//------------------------------// // Hard Feelings // Story: The Love of a Dragon // by Racko //------------------------------// “Well, this is a strange sight. A dragon crying in his sleep in the middle of the night. Covered in fillies, as well.” said a soft voice in the night, waking the slumbering purple dragon nesting under a tree. “If I didn’t know any better, little one, I would say you had some fun last night.” Spike tensed, looking around for the speaker. Unable to see anyone, he started to move, oblivious to the three little fillies sleeping on top of him, until one of them grumbled and nuzzled into him for warmth. “Who are you? Where are you?” he called out, trying not to wake his living blanket. “Fear not, Spike, I mean you no harm.” came the soft reply as a dark blue alicorn appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. “Princess Luna?” the young dragon asked, puzzled. “Yes, it is I. Don’t bother trying to bow or any of that nonsense. Don’t want to wake those three, now do you?” she asked, flashing him a small grin as she walked up to the drake. “What are you doing here? And why do I feel like I just had a fight with you?” “I am here to give you some company. Some company that isn’t sleeping, that is.” she said, taking a seat next to Spike, both of them chuckling a little bit at the sight. “As for the fight, we will talk about that later.” neither of them said anything after that for a long time, both of them just looking at the sky, or the surrounding field and trees. After a while, Luna lay down next to the dragon, who was surprised to see the Night Princess acting so casually. “I know how you feel, Spike.” she said softly, turning her cyan eyes towards him. Spike looked away from the dark sapphire blue alicorn. “Nopony knows what I feel like, Princess. How could they?” he looked back at her when he felt her hoof on his shoulder. “Believe me, Spike, I know what it is like to feel like you are nothing to the ones you care about the most. There are other things as well, but now is not the time to talk about those.” Luna said, trying to encourage the dragon. “I may not know exactly how you are feeling, but I know better than anypony else. Although I never got a filly blanket.” she gave a small, fake pout. “You can have them, I think they gained a little weight in the last three years.” “I think I will pass, thank you. And it isn’t very nice to joke about a mare’s weight, even though these three aren’t yet mares. What was it like for you, for the last three years?” Spike frowned a little, resting his claw on the nearest filly, Sweetie Belle, and slowly stroking her mane as she slept. “I felt like I was being taken on a ride in another body. I smelt, heard, felt and tasted everything I did while I was a pony. But my actions and words were not mine. I felt more at peace during that time than I ever have before, though.” “It may be possible that he acted out your purest intentions, Spike. I heard that he managed to accomplish what you had been trying to do your whole life.” Spike snorted in response. “Yea, I try my whole life to be the best I can be to everypony, and only after I play as a pony am I able to do it, in three years.” Luna frowned this time. “But you still have friends, Spike.” “What, these three? I’m sure tomorrow they will try to tame me or something.” “While that does sound enjoyable, they aren’t who I was referring. I was talking about the Bearers of the Elements.” Spike’s nostrils flared. “Those ponies? Who cares about those ponies? They don’t need me, they don’t even want me around. They hate me, and I hate them.” his voice trailed off as he finished his statement, and a dark blue hoof came down forcefully on his cheek. “That is false, young Spike. My sister told me about Twilight, she missed you dearly. The white unicorn as well, Rarity.” “Yea, figures they want me there only after I am gone.” “Maybe you should try talking with them, Spike. You might be surprised how much it helps, as long as you try before it is too late.” Spike looked doubtfully at the Princess. “How can you be so sure, Luna?” Luna returned a comforting look to the dragon. “I know it would have helped me. And you will always have me to talk to, Spike, I promise.” Spike frowned and looked away from the Princess. She nuzzled his cheek softly. “I guess you have a few broken promises, don’t you?” Spike nodded in response. “Well, I don’t plan on letting you down, just don’t let me down and follow the same path I did, ok Spike?” “Ok, Princess. Thank you.” he said, looking at the Princess as she stood up. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go follow my own advice. Keep in touch, you hear?” she nuzzled the dragon again after he nodded and took off gracefully, flying into the night. Spike looked at the three fillies on top of him, smiling a little at the sight. Sweetie Belle was cuddled up on his chest as he stroked her mane slowly, while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both laid on his stomach, cuddled together for warmth. He closed his eyes, feeling peace from his three friends wanting to comfort him while he was sleeping. He began to drift back into the wonderful land of slumber, his feelings and thoughts still torn. Sweetie Belle woke up, feeling the sun’s rays trying to shine through her eyelids, and felt something being pressed against her mane, resting on her neck. She opened her eyes, blinked a few times to adjust to the light, and to blink away the drowsiness. Her eyes focused on the purple scales on the face of the dragon she was sleeping on, and the arm he had reached out to her, his claws resting in her mane. She involuntarily stretched, her body wanting to move. Spike’s eyes flew open at her movement, and they instantly focused on the filly who woke him. Sweetie Belle immediately jumped up from her position to give the big dragons’ neck a bone-crushing hug. “SPIKE!! You’re back!!!” her shout startled the dragon, and also woke up the other two fillies who occupied the body of the purple dragon as a bed. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo also quickly joined in on the hug, wrapping their hooves around his stomach. “Uh, good morning to you, too, girls.” Spike said as his neck was being crushed by the small white unicorn. “Good morning!” all three fillies said at once, jumping off of Spike, allowing him to sit up. “What were ya doin’ out here, Spike? Why were ya cryin’ last night, an’ why didn’t ya go to the library?” little Apple Bloom asked, resting her front hooves on his lap. “Well, I could ask you three the same question, why are you out here?” he said, frowning slightly. “Well, we saw you last night being all mushy and decided to help you. And the girls weren’t back yet last night, so we decided to have a sleepover at the clubhouse, as we would have been alone, anyways.” the orange pegasus, Scootaloo, said offhandedly. “And we wanted to cheer up our favorite dragon!” Apple Bloom said excitedly. “I’m the only dragon you know.” Spike said, sticking a forked tongue out at them. “Doesn’t matter! Where have you been, Spike? And why did you decide to come back now?” Sweetie Belle asked. Spike looked at the three fillies, all of whom had their front hooves in his lap, looking back at him. “Well, as best as I can tell, I was a pony, somepony who you seemed to enjoy tormenting, as well. Thank you, for what you said to him.” he said, giving them a small smile and giving the tops of their heads small, friendly rubs. “As for why I’m back now, I have no idea. Everypony seemed better off when I was Obsidian, anyway.” “Spike, that’s not true! Sure, you may have been a great help to ponies, but we still missed you, Spike.” Sweetie Belle said loudly, tearing up some and hugging the purple dragon again, causing the other two to join in. Spike returned the embrace gently. “Thanks again, girls. Now, have you three been good little fillies?” the three all jumped away from him and nodded vigorously. One might mistake little halos over their devious little heads from the sun shining on them. “Well, as hard as that is to believe, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Now, I need to go admire myself.” he said, stretching before standing up, giving them a goofy smile. “I never got a chance to look at my new body.” The three fillies all giggled at the silly dragon as he walked towards the Crusaders Clubhouse, where they somehow managed to keep an unbroken mirror. Looking in the mirror at his reflection, Spike saw that his body would be larger than most ponies, though still not as large as the Princesses, and still had the same purple hue to it, just a touch darker now. He flared out his wings and checked them out. They were the same shade purple as his main scales. His stomach scales had a more pronounced shade of green, while his spines kept their color, changing to be sleeker, growing into sharp points. “Lookin’ good, Spike. Lookin’ real good.” he said to the mirror, standing on his hind legs and flexing his arms, causing uncontrollable giggling from the little fillies watching him. The giggling increased as Spike’s stomach gave out a tremendous grumble, causing him to give a sheepish smile. “Guess I’m hungry. Come on, lets go get some breakfast.” The three fillies all gave a chorus of “Yay!” and followed the dragon as he walked towards Ponyville. Spike silently hoped the six mares weren’t there yet, though he still wondered why they hadn’t returned last night. Twilight woke up feeling sore, her cheek still stinging from the cuts she received last night. She opened her eyes and looked at her friends, all of them still sleeping in the cave, cuddled together for comfort. She raised a hoof to her cheek, reminding herself how much it had hurt when her own brother, Spike, had slapped her. It didn’t truly hurt physically, but it opened her eyes to how the little dragon felt. Perhaps ‘little’ wasn’t the proper way to describe him anymore, Twilight thought. He was larger than she was and had finally gotten his wings. Twilight’s gaze rested on Rarity, who hadn’t been able to speak last night. The white unicorn had went into a trance after hearing Spike’s harsh words and departure. Twilight felt saddened for her friend. Rarity had dearly missed Spike, and the first thing he said to her was ‘buck off.’ Had something worse happened between the two of them that she wasn’t aware of? As if on queue, the white mare opened her puffy eyes and looked back at the librarian. Twilight reached out a hood and rested it on her friends’ shoulder. “You alright, Rarity?” The mares’ eyes turned away and she gave a small sniffle. “I don’t know, dear. I- I think I deserved that, last night. But, it still hurts.” She closed her eyes, tears pooling under her eyelids. “I never imagined Spike doing that..” Twilight pulled her friend into a light hug. “Neither did I.” they both lay there, not saying anything more, just taking comfort in each other. The other girls slowly woke up and started moving around, getting ready to head back to Ponyville. They didn’t have any food for breakfast, so other than a few “Good mornings” going around, it was quiet, save for some grumbling stomachs. The walk back to Ponyville took nearly an hour, and everypony had sore hooves, sore bodies, and empty stomachs. Pinkie Pie wasn’t bouncing around, either due to hunger or because of every ponies mood. They all silently agreed to grab something to snack on at the Corner. After they entered the gingerbread building, they each got themselves some delicious, sweet snack that may not have been appropriate for a breakfast, and sat around a large table to enjoy. Pinkie Pie devoured a few cupcakes while Applejack and Rainbow got into a cake eating competition. Twilight and Fluttershy just quietly ate their snacks, while Rarity just stared at her tray of muffins, not attempting to eat any. “So why did Spike act like that last night? That was so not cool!” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the silence. “Maybe he was just shocked, that’s all.” Applejack said unsurely. “Ah reckon he was overreactin’ that’s all.” “I don’t know, AJ. He seemed calm to me.” Twilight said defensively. “Yea, calm enough to slap the pony he has lived with all his life!” Rainbow Dash almost shouted, clearly upset. “And why do you still have those cuts, Twi? Why don’t you heal it yourself or let Fluttershy take care of it?” “Because I deserved it, Dash! All he ever wanted from me was to be my friend, to spend time with him and let him know that he.. That he was loved.” Twilight said, trying to hold back tears. “Well, didn’t you do that, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, confused. “No, Dash, I didn’t.” Twilight said softly, getting up and walking away. “Not enough, at least. Thanks for the food, Pinkie.” with that, she exited the bakery, making sure the door closed behind her. “What the hay was her problem?” Dash said. “Ah suppose she was just defendin’ her oldest friend, Dash. Though, ah do agree with ya.” Applejack looked at the others. “What about y’all? Bein’ very quiet, specially you, Rarity.” Rarity looked up at Applejack, then at the rest of the mares. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both looked at her, while Fluttershy was watching everyone with a little worry in her eyes, while Pinkie was bouncing around, failing to try and cheer everypony up. “I think he needs some time to himself, that’s all, darlings.” “Time?! He’s had three years to himself, for Celestia’s sake!” Dash nearly shouted, causing Rarity to flinch. “Girls, I think we should all stop fighting. Th-that is, if you don’t mind..” Fluttershy spoke up, and looked like she wanted to hide under the table as they looked at her. “Fluttershy is right!” Pinkie said, jumping onto the table. “And maybe all Spike needs is a big hug, even if he is being a big meany-pants.” “Ah guess we did get carried away there, sugarcube.” Applejack said, looking to the side. “We should probably go make sure Twilight’s alright. What about you, Rarity? Are ya alright?” Rarity sighed and looked back at her muffins before speaking. “I think so, darling. I just need some time, alone.” “Ya have been alone, sugarcube. But ah ain’t gonna argue with ya.” Applejack said, placing a hoof on her friends’ shoulder. “Come on, girls. We should go see Twilight.” she took her hoof off Rarity’s shoulder and walked towards the door, followed by a grumpy Rainbow Dash and energetic Pinkie Pie. “Fluttershy, ya comin’?” she asked the yellow pegasus. “No, that’s alright. I need to go back and check on my animals.” Fluttershy said, giving them a small smile. They nodded and continued out the door. Fluttershy turned towards Rarity, who was still staring at her muffins, and gave her a small hug. “I’m sure everything will work out, Rarity. Maybe Spike just needs some time, just don’t let him think you don’t care anymore.” Rarity returned the hug and gave a sniffle. “Thank you, darling. I lost him once, I don’t want to lose him again.” both of them were quiet for a few moments before they let go. “I think you should go check on Angel, he’s probably pretty upset that you haven’t fed him yet.” Fluttershy let out a small ‘meep’ and quickly flew out the shop, leaving Rarity to sit and look at her muffins. Sighing, she picked one up and took a small bite out, trying to at least enjoy her snack, just a little. She finished one of the muffins before standing up and levitating the tray and the rest of the trash to throw it all away. Just as she was about to throw it all away, a blue-grey pegasus was spotted in the corner of her eye, and she turned to her. “Well hello, Ditzy. What brings you here this morning?” she asked the wall-eyed mailmare. “Oh, just decided to come get some muffins before going to work. And I told you that you can just call me Derpy, everypony else does.” she said, looking at the white unicorn, while her other eye decided there was something interesting on the floor. “Well, that just wouldn’t be proper, dear.” Rarity said, levitating the tray of muffins over to her. “Here, might as well take these. I don’t want them, and it would just be a waste to throw them away.” “Really?! You’re going to give me free muffins?” Derpy said, looking like it was her birthday and ready to jump around, which she did when Rarity nodded, giving her a small smile. “Ooh, thank you!” the pegasus mare said, giving Rarity a tight hug before flying off with her muffins, a huge smile on her face. Rarity smiled slightly after her, the bliss flowing from the pegasus seeping into her. Spike left the guest bedroom of the library. As much as he didn’t want to come here, he had to stop by to get bits to pay for breakfast. The bits weren’t exactly his, but Obsidian had earned it, so he told himself it counted. The Cutie Mark Crusaders waited downstairs, hopefully not breaking anything. As he got to the top of the stairs, he heard a shout and groaned. “Twilight!” one or more of them shouted, “Spike’s back!” There was a short conversation that he couldn’t make out, and he decided against his better judgement to walk down the stairs. The entire place felt foreign to him, he hadn’t truthfully been here in years, and walking on four limbs was still alien to him, and he stumbled a little walking down the stairs. As he got to the bottom of the stairs, he was tackled by a white ball of unicorn filly. “Spike! Twilight’s here! Hurry up and let’s go talk to her!” Sweetie Belle said excitedly, pushing the dragon towards the main room in the library where the other two Crusaders and the librarian awaited. As the lavender unicorn came into sight, Spike noticed the cuts along her cheek, he flinched slightly. “Hey Spike. Are you feeling any better? I hope we can go back to how we were, Spike. I promise that we can be happy again.” she said, trying to smile though tears were swelling up in her eyes as she talked. “How can I believe anything you say? You lied to me, Twilight. You broke the one promise that meant the world to me!” he said, standing up on his hind legs and overshadowing her, pain and anger in his eyes, recalling everything that happened between them. The three fillies sat at the edge of the room, looking fearful and hurt for their close friend. “You decided that being Celestia’s little whorse was more important than the one that depended on you!” Spike looked like he wanted to say more, but instead shook his head, sending a few draconic tears throughout the room as he ran out the door. The three fillies were shocked at what their friend had just done to Twilight. “Twilight, what was he talkin’ about? What’s this promise that mattered so much?” Apple Bloom quietly asked the now newly sobbing unicorn. Twilight looked at the three fillies, all of them looking at her expectantly, sadness apparent on their young faces. “Well, it was when we were young, and Spike was only a couple weeks old.” she sniffled before continuing. “I took those first couple weeks just spending time with him, he quickly learned how to speak, and was learning how to write. I knew I meant a lot to him, but I found out just how much after I started going back to school..” Twilight hummed through the gardens. She enjoyed being back in classes and learning more, especially now that she was going to be Princess Celestia’s personal student. The time she had off to spend with the little dragonling that had been hatched during her exam had been very fun, but she had still wanted to study during that time. As she got back to her new room in the castle, where her and her dragon Spike were now staying, she skipped along, happy to be able to spend more time with her new friend. As she opened up her door and levitated her saddlebags next to the door, she called out for him. “Spike! I’m home!” she looked around for the little purple dragon but couldn’t see him. “Spike? Where are you?” she called out again, getting concerned. She started levitating things everywhere, looking for her friend. She started to panic, fearing something happened to him, when a loud knock came from the door. Running to it, she shoved it open and stared right into the face of a large pegasus guard. “Miss Twilight Sparkle?” he asked, to which she nodded. “There is a small dragon running around. It seemed to be looking for something, and I was told that you have a dragon.” “Spike? Where is he?” she asked frantically “He was last at the school you go to. Follow me, miss.” he said before turning and walking at a fast pace, causing Twilight to have to nearly run to keep up with him. She didn’t care, as long as she found Spike. They quickly got to the schoolyard, and the scene was heartbreaking. Spike was running around crying ‘Twilight!’ and trying to get inside. It was apparent that he was crying, and Twilight ran as fast as her little legs could carry her to the little guy. “Spike! I’m here, Spike!” she shouted at him. Spike turned and looked at her, and started running at her. The two jumped into a giant embrace, Spike’s little claws on the sides of Twilight, while her hooves wrapped all the way around her scaly friend. After a few minutes of him crying silently into her chest, she spoke up quietly. “Now now, Spike, what’s wrong?” He didn’t move from his position, but tightened his hold around the lavender filly. “I got lonely waiting for you. I started to think that you left me.” he nuzzled her chest before continuing, “I started coming here to look for you, and all the other fillies started making fun of me, saying that I was a freak, that I don’t belong here. I got scared, Twilight.” he started crying softly again. Twilight ran a small hoof over the green scales on his head reassuringly. “Why would you think that I left you? What were you scared of, Spike?” she asked softly again, tears pooling up. “I- I was scared that.. That you.. Didn’t want me.. Anymore.. I was scared that you left me all alone.” as he finished, he started crying harder than ever, pressing his snout as hard as he could against the chest of Twilight, soaking her fur in tears. Twilight choked up and hugged him as tight as she could, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. “I don’t want to be left alone, Twilight.” “I will never, ever, ever, ever leave you alone, Spike!” she cried, stroking his scales. “I promise. I promise that you will never be alone. You will always belong here, my little Spikey.” she closed her eyes and rested her head on top of Spike’s, nuzzling him softly. After what seemed like an eternity, the sobbing had quietened, and Twilight kept on stroking the scales of the little dragon, not moving at all from her position. The guard who had brought the little filly there watched the entire time, letting a smile creep on his muzzle and a tear fall down his cheek at the scene that had portrayed in front of him. Spike sat on the bench in the Ponyville Park, smoke billowing out of his nostrils. Of course, Twilight would want him back to be her slave. She said she wanted things to go back to how they were. Did she really not care about how he felt? And of course, he would forget the bits at the library, so breakfast was out of the question. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes, taking in deep breaths. A voice called out to him nearby. “Spike? Hi Spike!” Spike opened his eyes and spotted the speaker, a blue-grey pegasus mare with a habit of crashing into everything. She flew over to him and sat next to him on the bench, her yellow eyes both looking at the dragon as she carried a tray of muffins in her mouth. “Hey Derpy, how are you?” he asked, turning to look at her as one of her eyes went upwards. “Haven’t crashed into too many things lately, have you?” “Nope!” she said, setting the tray in her lap and shaking her head. “Muffin?” she offered one of her muffins to the dragon, whose stomach grumbled loudly. Derpy giggled a little as Spike smiled sheepishly and happily took it. “Thanks Derpy!” Spike started to eat his muffin, enjoying the flavor of blueberries residing inside, when a voice called out behind them. “Spike! Could I please talk to you, dear?” the pony said, causing Spike to groan inwardly, recognizing the voice of the fashion mare his heart had set after all those years ago. He turned and looked at her, the pastel unicorn looked hopefully at him, a sad look in her eyes. "So you can torment me more? I'll pass, thank you." Spike turned away from her and back at his muffin. Rarity took a few steps towards him and asked again, "Please, Spike? can we please talk?" "Buck off, Rarity..." he muttered, the grey pegasus next to him barely hearing it. "Don't you have some fancy, stuck up Canterlot ponies to go impress?" he continued louder, "or do you just want to use my help for that? Just go away!" Rarity gasped and sputtered out some incoherent words before sniffling and walking away. Derpy looked at the purple dragon with a frown before noticing the pained expression on his face. "Something wrong, Spike?" she asked softly, getting a quiet, draconic headshake in response. She got up and walked directly in front of him, looking up at his emerald eyes. "Come on, Spike, what's wrong?" Spike sighed and looked in her eyes, which decided they wanted to look at the opposite eyes. "It's nothing, Derpy. I've just been through a lot. I just feel like I don't really belong.." "Well, why don't you talk about it?" she asked, giving him a look that could make anypony give in. Spike smiled slightly and spoke up, "All right, Derpy, just sit down, ok?" she nodded and sat right next to him and continued eating her muffins, keeping an eye on him as he stared at his half-eaten muffin for moments before continuing, "It all started when I was only a few weeks old..." Princess Celestia sat at her throne thinking, her sister at her side. She was frowning at the pony in front of her, talking on and on about something to do with next years Grand Galloping Gala. She had stopped listening to the stallion an hour ago, instead thinking about her sister and Spike. Celestia looked at her sister, who had her gaze set outside. “Luna?” she whispered, as the dark blue mare turned to look back at her sister. “Is something the matter?” “You mean other than being up much later than usual, having to listen to boring ponies, and there being a broken dragon in Ponyville?” she asked with a little bit of a smile on her lips. “Yes, but that isn’t the big concern right now, sister. I think you should go talk to him, I think he needs somepony he felt close to before.” Luna looked at the stallion still talking, oblivious to the conversation between the two and their lack of interest in his ramblings about decorations. “I think I can manage to deal with this dolt, go spend a day or two with Spike.” “Are you sure?” Celestia asked, genuinely concerned. “From what you told me, he might not take too kindly to me being around.” “I can’t do much more than just lend an ear and advice to him, I’m afraid.” Luna said, frowning. “As much as I would like to be able to help him in that position, I can’t. Believe me when I say that he needs somepony who was close to him.” “Alright then, Luna. Love you, dear sister.” Celestia leaned over and gave her sister a small nuzzle. “We can talk when I take care of Spike.” Luna gave her sister a nuzzle in return. “Love you too, sister.” she watched as the older mare stood up and apologized to the stallion for her need to leave. “Oh, and Celestia? Try not to banish him on the moon. It tends not to make things much better.” Celestia pouted slightly at the younger alicorn. “Thanks for taking all the fun out of things.” her expression changed to a more serious one, and her eyes had a glint of sadness in them. “Don’t worry Luna, I know he needs somepony, and I have learned from my mistakes years ago.” Spike sat on the bench, eyes closed. He didn’t want to open them, fearing the look he might get from the pegasus next to him. It felt good to get everything off his shoulders, but he just talked about all his problems and hopes to a mare he had rarely talked to in the past. She probably thought he was a freak, just like all the other ponies used to. Spike opened his eyes as he felt a hoof placed on his shoulder. He turned his eyes to the mare, who was smiling reassuringly at him. "There will always be ponies who pick on you, Spike, but you will always be welcome here in Ponyville. Even if some ponies don't seem to care about you." Spike smiled at the wall-eyed mare, and surprised her by pulling her into a short, warm hug, to which she reciprocated the hug back to him. "Thanks, Derpy." he said quietly as he pulled back from the hug. "And thanks for listening to a silly dragon." Derpy let out a cute little giggle, "You're welcome, Spike, but you aren't a silly dragon." Spike let a smile form on his muzzle as they sat quietly for an eternity. "Hey Spike, you gonna finish that muffin?" Spike looked at the grey pegasus as she stared at his half eaten muffin, drooling. Spike chuckled a little as he held out the muffin for her to take. "You can have it, Derpy. I guess I'm not really hungry anymore." Derpy leaned forward and started to eat the muffin while he held it, causing him to blush slightly. The gray mare happily ate the muffin and licked up all the crumbs from his hand, oblivious to what she was actually doing and Spike’s reaction. Derpy looked up with a goofy grin on her face, "mmm... Muffin.." she looked up to the sky and gasped, "Aw, I'm late! I forgot all about work!" she exclaimed, jumping up and started to take off when Spike spoke up. "Um, Derpy?" the pegasus looked at him as she hovered in the air. "Are you busy later?" he asked shyly. "I don't think so, Spike. Why?" she asked wonderingly, eyes crossed. "Well, um, you want to go get dinner some time?" he asked, smiling at her with his face flushed. Her mouth opened and she hovered there for a moment before excitedly saying, "Sure, Spike, I would love to go to dinner with you!" she blushed as she flew closer to the dragon. She aimed a quick kiss at his cheek, causing him to blush harder. Derpy pulled away from the dragon, her face flushed. Spike looked into the eyes of the red cheeked pegasus. “I hope to see you again soon, Spike!” she said quickly before flying away. Spike stared dumbly at the retreating mare and reached his claws to his cheek. He smiled to himself, feeling like somepony did care for him. He started thinking about where he could take the mailmare out for dinner when his thoughts were interrupted by a goliath yawn. Even though it was barely midday, he was extremely tired. Perhaps it was being in a larger body, he thought, or maybe just the stress of everything. He slowly made his way to the Crusader Clubhouse, hoping to find somewhere there to be able to sleep. The chirping birds, cool breeze, and the many smells and beauty of the landscape barely registering to the young dragon. As he clambered into the clubhouse, he was blinded by a bright flash. As the flash started to subside, he seen a large pony-figure in the center just before it spoke. "Spike Sparkle, it has been far too long.” came the regal, feminine voice.