice carried throughout the room, Twilight winced, hoping the cleaning mare's couldn’t hear their conversation. She beforehand had thought to put a barrier spell on the room, but figured Spike would be less enthralled at such an idea, especially in this current state of his.
Instead of the usual excitement ringing in his voice, and his tail flicking with the anticipation of an answer that would suit his mind and heart, his voice was deeply coated with the tinge of bitter annoyance more than anything. This, Twilight was still not used to. But it wasn’t recent when Rarity had truly had a hissy fit twice too many and unfortunately for Spike, most of the blow was taken out on him, though he only had wanted to be helpful, and hopeful. He visited the boutique less and less, and soon, chose to avoid it altogether unless Twilight came with.
His feelings almost had immediately dissipated, or so he told himself, and no amount of gentle talking helped heal his heart. Though, admittedly, Twilight wasn’t the best at talking to young dragons. And though with dragons as she’d very well come to know through personal experiences and many mystic books from the Smoky Peaks, he was going through a quickly growing spurt, and thus, his emotions were mostly washy wishy at best, and annoyed, eye rolls included, at worst.
“Well..” Twilight rubbed a hoof on the ground, still struggling with being firm and authoritative with him at this age, she had come to the strong decision that honesty was better than trying to save his feelings, even if this was of importance.
“Rarity is busy with a shipment of boulee da fleurs,” she butchered. “A large order for a busy pony like herself, you’ll scarcely see her!” She ended it quickly and almost joyfully, even that stung her. But she saw how it made Spike's face relax, just a bit, just a tad. Enough for him to huff a small flame or two and turn away, face flushed.
“Oh!” A deep voice said from the doorway. It came from a large bearded orange stallion with wild blue hair. A younger guards pony no doubt, by the way he so loosely spoke amongst the Princess of Friendship. He cleared his throat. “Hey Spike.-“
“Er, I mean, Sir Spike…” silence ensued. “Princess Twilight,” he immediately directed all attention to the object of his thoughts. “We really need you down at the courtyard, we’re having some…”
“Some?” Twilight asked, anxiously.
“..some.. difficulties at the moment.. please come quickly” the urgency in the young stallions voice was both a bother to the princess, and made her stomach churn with moths.
“I’ll be there in a minute and a half!” And when Twilight says she’ll be there at a certain time, she certainly will! She already had her mind counting the time she spent speaking with Spike, and he noticed. The stallion nodded and closed the door ever so gently behind him with a clink as to not be rude, of course.
She then turned back to her dragon. When she looked at him it was reminiscent of a pouty adolescent, though he was quite far from it now. The annoyance on his face rushed back in waves.
Twilight scooted closer to him. “Spike, Sweetie Belle has been awfully lonely lately-“
“She has her friends, Twilight. Why do I need to entertain a pony like her.”
Twilight was taken aback by his sudden surge of rudeness. Like a snake they so called it, the bitterness slithered around his tongue and controlled it with such intent it made him say awful awful words she wasn’t sure if he really meant.
“I’ll tell the maid mares to make you some tea in a bit -“ (the common cure for a hot tongue).
“I don’t WANT tea, Twilight!!” He stomped his clawed foot and made the floors dent slightly. He looked down with even a shock of his own clouding his eyes, and turned away, his face red yet his eyes furrowed and angry.
“No tea, got it.” She whispered, still staring at the dent in the floors. Boy that’ll take some time to fix.
“So..” Twilight gently spoke, her words sweet and encouraging, or at least, attempting to be. Spike could feel, from his clouded perspective, the lazy laxness of her speech, careful, trying not to directly wake a hungry bear, but choosing to do so anyway.
“Apple Bloom is a carriage delivery driver now,”
“And?” Spike spat back. Still red in the face, foot far away from the dent as to not ruin it further. He felt guilt and shame and embarrassment and all kinds of things that stirred in his heart like soup. Bad soup.
“..and, Scootaloo is often busy with her..” she tried to remember the words Rainbow would use often, proudly boasting about the young adult pegasus' success. “mmm..” she raised a hoof in the air as if to poke at the word she was trying to find, but to no avail. “Stunt mare,” she finally settled on. “Sweetie Belle doesn’t really know anypony other than them who gets her, and Rarity is often busy.”
Spike scoffed, but he hadn’t said anything. Progress! Yes this was progress indeed!
“She could use someone closer to her age-“
Twilight stopped herself, covering her mouth with her hoof. She often forgot how quickly dragons aged after the initial adolescence. She slipped up constantly, confusing him for just nearing and touching upon young adulthood, when in reality, he was well over 100 years.
Spike didn’t change face. So Twilight assumed he hadn’t paid much attention to such a slip up. She cleared her throat and spoke once more. “She’d love to see you.”
This made Spike's face turn in a weird way. Possibly disbelief, possibly stifling the stinging words of the snake from his throat. Maybe something of all sorts of that and this and something else. Twilight was never good at reading dragons, she decided. Never good at reading dragons.
He didn’t say anything still, turning the other way, Twilight often thought if he were even paying any attention to her carefully curated words at all! But she proceeded. “Please?” She was never one for pleading, but what else would she have done? She was quickly running out of that minute and a half she had promised, and he still didn’t seem to budge. She didn’t want to leave him stewing in the room alone like usual. She hated the feeling of walking down the halls physically feeling the huff of hot flames from the room touching her rear. And the maid mares complaining while on break, sweating, commonly and downing iced water.
“You’d make her day.” Twilight smiled sadly at him. Spike huffed a single smoke, and his ears arched back against his head. “Whatever, I just hope Rarity really will be busy.”
He hadn’t meant to say it aloud, closing his lips tightly shut and grinding his teeth firmly.
“Uhm, Princess Twilight?” The same Stallion's head reared from in between the door. Spike never felt so annoyed and so much relief at the same time. The stallion smiled weakly, acknowledging the tension, yet staying just a bit between the ajar door. Almost as if he were afraid to come inside yet also afraid of offending if he didn’t. “We really need you down there-“
“Just go already..” Spike said, a tinge of waver washing over his voice. No longer was there the seething snake that snickered at each ill-willed word that it so selfishly pushed out of his mouth, but instead there was her Spike, but sad, and out of energy. She sighed and nodded her head at the stallion, who then, luckily reading the room, or perhaps the urgency really was that large, left with a clink.
“You’ll do good,” Twilight said, gathering her usual High Princess voice and confidence, getting off her bottom and onto her legs. She headed straight for the door.
Suddenly, she stopped, and he had hoped, even for a moment, she’d change her mind and tell him to come help with court matters. With a dented portcullis. Something. But instead she turned her head slightly without looking directly at him and said “and Spike? Bring a few games, okay?”
The door closed with a clonk. Spike sighed.
˚ ✦ . . ˚ . . ✦ ˚ . ★⋆. ࿐࿔
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Spike hated how easy it was for her to stop being his best friend who he, though he wouldn’t admit it nowadays, leant on emotionally, to a hard headed stubborn straight faced serious Magical Princess who wasn’t bothered with things like emotionality when business was to play. His ears flicked as the chariot was pulled his way.
He decided not to bother with flying, instead taking the offer of Main Mare Hennyrump to take the chariot to ponyville. The door shut behind him as he crammed himself in all kinds of ways. Butt here, ears there, snout where? He quickly remembered why he hadn’t taken it in months. His tail stuck out the window funnily, and the sack he carried, brown and tattered, seemed ridiculous, as it hardly fit anywhere comfortably. And he hated how the guardstallions stifled laughs when he wasn’t looking. The door suddenly opened up quickly, and his ears and snout perked up, hoping it was Twilight telling him “no, actually, I’ll go instead! You can stay here and read SpiderPony comics!” But instead it was Hennyrump shoving a cup of hot cloudberry tea into his hands. She smiled and closed it again. Then the chariot rose, and off they went, flying high over towers and flagged buildings. Spike sighed.
Ponyville was almost the very same as when he last visited - that being well over four months now. Though not the lengthiest amount of time, it felt unreal to see and greet all the ponies he knew well. Carrot Top so gently picking up the spare carrots that didn’t sell for the day, and putting them in a sack. And not too far from her was her rambunctious daughter, Honey Bee, choosing to instead run about seeking trouble. And Apple Crisp, rolling her eyes at the filly, who didn’t look like she’d stop anytime soon. It weirdly filled Spike with a sense of home he hadn’t felt in a while.
He walked along the edge of the stalls as to not bother anyone. Ponies here and through passed by, talking in their usual excited tones for the time of day. Some more gardener ponies taking apart their picket signs glued messily to their stands, and others packing up their vegetables in large bags. Many of those ponies waved Spike a friendly hello and a pleasant smile, and some were careful about what to say, most likely aware of his many .. what he would call, provoked annoyances he’s had in the recent past. Either way, he smiled happily towards them. He hadn’t left the castle in a bit, and even less canterlot. It was nice seeing everyone he grew up with again.
Quicker than he had wanted to, Spike arrived at the front of Rarity's esteemed boutique, it seemed shinier than usual. He had luckily gotten here before the setting sun. He didn’t want to be bothered with staying out too late. He had predicted, in his head of course, Sweetie Belle would most certainly be fine spending the night however she usually does, and leave Spike out of it. Girl things, you know? A guy imposing, especially not one she knew very well (especially during recent years) would be awkward .. and uncomfortable.. very.. very uncomfortable. Spike shuttered at the thought of them sitting there not having anything to talk about. And he hoped to Celestia he wouldn’t have to ask about Rarity's recent affairs.
Letting his overly active imagination control his mind. He imagined Rarity, not aware of his arrival, would be enraged, angry, she would stop what she was doing to tell him quickly (because she’s busy) how he isn’t wanted there, and how she doesn’t want to see him in the boutique ever again. He furrowed his brows and gripped onto the sack tightly. Rarity, even after what had happened, always apologised, and he knew deep down that she wasn’t ever truly mad at him, yet still, the fact of the matter is that his heart was hurt. And she would never see him as anything more than a dragon. He looked up at the tip of the building. And the boutique seemed to become larger, taller, and filled with both bad and pleasantly exciting memories. The reaction he’d get from such a sudden unexpected arrival, would either be exaggeratingly bad, or.. perhaps.. she’d be very happy to see him again.