//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: New Beginning, Old Environment 
// Story: The Darkness of Love 
// by The Grimm Reaper 
//------------------------------//

	“Spike…” Twilight was speechless. Her whole world crumbled around her as the sopping wet dragon, slicked with blood that washed to the ground stood at her doorstep.
“Twilight…” he groaned. He sounded weak as he fell forward. The pony didn’t know what to do, and instinct told her to jump out of the way. Spike hit the floor with a loud thud, a groan following close behind.
“Oh my goodness.” she gasped, proceeding to help him inside. Spike floated in the air, surrounded by Twilight’s magical aura. The pony herself rushed to her bedroom door and wasted no time levitating the weak dragon inside. There was a slight knock on the doorframe, followed by Spike’s annoyed groan.
“Ow.” Twilight winced as she realised her mistake.
“Sorry.” she said as she rushed to prepare the guest bed for him. Gently, and with renewed accuracy, she laid the dragon to rest with his head on the pillow. The covers had been forced to the end of the bed and as the aura faded from around Spike, it reappeared around the covers which floated above him, coming to rest over his battered and bleeding body.
“You can have a shower tomorrow, right now you need rest. What happened to you?” the dragon didn’t answer. He simply looked at his old friend with distant eyes. The room was silent, save Spike’s wheezing and it became clear to him that she was not going to leave him alone without an answer.
“Gryphons.” Twilight observed the wounds not covered by the bedding, gently wiping away some of the blood around one of them.
“Looks like you’ll have a permanent scar over your eye. They say that mares like scars, but with Rarity, she might become that much more difficult for you to obtain.” she joked. Spike just huffed, a waft of smoke rising to the roof.
“Funny.” he muttered. Twilight leaned away from him, unsure what to do next. There was an eerie chill in the room as nothing was said for a matter of minutes. She searched for something to say; anything that could beak the wall of awkwardness between them. There was so much she wanted to ask him, but she didn’t want to pressure him into leaving again. Perhaps something casual would be a good start?
“So how have–.” she was cut off by a light snore that escaped the dragon’s mouth. She inspected the noise to find he’d fallen asleep.
“Poor guy; he must have been exhausted.” she whispered to herself. She reached a hoof to his face and turned his head. She then proceeded to kiss his forehead, avoiding the blood that had begun to dry on his surface.
“I’m glad you’re home.” she left him to his rest and returned to her own fresh bed. As she relaxed herself, she thought about what had just happened and she smiled. Her best friend had come home.
This’ll be one hell of a friendship report to Princess Celestia. she thought as she closed her eyes.

The following morning, Spike awoke to the smell of cooked vegetables, hay fries and the sound of gems clanging together. He knew right away that Twilight had planned on trying to persuade him to stay by feeding him his favourite foods; or what once were his favourites. As he suspected, a bowl of gems accompanied some hay fries and vegetables on a tray as Twilight opened the door. She’d gone out of her way to make this. Too bad it wasn’t going to affect him in the way she wanted.
“Morning.” she said in a cheery voice. He knew it all too well. It was the voice she’d use whenever she was nervous about something. It was obvious to anypony or anyone what she was nervous about.
“Morning.” he replied in a not so cheery tone. He sat up and leaned against the bed post as she placed the tray of food on his lap.
“How did you sleep?” she asked. Spike ignored the question at first, sniffing the contents in front of him. Clearly, nature had made him paranoid to an extent.
“Well enough… considering.” he took a few hay fries and wrapped his reptilian tongue around them. He then proceeded to pull them into his mouth where it closed. Twilight searched for any signs of chewing, but noticed none.
“Is everything alright?” she asked. Spike had torn the fries apart using nothing but his tongue, turning it into a few piles of mash as he constricted around the thin sticks. He swallowed, loud enough for her to hear.
“Of course not.” he said nothing else as he tried a gem next. A fire ruby, like the heart-shaped one he’d given Rarity was first on his list. He tossed the gem into his mouth and visibly chewed on it, more vigorously than necessary for a single gem the size of Twilight’s hoof.
“You said Gryphons attacked you. Why?” she asked. Spike stopped chewing and rotated his eyes, pointing them upon her. Twilight felt as though they were a pair of canons about to go off at any second.
“My home was just beyond their border. They disagreed and claimed it as theirs. Reasons led me to abandon it. It’s of no use to me now. Which brings me here.” He removed the tray from his lap and hopped out of bed, ripping the sheets that had stuck to him from his body which had used the dried blood as a medium. Twilight kept at least a meter away from him as he made his way out of the bedroom.
“Where are you going?” she asked, worry filling her voice. Spike stopped and turned to her.
“To the shower. This blood isn’t a fashion statement, I’m sure Rarity would agree.” he closed the door after him, leaving Twilight to ponder his attitude towards her.
Spike leaned against the door for a moment, bringing his hand to his face. As he dragged it down, the scars matched the path of his fingers, including the one over his eye. Fresh blood emerged from the scratches which caused him to curse under his breath. He hurried to the shower and turned the knobs. As a cold blooded creature, the temperature didn’t bother him, but the hot water that touched his scars hurt. He crouched in the tub as the water sprayed all over him and he watched as the tub turned pink against the white porcelain.  He knew coming back was a mistake. He should have tried for another brood and a dragoness with colour dissimilar to Rarity. But he was here now and he would suffer the consequences… for a time.

Twilight sat on the couch, staring at the unused fireplace. She was off in her own little calculating world. What had she done? She knew he was happy the day he left, but what caused all that to change? Did he realise some sort of truth that even she couldn’t fathom? All sorts of questions bubbled away in her head, each one dismissed as quickly as they came.
She was distracted by a knocking sound. She jumped as she realised she’d made plans with Rarity in the morning.
“Oh no. If she sees Spike… Well she was going to see him eventually, right?” She hurried over to the door and opened it.
“Twilight, darling! So nice to see you again.” the white mare said.
“We saw each other yesterday, Rarity.” Twilight muttered, stepping aside to let her in.
“I know, but twice in one month seems so… rare these days, you know?” she stepped inside and waved her mane to one side. She’d changed it once again. It was now without curls and hung beautifully straight. A strand had made its way between her eyes and rolled into a curl.
“Are you alright, darling? You look positively distraught. Has that time of the year crept up on you?” Twilight blushed red and shook her head, messing up her own mane in the process, much to Rarity’s chagrin.
“Oh, nononono, nothing like that. It’s, uh… Something came up last night and I haven’t really… bounced back yet.” As Twilight spoke, she heard the sound of the shower stopping, which she hadn’t noticed until it was gone. She gasped and smiled at Twilight with a devilish grin.
“Oh, I see what’s going on. Twilight, you little minx. As our current youth says; ‘working it under those books and plain appearances’.” If Twilight could grow any redder than she already was, she would have. 
“No, it’s not–.”
“You have nothing to hide from me darling, I understand you’ve got needs, as we all do. I’ll forgive your neglect regarding our meeting this time, and the next. After all, it does take us time to… to. Twilight?” Rarity had noticed Twilight’s distant look. She waved her hoof in front of her, receiving no response.
“What in Equestria…?” The shower room door opened, catching Rarity’s attention. Her eyes burst out of her skull as she laid eyes upon… her Spikey Wikey.
The purple dragon rubbed his head with the towel, avoiding the scars that he’d reopened and softened with the water. He stopped as he noticed Rarity standing there, with a look of pure absence. It matched the same look Twilight possessed for unknown reasons. He removed the towel from his head and held it in his hand.
“Twilight, you done goofed.” he said, thinking of nothing better that could soften the situation. Rarity broke her stance first, spouting gibberish to the tall figure before her.
“Wh-bu-you… I-whe…How? When? I… Is that you Spikey Wikey?” Rarity was speechless at first and Spike cringed at the familiar nickname that he’d outgrown long ago. He turned his gaze upon Twilight who had hung her head in readiness for what she knew was coming.
“Yeah, it’s me. What of it?” Rarity was uncertain about the question.
“W-well… um… you’re back, you came back. This is amazing.” she was beginning to presume things again, which pissed Spike off to no end.
“I’m not staying.” Rarity had begun to move toward him, but stopped at the sound of his words.
“What? Why not? What happened to you?” The dragon growled at her which caused her to retreat back beside Twilight who hadn’t moved from her spot.
“I’m between homes right now. My visit is temporary. So let’s get one thing straight. I’ve no intention of coming home and picking up where I left off. I don’t want to be your friend, I don’t want to have anything to do with any of you. I’m just here to get cleaned up, heal my wounds and them I’m out of here. No amount of hay fries or gems can change that.” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut as she felt tears well up inside of her. Luckily, she was facing away from him so he couldn’t see. Rarity on the other hand was speechless and shedding tears visibly in front of him.
“But… Spike. Why did you leave in the first place?” The young dragon ignored the question and walked around her.
“I’m going for a walk to stretch my legs. Perhaps I’ll get a job so I can pay rent.” he said. Twilight turned her head away so he couldn’t see her face. As soon as the door closed, she took a deep breath and burst into tears. Rarity hurried over to her side and caught her as the violet mare’s legs failed her. She held her friend tightly, mixing her own tears with Twilight’s.
“That wasn’t Spike… that’s not the same dragon we know and love.

Spike wandered the streets, ignoring the glances he received from the ponies who thought they recognised him. He made his way to the market district and searched each store for a ‘staff wanted’ sign. Nothing, not even Sugarcube Corner was hiring. The dragon growled in frustration.
“Perhaps I can assist Twilight like I used to in exchange for tenancy back at the Library.” He crossed his arms and thought the whole thing through.
“No, that should be a last resort. I’m smarter than that. Assistant Librarian isn’t a good enough job title for me. Ah, what do I care? It’s only temporary. Though I’d rather not spend the majority of my time around Twilight. I can’t afford to have her dissuade from leaving again.” Spike sighed and made his way to the Town Hall.
Maybe Mayor Mare’s got something for me. She was always looking for helpers when I was around. Spike walked in the direction of the town hall. It was hard to miss. The clock tower gave it away instantly.
“Why do they never improve upon historical landmarks? That clock should have broken before Twilight and I even moved here.” he said as he noticed the dusty surface of the clock’s face. He made his way to the front entrance, only to walk into Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, watch where you’re…” the turquoise Pegasus noticed the familiar purple scales and the design of his spines and frills.
“Spike? My Celestia, you’re back. And you’re packin’ some serious scars. It’s good to see you again. How’ve you been?” Spike smiled for once. Rainbow Dash wasn’t the kind to get all teary-eyed over the past. She was the type to quite literally pick up where they left off.
“Not too good, Dash. I think I made a mistake coming here. I should have stayed where I was.” Rainbow Dash shrugged.
“Well you’re here now. Might as well take care of any unfinished business you had when you left last time. I can tell you’re not here for keeps.”
“Yeah… I think Twilight and Rarity will try to change that outcome though. And I don’t plan on rekindling the friendship with anypony. Sadly, that includes you.” The Pegasus shrugged the comment off.
“Whatever. It’s not my place to push your decision aside. We can be casual acquaintances, if you’d like. So what brings you to the town hall? Looking for the mayor?” Spike nodded.
“Yeah, I’m looking for some temporary work to keep me busy, and I’d rather not return to being Twilight’s assistant. You?”
“I just finished talking with her. I’ve placed an ad out for flyers. I’ve been named the Senior Manager of the ‘Weather Control Agency’. And I’ve had to make improvements on the system, which means letting a few of the staff go. I’m currently hiring. It’s a shame you can’t fly. I think a dragon would make an awesome team mate and perhaps a mascot.” she began to laugh. Spike smiled and cracked his neck.
“Actually, I can fly.” Rainbow Dash stopped her laughing and looked at him.
“How?” Spike closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Unlike when he fought the gryphons, his eyes didn’t change colour and the purple mist didn’t appear. His scales remained as reflective as usual. A pink aura like Twilight’s magic emerged around his chest and a pair of wings sprouted from his back. Rainbow Dash stared wide eyed as the wings flapped once.
“Uh, I think you did it wrong. They’re… upside-down.” Sure enough, Spike’s wings were the wrong way around. The wing membranes were at the top and the wing joints themselves were at the bottom.
“No, they’re supposed to be like this. It works just as well as any other pair of wings. Plus it looks cooler.” he said, giving them another flap before folding them away. Rainbow Dash smiled.
“Now that I think of it, yeah, it does look cooler. Normal wings buck the world, right?” she mused. Spike chuckled and nodded.
“Buck yeah.”