//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Intermission III (Breaking Down Apples and Diamonds) // Story: Spikes Journey // by That Drunk Pony //------------------------------// Silence surrounded the four friends in their thoughts of sorrow with each reminiscing of that last moment they saw the dragon. Not long ago did they see the truth of a young dragon's innocence, a dragon whom they have shown nothing but scorn and disgust recently, and forced him out of their lives. Many tears were shed when they saw the innocence, yet the most came from a particular lavender mare. A mare who could not even think a joyful thought after realizing what she has done to the dragon known as Spike, who she thought of at times as a son... but now those feelings were prominent in her search for the boy. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack were now flying to Canterlot with the help of magic power. How painful it really must have been even though they could never truly know what it was like when the world turned on you. All except for Twilight who has experienced the same at the wedding of her brother and his sister in law. She probably was the closest to knowing that feeling, but to put Spike in that same situation at his young age is something that should have never been. The silence was broken by Pinkie who just couldn’t stand the quietness. “Hey why don’t we all play a game to pass the time?” Twilight gave a rather lifeless sigh, “Sorry, but I am not really in the mood for games. Besides I have to keep channeling magic if we are ever going to get to Canterlot quickly.” Rarity then put a hoof on Twilight, “Twilight, let me take over so you can have a break. This is probably hardest on you and you need a break.” Twilight scoffed her off, “No, I’m fine. I can handle this.” Though her legs started to gave, most likely due to exhaustion, which Rarity picked up on. “Twilight you should just go rest for a while. I have enough magic to get us there in no time.” Twilight just ignored it so Rarity then brought the two earth ponies in a small huddle. “Girls we need to get Twilight to relax before she passes out. She won’t be able to help if she is gonna be sleeping the whole time.” The huddle was broken as Applejack was first to speak. “Twilight, don’t you think its not safe to be overusing your magic constantly without taking a break? You might not be able to do much in Canterlot to help search for clues on Spike.” “Yeah, besides we can play cards like Black Stallion! You love that game.” Pinkie Pie added with excitement. “Twilight dear, you really must rest. None of us can bare to see you like this.” Rarity said with great concern. Twilight finally just caved in. “Fine, I’ll take a nap. You girls can go play cards.” She then went to a corner and went to rest. Rarity took control of using magic to get to Canterlot faster. It was silent the whole way there. While Twilight rested, she kept thinking about Spike. ‘Was Spike okay? Where was he now and where was he headed to? Will he ever forgive me for all this? Do I even deserve his forgiveness?’ Her mind finally drifted into a sleep. Twilight was then woken from her slumber by Pinkie as she jumped around and shook the basket of the balloon dangerously while saying “There it is. We are almost at Canterlot. YAY!” “PINKIE!” Twilight yelled to try to control the energetic pink pony. Pinkie had stopped noticing what she did. She had a sheepish smile and then said, “Oopsie. Sorry everypony.” The three mares just glared with manes all messed up from being shook all around the basket. They then landed on the outskirts of Canterlot to avoid any problems with the guards and flying balloons. Twilight then devised their plan of action. “Okay we will split into groups to cover more ground. Applejack and Rarity you will find Fancy Pants and see what you girls can get from him. Pinkie and I will go to find Joe. They are probably our best bet for getting information based on Spike’s memories. We will meet at Canterlot Castle after we get all we can.” The other three nodded and headed to each designated location. As Twilight walked through town, it seems some ponies still recognized her. What really caught her attention from the looks she got were that some smiled and some glared. ‘How many ponies knew of Spike’s tale and how did they find out? Surely some knew that Spike was exiled by the papers, but it seems like they were only glaring at me?’ Twilight thought as she observed the passing mares and stallions. ‘Spike must have had a lot of influence.’ Twilight then overheard two ponies speaking behind her back. “Oh my, is that Twilight.” one said. Another then added “Oh it is. Wasn’t she the one who threw Spike out of Ponyville?” The rumors then continued all around her with other ponies saying things like, “Isn’t that Twilight, I thought she was the one who abandoned Spike? Why is she in Canterlot?” Another mare said, “Oh I heard all of Twilight’s friends had forced him out of Ponyville.” As they walked onwards, the rumors just got worse and worse. Some even going as far as saying she was torturing Spike and he finally ran away from her. The rumors were getting Twilight from upset to annoyance and anger. She was relieved when she finally got to Pony Joe’s. Before she entered, however, she noticed that Pinkie was nowhere to be found. She was already angry at the rumors and she just face hoofed herself and decided she would find her later. She entered the shop and the bell from the door opening rang. As Twilight walked in further she heard Joe, “Hold on. I’ll be right there in a minute.” Joe then came from the back. “Welcome to--”, but before he could continue he saw Twilight at the door. ____________________________________________________________________________ __ For some reason, Rarity didn’t seem so sad knowing she is going to see Fancy once again. She even seemed a bit too excited actually. Applejack on the other hand looked more distracted by how there were some ponies giving them more of a ‘They look horrible’ look rather than a hateful one. They reached Fancy’s place without trouble. The place was enormous to them. Even Applejack was amazed by the size even though she lived on a farm with acre’s of land. Rarity then went to the gate and rang the doorbell. Rarity then turned to Applejack with a serious face, “Applejack, please try your best to act like a proper lady. We are about to meet Fancy Pants here and I am sure he would not welcome anypony who does not have proper etiquette, poise, and sophistication.” Applejack gave her the ‘Are you serious?’ look. “Rarity, we aren’t asking the guy out. We are here to find out about Spike or did you forget as you drooled you whole way here.” Rarity then gasped, “I was not drooling.” She wiped off her face to make sure there wasn’t any evidence. “And no I have not forgotten our purpose for visiting.” The gates then opened to reveal a stallion who was dress up in a fancy butler outfit. “How may I help you?” the stallion asked. Rarity tried to speak, though her voice gave off a shaky response. “W- well we are here to um...” “We’re here to see Fancy Pants. We need to ask him something important.” Applejack interjected herself, sensing Rarity too flabbergasted to speak properly. The stallion looked at them both. It got Applejack and Rarity a bit worried of the butler’s gaze, “What important business exactly?” Applejack coughed slightly, “We are here to ask Fancy about Spike. We are looking for him and Fancy might know something to-” “SPIIKE!” A voice of a young filly filled their ears, as they entered the mansion. Rarity and Applejack were a bit shocked thinking that they found a lead on Spike’s location, with a little filly running towards them and looking as if she was searching for something. It was little Fairy Dancer. “I heard somepony say Spike. Where is he!?” Fairy Dancer asked excitedly, looking from every side and corner where she was standing. The stallion butler unfortunately shook his head with his eyes closed, “Oh no milady. These two are asking about him is all. Now please go back to your room and get ready for supper.” Fairy then went upstairs grumpling in a low tone. The butler had then turned to the two mares who stood stock still behind him. “I shall fetch Master Fancy. Wait here and please refrain from touching anything. I just cleaned the place.” He then walked off with his nose up high toward another room. The two then just sat on the smooth velvet chairs in silence. What was on Applejack’s mind was what did the little filly know about Spike. Rarity’s mind was a bit more focused on Fancy. The silence, however, broke when Fairy Dancer appeared behind Applejack. She whispered into Applejack’s ear, “Why do you wanna know about Spike?” Applejack was surprised and fell off her chair. Fairy Dancer then started apologizing numerous times. She helped Applejack up though Rarity didn’t even notice as she was too lost in her mind. “Who are ya sugarcube?”Applejack asked. “I am Fairy Dancer. Daughter of Fancy Pants.” she said with a beaming smiling Rarity popped out of her dream-like state when she heard that. “Your... his... daughter!?” Fairy just nodded her head. “I didn’t know Fancy was a father!” “Yeah, but he doesn’t talk about mommy much anymore. I never really knew my mommy. I have no pictures or anything of her.” Fairy said with a lonesome face. Applejack’s sisterly instincts kicked in at this moment, “Well lets not talk about the glum and talk about Spike.” Fairy’s face then lit up with excitement again. “Well what do you know about Spike?” “Are you the pony police?” Fairy asked Applejack, who just chuckled at the filly’s question. “No, we are friends of Spike. We are looking for him.” Applejack replied. Fairy rose an eyebrow and placed her hoof upon her chin, “Are you the same friends he had from Ponyville?” “Yeah, we are close friends of his, but we made a small mistake.” Applejack replied somberly, looking down on the floor. Fairy’s anger lit up as her gaze turned into a glare and her nostrils flared, “So you were the ones who hurt Spike! I’m not talking to meanies like you.” She then ran off into another room. Applejack and Rarity were both shocked to hear that. Applejack went after Fairy. Just as Rarity was about to follow behind she was stopped by a voice. “Rarity, is that you?”. Rarity turned and saw it was Fancy Pants. “Hello, Rarity. What brings you to Canterlot?” Rarity just melted, but quickly snapped back to not loose her poise. “Hello Fancy. I actually came to Canterlot with a few of my friends to ask about Spike. We need to find him and any clues you can give us will be helpful.” Fancy then changed his demeanor. It changed from his usual regal demeanor to a more serious one. “I heard all that happened back in Ponyville to Spike. I learned from Joe who heard it directly from Spike himself.” Rarity was a bit upset to hear it. Fancy continued on, “Spike also told Joe what you did to him...” _____________________________________________________________________________ Applejack searched around the mansion for Fairy. She then heard sobbing from a room that was in the dark. She walked in and turned on the lights. “Fairy. Ah’m sorry about what you heard about us, but we are trying to fix everything.” Applejack didn’t see or hear any movement from the filly. “We are sorry for what we did to Spike. Sorry may not be enough to fix everything, but we all are willing to work hard for his forgiveness. Just please help us any way you can.” Fairy then appeared with a strong glare with tears still around her once happy face. “You ponies are heartless. I overheard everything from daddy and Mr. Joe about how you ponies threw him out and abandoned him. You didn’t even give him a chance. To think he would help me even though he has been so much.” Applejack then tried to comfort her by saying sorry, but was denied and Fairy said angrily in return, “YOU PONIES SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES! Sorry doesn’t mean anything to me. You should be sorry to Spike and all the trouble you caused him. If I only knew I would have done my very best to be his friend. He is a kind dragon.” Applejack really didn’t know what to say. She was taken back by Fairy’s words. She put her hat over her face to not show the tears that eventually emerged from her eyes. Fairy then finally saw the sincerity in her apology. Applejack tried her best to not show weakness in front of such a young filly, but it was already too late. Fairy walked up to Applejack and rose her hat that shielded her flowing tears from her eyes. Fairy then decided that she recognizes her mistake and it was not helping to just snap at her. “Look I am sorry for going all out like that. I just really wish Spike didn’t have to go through this.” Fairy said trying to calm the situation. Applejack wiped the remaining tears away, “Ah’m sorry too, but Ah want to tell Spike... no Ah want to show Spike how sorry Ah am and Ah am sure everypony wants to as well. Looking back on it, I really hate how we handled that situation. We didn’t even give him a proper chance to defend himself.” “But now you can change all of that. It may take you all a while to earn his forgiveness, but as long as you are all sincere to working for his forgiveness then I am sure he will open again.” Fairy said trying to cheer up Applejack. “Ya, Ah suppose you're right.” Applejack said putting back her hat in its proper position. “So um Fairy, do you know anything about where Spike was headed or any information so we can find him.” Fairy shook her head, “Sorry, but only my daddy and Mr. Joe would know where he is or headed, but I do know something has been affecting Spike.” Fairy answered. Her answer caught Applejack’s attention. “Spike always looked sleep deprived. It was as if he barely slept and my friend Candy did mention he was making odd noises in his sleep. Like he was in pain and having a nightmare. It got better the longer he was here, but it came back the nights before he left. If you really want to know more you should talk to daddy. He should be in his study.” Applejack then thanked the little filly and walked out of the room into the hallway. She just realized that she was lost in the mansion. ______________________________________________________________________________ Fancy and Rarity were seated opposite to each other. The butler came with tea and offered biscuits. It was still silent so the butler just left the tray and walked out to do other things. Fancy then began while levitating his cup to him. “Rarity.” Fancy said, but as soon as he did Rarity jumped up from her silence. Fancy then coughed slightly as he continued, “What were you and the others thinking? Sending such a young dragon on his own is just irresponsible. It was like you turned your back on a child.” Rarity just kept her head down in silence. She was just fiddling her hooves as she levitated her tea to her mouth. She clearly did not want to face the truth. “Well Rarity, what have you to say?” Rarity put the tea down and cleared her throat, “I know we were all wrong. Everypony now knows this in Ponyville after the Princess came to clear things up. I really did not want to believe it at first. I was so sad to learn the truth and after what occurred, I really don’t want to face Spike, but I must for the sake of my friends.” “Rarity,” Fancy began again, “That reason is as if you were saying that you do not really care if Spike is wandering about Equestria all alone. How long ago was he banished? It’s been over a month since he has come to Canterlot. Imagine if how easily he could have been brought to harm and all you can say is that you are doing this because of your friends? How unladylike can you be?” The words of Fancy had struck Rarity like a thousand needles to the heart. She wanted to tell him why she did not want to see Spike, but she was scared of the reaction. “Fancy.” Rarity began while Fancy rose an eyebrow as he awaited her response. “I do care for Spikey, but I don’t know how to face him again.” A string of tears started going down her face as her some of her make up started to flow within her tears, “I am scared to face him again. I just don’t know what to do or what to say to him after what happened.” Fancy, once he saw the tears in her eyes and the expression of pure sadness, knew that she was in great pain. He took his noble and chivalrous stance and tried to reassure her, “I really must ask, why would you be so afraid to face Spike when he is a very kind and forgiving dragon. He may not forgive you immediately, but if I know one thing about him is that he isn’t one to hold a grudge. However, the longer you all wait, the worse it will be when you face him. Can you truly live with the regret of knowing you let an innocent child go out into the world thinking that his closest friends hate him?” Rarity then looked down back at her reflection in the tea as one of her tears dropped into it. “No. I don’t think I could ever work on anything ever again.” “Well then Miss Rarity. Do you now know what you must do?” Fancy asked. Rarity nodded as Fancy levitated a handkerchief to her face and wiped the tears away. “Well I suggest we find your friend then. One thing that has my curiosity is what happened between you and Spike personally?” “Sorry Fancy, but I can’t reveal that to you or anypony. It is something between Spike and myself.” Rarity said as she got up from the couch. They both walked out to the large foyer, where they were met by Applejack and Fairy Dancer. Before Applejack and Rarity parted off to go meet Twilight and Pinkie, Fancy gave some important information. “From what I know. Spike is headed to the badlands and beyond to where the dragons live.” “Well then Ah suppose we will have to meet him there, but Ah doubt Spike will escape Rainbow Dash’s sights.” Applejack said with confidence. Both Fancy and Fairy said their goodbyes as Rarity and Applejack waved back. Applejack noticed the make-up that was still slightly messed up on Rarity’s face. She knew that she was crying as well. “Rarity, whatever happened back there it’s going to be alright, but y’all should really fix up yer makeup.” Applejack said with a smirk on her face. Rarity then saw in a reflection of one of the store windows how her mane and her make up were messy. She shrieked and ran inside one of the nearby bathrooms. Applejack then waited outside the bathrooms thinking about past memories and she hardly remembers really doing anything with Spike. The only times she really saw Spike was when Spike was with Twilight. ‘Spike did really love my apple pies’ Applejack thought to herself. Then her mind started to wonder off to the last time she saw Spike. It was the day before Spike was accused of his crime. It was the probably the first time when Spike had visited Sweet Apple acres on his own. “Heya Applejack.” Spike said cheerfully. “Oh howdy Spike.” Applejack said as she was pulling a carriage of apples into the storehouse next to the barn. “It is surprising to see you here without Twilight today.” “Well Twilight just sent me here to pick up some of your delicious Apple Pies. You know tonight is a special night of course.” Spike said with such a big smile on his face. “Yeah, it will definitely be one of most amazing nights.”Applejack said with her own smile on her face. Just then Rarity came back out and Applejack put her hat on as they continued to the meeting point. ______________________________________________________________________________ Joe was in shock at the sight of Twilight. He almost dropped all that he was carrying as he stumbled over his hooves trying to catch himself. “Twilight Sparkle!?” was all he could get out. “Are you alright Joe?” Twilight said as she used her magic to help. “Why are you here? What are you doing in Canterlot?” Joe asked as he set down all that he was carrying. “I am here to look for Spike and to bring him back home.” Twilight answered. Joe then changed his attitude from shocked to one of anger. “Home? You mean the place that points hooves first and asks questions never? I would never consider that home.” Twilight who was still annoyed by the passing ponies from before then replied, “Look most of those rumors around Canterlot are mostly exaggerated. Don’t believe in those rumors.” Joe then said, “Twilight. I heard everything from Spike himself. I know the truth already. How dare you just come into my store and just demand things.” “Joe, I just want this thing to end and the sooner you help, the sooner everything will return back to normal.” Twilight said as her patience was wearing thin. “Are you even listening to yourself? You don’t even sound like you care that Spike was hurt by this experience. How do you plan to apologize to him? Just saying sorry isn’t really going to cut it.” Joe said in retaliation. “I don’t know, but I have to find him soon.” Twilight said before getting cut off by Joe. “And then what? Will you just try to return back to normal and have him do the chores again while you all just have fun?” “What!?” Twilight said shocked by Joe’s accusation. “Spike told me how even before that he practically cleaned up all the messes you made. When you came to Ponyville, tell me how often was Spike involved in your activities and when he was involved was he actually involved or was he there for the convenience of everypony.” Joe pointed out. Twilight took a moment to think to herself. Then she said, “Well for Spike’s birthday we-”, but was cut off yet again. "Only his birthday? Where was he on your birthday?!" Joe angrily added. Twilight was stumbling over her words. "He was.... he was….” "He was in the library waiting for you and the others but then realized you just went off to Canterlot leaving him behind... to cry no less! I mean really! Only his birthday is all you can say!? That is truly disappointing. Don’t you realize these things? I did kind of found it hard to believe that what Spike said was true, but after hearing this I suppose all of it was true.” Joe said now on the complete offensive. Twilight’s anger was instantly put out at the realization how true Joe’s accusations were. She tried to speak, but her voice felt as if it were muted. “I can’t really blame Spike for not wanting to return. You know I remember when you and Spike used to come here to visit after your classes ended and how you both used to do so many things together. What happened to that? Did you just replace Spike with new friends and forget your oldest and closest friend?” Joe said in addition. Twilight was absorbing in all the words from Joe like a large dried sponge in an ocean of somber truths. She was reminded of her past before Ponyville. The tears in her eyes formed as she did not even realize these simple things could build up so much. As she was about to break down a stallion stood in front of her. “What are you doing to my sister? Making her cry like this?” The stallion then turned around. “Twilight, is everything alright?” Twilight looked and saw her brother. Shining didn’t want to hear anything out of Joe so he said, “Come on sis. Lets go.” They walked out and Joe went back to his business. She was brought to Canterlot Castle. Rarity and Applejack were already there waiting for Twilight and Pinkie. “Hey! Where did Pinkie Pie go!?” ______________________________________________________________________________ Spike was at shock at the pony who called off the guards. It was a friend that Rainbow introduced to him when the Wonderbolts came to Ponyville one time for a competition and Rainbow had VIP passes after winning that competition for herself and six other guests. Spike was lucky number seven and got to meet the Wonderbolts as well. They became rather good friends after that meeting. “Fleetfoot!? What are you doing here?”