His Vector Grey

by Darkryt Orbinautz


Sharing

His Vector Grey

Chapter 5

Sharing


Spike continued to enjoy his sapphires, even with the question of what Pinkie and Twilight were doing filling him with unease at the back corners of his mind. After a while, the mass of sapphires in his mouth reduced enough for him to swallow. At first, he was a little disappointed that he couldn't enjoy the taste on his tongue anymore, but that faded with the huge clump of gem shards dropped into his stomach, filling it up almost to the point of bursting.

"Mmm . . . " Spike rubbed his stomach, possibly too full to even bother moving. He briefly entertained the possibility of falling onto his back and going right to sleep for the rest of the day . . . but then he probably would spend the whole night awake. But then he heard light, squeaky giggling. His senses became once again alert, and he tried to get onto his feet . . . but being so full, he fell backwards. He sighed, rolled over, and carried on. He went around the corner, and peered into the kitchen, where Twilight and Pinkie were sitting, and he found they were indeed the source of the giggling.

Spike also found they were carrying on a conversation he was not privy to, but on top of that, they seemed to know what the other was talking about, never finishing a sentence before the other introduced a new element, only for that element to also go unfinished.

"D-do y-you remember the time-?" Twilight asked Pinkie, pounding her hoof against the table to contain her laughter.

"With the-"

"And the-"

"On top of the-"

"And then Applejack-"

"Before Rarity-"

"That was hilarious!"

They shared a healthy bout of laughter- laughter was the best medicine, after all. Especially after almost doing something as damaging to a relationship as a spanking.

Twilight's laughter cut out after a moment, and she took in a deep breath to regain the air she had lost on her giggles. "Hoo! Thanks, Pinkie . . . I needed that." Twilight leaned over to Pinkie's and wrapped her in a hug.

"You're welcome." Pinkie answered, stroking Twilight's mane soothingly. Although Twilight appeared to be quite content with letting Pinkie stroke her, Pinkie appeared to be unnerved by how relaxed Twilight became.

"It's really lucky you came over when you did . . ." Twilight murmured. "If you had been a second later, I might have reached Spike and . . .oh, it's just so awful, Pinkie! If I had spanked him, I don't know if he could ever have forgiven me . . . "

"It's all right." Pinkie assured her, wrapping her front legs around Twilight's body. "I forgave my parents for it, and I'm sure Spike would have, too . . . eventually. Make sure you thank Owloyicous. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have known."

Spike blinked, confused at this. Owloyicous was his arch-enemy! His rival for Twilight's favor. His competition for work. Why would the owl go get Pinkie to help save Spike from Twilight's misdirected rage?

Twilight drew away from Pinkie, cupped Pinkie's cheek, then leaned in and gave her a smooch on the cheek. Pinkie looked resigned to this, but she showed no resistance. Even when Twilight start moaning, taking in the taste of Pinkie's neck, and began trailing her hooves down Pinkie's chest and back in a way Spike suddenly imagined Rarity doing to him when he saw it. He quite liked the picture his head was forming, of Rarity doing to him as Twilight was doing Pinkie, holding him tightly, kissing his neck with her soft, pale lips . . .

He scratched his chin, starting to wonder how he could make his fantasy into reality, when Twilight noticed him.

"S-Spike!" Twilight stuttered, pulling away from Pinkie – a motion she found extremely painful. "What are you doing there?"

"Uh . . . it's the kitchen?" Spike responded, confused. The kitchen was an open area, wasn't it?

"Go to your room!" Twilight snapped, wrapping her hooves around Pinkie possessively, her tail lashing out and tying Pinkie's hind legs together.

"But-!" Spike tried to protest.

"Leave Pinkie and I alone!"

"But-"

Pinkie rolled her eyes, having had enough of this. She rubbed her hoof against Twilight's chin, causing Twilight's tail to drop off Pinkie's legs like a dead snake as Twilight's eyes turned glassy and glazed.

"You don't have to go to bed, Spike." Pinkie told him sweetly. "Twilight just really wants to be alone with me right now." She turned to Twilight and whispered in her ear enticingly. "Isn't that right, sweetie?"

Twilight's only response was to moan, at first, so enraptured was she by the feeling of Pinkie's hoof on her chin and quiet voice in her ear. "Oooh . . . w-what? Did you ask a question? Alone...yeah. That."

"There," Pinkie said, still speaking enticingly before turning back to Spike and switching her tone from seductive temptress back to sweet old granny. "See, Spike? You're not in trouble, Twilight just wants to spend time with me right now."

Spike scratched his head. "What's going between you two?"

Twilight ignored him, only interested in pressing her head further into Pinkie's chest, pushing herself further into Pinkie Pie herself.

Pinkie's mouth opened, then closed. " . . . Honestly, Spike, I don't know." She tried to hide her uncertainty behind a smile. "Go have some fun."

Spike stayed, still wondering what was happening, before obliging her request and going to another section of the library. Perhaps he'd pick up his game again and try to beat Owloyicous' high score.

"Twilight?" Pinkie asked, a wariness in her voice that would made alarm bells go off in Twilight's head, if her thought processing wasn't reduced to one-track mindedness by Pinkie's touch. "I think I should go spend time with Spike."

"Okay . . ." Twilight droned.

Pinkie grimaced, not liking what she was about to say anymore than Twilight was going to.

"I mean, without you, Twilight."

Twilight had the reaction . . . that Pinkie was expecting, pretty much. "Nooo!" Twilight, sounding like a spoiled child, hugged Pinkie far tighter than necessary. "You're mine! You're mine . . . mine!"

Pinkie tried to comfort her. "Twilight, please. You- you sound like a foal." Pinkie proceeded to demonstrate how, despite all her spaciness, she was able to identify what should and should not have been done in a relationship in ways Twilight couldn't. "Spike needs to get used to having me around the house if we're going to be . . . this close to each other."

Twilight pouted, knowing Pinkie was right, but unable to bear the thought of Pinkie being away from her anymore than the reality of it.

"I'll come back." Pinkie tried to assure her, giving her another stroke through her purple hairs. Pinkie grabbed Twilight's cheeks and lifted her head up, then kissed her on the lips.

"MPH!" Twilight let out a muffled squeal of absolute pleasure. Pinkie made it last for a little while, trying to postpone breaking away so she could think of whether or not a slow pull or quick snap would let Twilight handle being without her. Twilight started trying to return it, causing Pinkie to be unable to decide and just quickly jerk away.

"Uhh!" Twilight moaned at her denial.

"I'll be back." Pinkie told her again, shaking her hips back and forth to wriggle out of Twilight's hold. "Okay?"

"Okay . . ." Twilight muttered, thought she didn't sound okay with it. Pinkie trotted out happily out of the room, calling Spike's name to draw his attention. She wasn't even gone for half a second before Twilight started feeling depressed, holding her head up with her hooves and sighing.

"Spike?" Pinkie yelled with her voice raised ever so softly. "Spike, are you there?"

"Yeah." Spike answered, stubby claws gnashing on the buttons of his game, determined to beat Owloyicous' score and prove he was the superior of the two, by earning a non-material aware in a digital world of no real consequence.

Pinkie rested her front leg against the door frame, admiring and envying Spike's carefree attitude. How she longed that she might join him there, absorbed in pixels and bits of otherwise meaningless data and just forget all the troubles of her world . . . the troubles of trying to love somepony back with all the strength and conviction that somepony had for her.

It wasn't that difficult to explain why Pinkie's and Twilight's affections for each other were so far apart. Pinkie had just some time ago been told of Twilight's crush, while Twilight had been nursing her lust for weeks before that, nurturing it, slowly molding it into the ultimate expression of affection.

Pinkie took her leg off the door and approached the soft recliner Spike was lying on. She grabbed his game and took it from his claw.

"Hey!" Spike protested, upset Pinkie would snatch his toys from him in such a rude manner.

Pinkie held up the game to her face and swept her gaze across the game screen. She chuckled lightly and shook her head, thinking of simpler, earlier games from another time that she used to play when she was younger. She pushed the pause button, and clicked the 'save game' option. She turned the game off and rested on the arm chair.

"Spike, I'd like you to spend some time with me." Pinkie informed him, sparing no bones and mincing no words.

Spike stared. "But . . . I thought Twilight wanted to be alone with you?"

Pinkie's eyelids lowered, and she looked to the door. Her face was so upside down. Spike was very disturbed by it. Pinkie almost seemed . . . mournful, and it was extremely startling to such a happy, perky bouncy pony be so downcast.

"We can't always get what we want." Pinkie said from out of nowhere.

Spike supposed that was true. He wanted Rarity to forgive him for hitting Sweetie Belle, but could he get that? He certainly hoped so. The idea Rarity would never look at him as anything other than a threat to her sister's safety again... that she wouldn't let him help with her many scavenger hunts for diamonds and such.

"Come on." Pinkie said, turning her rear to him and walking towards the door. "Let's play outside, huh? Get some fresh air!"

Spike would rather play his game and figure out how that accursed owl beat his high score so badly, but he supposed he had no choice but to comply. He knew Pinkie could sometimes force an issue without even realizing she was forcing it. Plus, Spike noted to himself as he followed Pinkie through the oaken halls of the library, he had noticed Twilight getting extra defensive of Pinkie recently. If there was something Pinkie wanted, Twilight got it. If there was something making Pinkie sad, Twilight got (rid of) it.

Once outside, Spike took in a deep, deep breath of the crisp, crisp air. He had seriously underestimated how good a breath of fresh air was after the ordeal he went through with Twilight just now. The grass billowed in the wind, swaying side to side in a manner most relaxing to watch.

"Come on!" Pinkie yelped, a bit more cheerful than while they were still inside, gesturing Spike to follow her. "We're gonna play on the swing set!"

Spike liked that idea, but there were a few problems with that. The swing set was over by the school – and by extension, by Sweetie Belle- and they hadn't even told Twilight they were leaving. Going outside and playing around the house was one thing, but going all the way to the school? Twilight would have a fit.

"Uh, Pinkie, I don't think that's such a good idea . . . you know how Twilight gets when things aren't all neat and orderly."

Pinkie's face twitched, like she was trying not to grimaced. She muttered something under her breath that Spike couldn't catch, but he was fairly sure it had something to do with Twilight and her inane mechanisms for (attempting to) control the world around her.

Pinkie raised her hoof, signaling for Spike to wait, then whipped out a rubber . . . thing . . . from . . . somewhere on her body.

Seriously, she's like a pocket. Spike reflected. Or maybe a black hole...a black hole that's pink. A pink hole? I don't know.

Pinkie took in a deep breath, and Spike noticed the little plastic insert on the side of the thing. It was something inflatable, whatever it was. Pinkie put her mouth to let and loose her deep breath, able to completely fill the inflatable device with one breath whereas most ponies would need the use of an air pump to fully inflate it.

The rubber thing popped up, sending out little spikes of balloons in staggered waves before completely popping up and revealing itself to be an . . . inflatable swing set.

Where in the wide-wide world of Equestria that Pinkie get an inflatable swing set? One so complicated that was completely functional, no less, the rubber chains having just enough clearance and space to move back and forth, just like on a real iron swing set.

"You want me to push you?" Pinkie generously offered to Spike, but he declined with a wave of his claw. He hopped up onto one of the swings, using the momentum of his jump to get a good head start on his swinging back and forth. Pinkie smiled, then climbed into the other swing and began swinging herself.

"You've been awfully quiet, Pinkie." Spike commented. How did it take this long for him to notice? Pinkie was usually chatting up a storm of thunder and snow with her chatterbox of a mouth.

"Yeah, I know . . . " Pinkie answered, her pink blur of a coat passing Spike back and forth as they swung back and forth, passing each other as they went by.

Spike wanted to make small talk and get Pinkie's mind off whatever was depressing her, but he couldn't do that very well when his own mind was still on what was going between her and Twilight. He didn't that was the very thing depressing her.

"What's going on between you and Twilight?"

Spike waited for an answer, and it took him a moment to realize the blur of pink that had been his company had disappeared. He stretched his legs and dragged them across the ground to bring himself to a stop, and looked to see Pinkie sitting still on her swing, biting on her lip, and looking everywhere and no where.

"I wish I could tell you, Spike." Pinkie told him, and he could see pain in her eyes. The kind of pain that only comes from seriously straining relationships, that appeared stable on the surface, but in truth, was as fragile as cement held together by water dissoluble glue. "I really do, but I can't."

"Pinkie Promise?"

"Worse."

Spike's mind came to a complete and utter halt. What was worse than a Pinkie Promise!? He had only ever heard stories of the kind of things that Pinkie did to ponies who broke their Pinkie Promise, and they had been terrifying, so what could be worse than that!?

"What could be worse than a Pinkie Promise!?"

"Something my Pinkie Sense can't control, that's what." Pinkie answered starkly.

"Mm." Spike supposed that made sense. When it came to Pinkie Sense and Pinkie Promises, it made sense that Pinkie would have some sort of . . . latent spy network or something, but something her Pinkie Sense couldn't control? Something her Pinkie Sense couldn't . . . sense!?

Spike decided it was best not to dwell, lest he drive him himself insane trying to understand what alien concept was so defiant as to be above or outside the purvey of Pinkie's Sense.

Just then, they heard a banging noise. They looked up to see the shadow of a hoof banging on the upper window of the upper library.

"Oh, for the love of . . . " Pinkie muttered, bringing her hoof over her face. "I'll take care of this. You stay here." Pinkie got off the swing and went into the library. Her tail gave an agitated flick. Spike gnawed on his fingernails, knowing whenever a pony's tail flicked, it meant they were mad.


Twilight lied there on the table, her hoof resting under her chip, propping herself up. She sighed. She rocked her head back and forth. Ever since Twilight had brought her relationship with Pinkie up from 'friend with a crush' to 'dating' she felt so empty without Pinkie around. Like two halves of the same whole. The yin to her yang, the limeade to her lemon candy, the pink to her . . . the pink to her . . . to, her, uh . . .

Pink pink pink pink pink!

"Uh!" Twilight groaned and threw herself against her chair, making fantasies in her head of Pinkie touching her in all sorts of non-intimate ways that would bring feelings like intimacy to her.

She looked over to the window, and heard some odd squeaky sounds coming from. Lik e. . . what was that, a rubber chain or something?

Curious piqued, Twilight got up from her chair and walked towards the window. What she saw she found adorable. Spike and Pinkie were playing on some of inflatable swing set. It was cute to see Spike and Pinkie bonding in such a way. Absolutely precious.

On the other hoof, seeing Pinkie . . . seeing Pinkie made all those feelings she had in her heart jostle around uncomfortably in her stomach.

"Nnn!" Twilight started banging on the window, wanting Her Pinkie to return to her. After a few thumps, Twilight put her hoof to her mouth in horror.

Hold it in, Twilight, hold it in! What's wrong with me? Can't I let two of my friends bond a little without coming between them?

...Come on. Where was it? She was expecting a voice in her head to answer something rude, but insightful and thought-provoking.

Yes, but what you can't let happen is Your Pinkie bond with your assistant.

Wait, wait, hang on...did she- did she just answer herself pretending to be a voice in her own head? Oh, what was wrong with her, indeed! She was coming apart at the seams!

I'm...I'm undergoing Pinkie Withdrawal Syndrome! She realized. She put her hooves over her eyes and started to whine and cry, upset she couldn't bring herself to be away from Pinkie for even so much as a few minutes.

Twilight's eyes widened when she heard hoofsteps. She took one hoof off her vision to see a pink hoof a few feet before, waiting in the doorway. Twilight rolled over onto her stomach to met her love's gaze.

"Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed. "Oh, Pinkie, I'm so sorry! I was trying to hold myself in, but I couldn't! I just couldn't! I know..." Her voice started to break, and the tears in her eyes kept flowing easily. "I know you and Spike need to get to know each other as family . . . but I-I just . . ."

"What?" Pinkie demanded, angered. Didn't Twilight realize how important it was for Spike to get closer to her if Pinkie and Twilight were going to spend all this time together? "You just what, Twilight?"

"I . . ." Twilight collapsed against the floor, her legs splaying outwards. "I've lusted after you for so long that you being gone is...so intensely tortuous for me . . . I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry . . ."

Pinkie shook her head. It was hard loving a crazy pony. Most ponies would think "Oh, hey, wouldn't being crazy make you love her more?" well . . . in a perfect world, yes, but this wasn't a perfect world, this was the real world, and in the real world, crazy ponies needed advanced, sometimes risky medication and professional therapy.

Twilight insisted Pinkie was all the therapy Twilight needed. While Pinkie often was to make Twilight rest at ease, Pinkie was far from a professional.

Frustrated with Twilight's inability to be apart from her even a measly second, Pinkie scoffed and turned to leave. At the last minute, she hesitated, then turned around and grabbed Twilight's cheeks.

"Here . . . " Pinkie said. "See if this will hold you in for awhile . . . " Pinkie gave her a kiss on the lips, and relaxed slightly. Enough for Twilight to rub her tongue in and around Pinkie's mouth. After a few delicious, delectable slurps, Pinkie pulled away.

"Think you can hold yourself together for a little while, at least?" Pinkie asked Twilight with an eyebrow. Twilight wiped a tear from her eye and weakly nodded. "Good . . ."

Pinkie got up and left. Twilight wiped another few tears from her eyes and got up herself, and wobbled towards the oven of the kitchen.


"Sorry about that." Pinkie apologized to Spike as she kicked the door shut behind her.

"It's cool." Spike assured her, even though he was still curious and completely confused as to what those two mares were doing with each other when he wasn't looking.

Pinkie looked at her inflatable swing set, taking a misty glare at it. She sighed. "I don't feel like swinging anymore."

"Oh . . . okay." He pretended to be all right with this, as Pinkie went and pulled the plug containing all the air in the swing set, but in reality, he was not okay with it at all. What happened to Pinkie? She usually tried to keep the fun going until it was dead (and even then, she refused to quit) but she never stopped it just as it was getting started.

"You want to talk?" Pinkie offered as she stomped over the deflated swing set, bringing it back down to a basic size where it fit back into wherever Pinkie had pulled it out of to begin with.

"Talk?" Spike questioned. When Pinkie talked, it was to talk like there was no tomorrow. Applejack and Fluttershy liked to talk quietly about things. Sometimes Rarity would, too, if she was caught in between jobs for clients and didn't have anything on her agenda. "About?"

"Whatever you like. The weather. Birds. Bees. Birds and bees. Whatever is upsetting you, maybe? Like, something that happened?"

That, Spike could work off of. What had been upsetting him . . . was Rarity.

"Rarity and me had a little scuffle recently . . . " Spike admitted. Pinkie's ears perked up, noticing his words.

"Oh?"

"Yeah . . . I kinda got lost in a fantasy and I . . . gave Sweetie Belle a black eye. I didn't mean to! But . . . neither of them seem to accept that."

"I'm sure they'll let it go in time." Pinkie said in a soothing tone of voice.

"Yeah, sure, why don't I just go make an apology sundae for them both, huh!?" Spike sarcastically exclaimed, waving his claws in the air. He wondered about the sapphires Twilight apologetically fed him, then his mind went back to the sundae. "Wait, that's it! A little while ago, Twilight made me an apology sundae for something she did! All I have to do is make one for Sweetie Belle and Rarity and everything will be all right!"

"I'll help you!" Pinkie declared.

"Oh . . . " Spike knew firsthoof how good Pinkie was with sweets, but he also she tended to get – like everything she did in life- a little crazy with it. He didn't want to make too big a mess in the kitchen. "I don't know, Pinkie . . .Twilight made me one, so I figured it would probably better to ask her for help, don't you think?"

Pinkie smiled mischievously.

There's the Pinkie Pie I know!

"Who do you think Twilight learned it from?" Pinkie said, wiggling her eyebrow.

Of course! Spike slapped himself for not realizing it earlier. Of course it would be Pinkie who taught Twilight how to make an apology sundae. Did he really think Twilight would come up with something like that herself? And they had been spending an inordinate amount of time together lately. If he was to seek help, who better the originator of the idea?

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Spike exclaimed, charging headfirst into the library, eager to earn Rarity's and to a lesser extent Sweetie Belle's, forgiveness.

The partners in crime in the making sped towards the kitchen, where Spike immediately dashed for the freezer and began digging out all the things a good sundae needed. Ice cream, cherries, bananas, syrup, the works, while Pinkie paused and noticed Twilight rummaging on the stove with a selection of pots and pans.

"Twilight, what are you doing?" Pinkie asked.

"I'm getting everything ready for us to bake our cake, silly!" Twilight chided her, turning around and rubbing Pinkie's chin. "Remember? That cake we were talking about that I wanted to give you? The one I tried to punish Spike for ruining? Happened a few hours ago? That one?"

"Oh . . . yeah." Pinkie answered slowly, realization dawning. "About that . . . I was gonna try and help Spike make an apology sundae for Rarity!"

Twilight frowned. "But . . . what about our cake?"

"We'll get our cake." Pinkie assured her, placing hooves on Twilight's withers. "We will. Promise. But right now, Spike needs to be sure Rarity can forgive him, so I'm going to help, okay?"

"Okay . . ." Twilight droned, but once again, she didn't sound okay with this. "I guess I'll put these up . . ." Twilight's horn lit up with magic, and the pots and pans began levitating themselves into their respective places in the cupboards.

"And a few little sapphires will make it complete!" Spike cheered to himself, imagining a light sprinkling of sapphires to add to the sundae to make the ultimate collection of assorted tastes. Why wouldn't Rarity find it delicious? He did! He was distracted from his wondering by the sight of the rustling pots and pans. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Nothing." Twilight lied to him. "Nothing at all."

"All . . . right." Spike muttered, taking a china bowl out to begin mixing together the sundae.

It took several attempts, but after a long while, several retries, and more than a few recommendations by Pinkie, Spike felt like he had a ready apology sundae. Pinkie had thankfully convinced him in time not to include the sapphires.

Twilight was sulking all the while, thinking Spike really was taking Pinkie from her. First, they played outside for a little, and then Pinkie puts off their cake to work on his sundae . . .

Seeing the sundae, Twilight felt a surge of conflicting emotions. Her face contorted weirdly, like she was trying to make two expressions at once. She was happy and proud that Spike would put so much work into it, but on the other hoof, Pinkie and Spike would soon be carrying that sundae to the Boutique, leaving Twilight to clean up the mess left behind. And that was a lot of mess. Ice cream splattered the walls from failed or discarded attempts. Cherries adorned the cabinets, and syrup-covered spoons were strewn about the kitchen sink.

"Are you . . . sure you can handle this by yourself?" Pinkie asked Twilight with care, looking at the mess they made.

"It's fine. It's fine." Twilight told her. "Spike needs to get that thing to Rarity's before it melts. Besides, he deserves a break every now and then."

Spike frowned. He would be happy to get a break, but he hadn't thought about keeping the ice cream cold before they arrive. He thought they could make to the Boutique in time.

"Hey . . . " Pinkie draped a foreleg around Twilight's neck. "How about you come with us, and then we all clean it up together when we get back?"

Twilight blinked, then smiled. "I would like that. Here . . . " Twilight walked to the sundae and picked it up with her magic. "I'll use my magic to keep it from melting!"

So, with Twilight holding the ice cream bowl high in her magic, every so often recasting her spells to ensure it remained frozen, the developing family went to the Carousel Boutique, where they heard Rarity through the door, still talking softly to her sister.

"It'll be all right, Sweetie Belle..."

"Let me go!" Sweetie protested. "My eye feels fine!"

"Oh, sure, it feels fine, but a shiner of that size takes some time to go away! No sister of mine will be seen in public looking this!"

Twilight and Pinkie looked to each other, suddenly not sure if this was such a good idea, really.

Twilight cleared her throat and knocked on the door.

"Coooming!" Rarity answered in a sing song voice. The door opened, and Rarity was surprised and elated to see them, but the light of her smile dimmed considerably when she noticed Spike was was with them. "Girls! Hello! What brings you over . . . and what is he doing here?" Rarity snarled the last few words at Spike.

"Could you, uh, get Sweetie Belle?" Pinkie pleaded.

"Why?" Rarity demanded harshly and accusingly, justifiably suspicious of their motives. "So that brute you call your assistant can hit Sweetie Belle's other eye and give her a matching pair!?"

"He has a gift for you!" Twilight tried to defend him. "Both of you!"

Rarity remained skeptical, her already sharp eyes narrowing into thin slits, but she relented. "Sweetie Belle, could you come to the door, please?"

"Yeah, why? What's . . . up." Sweetie Belle appeared, a sun hat on her face that was lopsided to cover her swollen eye. She tried to give Spike the same accusing leer Rarity was, but with a much rounder, less sharp face, and only one eye to do it with, the effect just wasn't there.

"Here." Twilight said, levitating the bowl of sundae before the two sisters. "Spike made this for both of you."

Rarity and Sweetie Belle looked to each other. With Rarity's blessing, Sweetie Belle nervously took ate a spoonful of the sundae.

She was instantly won over. "Mmmh! This is delicious, Spike!"

Sweetie Belle pulled him into a hug. "I forgive you! You must have put in a lot of work to make this taste this good!"

"Yeah..." Spike chuckled nervously. "Well, Pinkie-" Spike saw Pinkie making a cutting gesture, bringing her hoof across her throat. She didn't want Sweetie Belle to know Pinkie Pie had helped out with it, or Sweetie's forgiveness might not be as easily earned.

Sweetie Belle took the bowl, balancing it on her nose and trotting back inside the boutique.

"Hmph." Rarity huffed and turned her nose away as she watched her sister gallop back inside. She rounded on Spike and pushed a hoof into his nose. "Let's make one thing perfectly clear, Spike; you may have won Sweetie Belle over with a sweet treat, but you will I am not so easily bought!"

"You're not?" Pinkie muttered to Twilight as a joke. They both giggled quietly.

"But...I suppose I can at least...let you inside." Rarity said slowly, as if unsure she really meant that she could do that. "That is, if you behave a like a mature little boy, and stay in the corner. Come along, darlings." She said, as a way of inviting them inside.

They all trotted in, and from the empty door frame, they could see Sweetie Belle really digging it into the sundae, forgetting it was supposed to be for her and her sister. No harm was done, though, as Rarity had no intention of going anywhere near "that brute's" concoction.

Twilight looked at Spike ruefully, not wanting to put him through this, but Rarity was adamant; he could either go in the corner, or he could go outside. Spike slouched and gave in, walking towards the corner and sticking his nose in, his forehead scales brushing up uncomfortably against the wall. It was chafing.

"Oh, and do be sure you won't molt your little lizard scales on my walls, won't you, you brute?" Rarity asked him. Spike's heart had a spasm of pain. His crush, who called everypony 'Darling' was going out of her way to make sure that not only she not call him that, but she called him 'Brute' in place of it.

Twilight saw how deep Rarity's words cut into Spike's scales. He probably didn't even realize himself just how far something like that could cut into him. He probably had no idea the only way he would recover would be if Rarity forgave him, thinking that eventually, he'd outgrow it and just write it off.

"Rarity, can we talk in the other room?" Twilight requested.

"I don't see why not . . . provided, of course-"

"Somepony keeps tabs on Spike, I know." Twilight finished Rarity's sentence for her, getting quite tired of how badly she was treating him. It's not like he gave Sweetie that black eye on purpose. "That's kind of what I want to talk about."

"Hrm." Rarity's eyelids turned suspicious again. "All right . . ."

The three ponies went into the other room, leaving Spike all alone with his thoughts.

Spike sighed. He wished he could take it all back. He wished he never had that fantasy roleplay scenario. If he never had it, he wouldn't have gotten lost in it. If he hadn't gotten lost in it, he wouldn't have hit Sweetie Belle. If he hadn't hit Sweetie Belle, he wouldn't be in the mess he was in right now.

He scrolled his eyes over the blue plaster he was forced to look at, as endless as a gleaming ocean, looking at over and over it again until it made his head spin.

"Are you sure you can't forgive Spike, Rarity?" Twilight's voice carried over from the other, and it was very soft and delicate.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure." Rarity replied venomously. "Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, how would you feel if I hit your little sister and gave her a black eye?"

"I'd probably be mad at you, yeah." Twilight admitted, sounding exasperated. "And maybe I wouldn't trust with them for a little while . . . but making him sit in the corner? Calling him a brute? This is ridiculous!" If he didn't know better, Spike thought he just heard Twilight slam her hoof into a table.

"Let me remind you, Twilight, that while I consider you a dear friend, this is my home, and you will follow my rules while you are in here!"

Pinkie sidestepped in with a distraction before the argument could escalate any further. "Hey, Rarity! What's this?"

"Oh." Spike was relieved to hear Rarity's tone become one of boredom and not rage. "That? Just a little fantasy I have . . . it's a jewelry case. A very nice, very expensive jewelry case that I would like to own, but even for everything I make, I could never afford it and still make ends meet."

"So . . ." Spike heard hooves rustling through magazine paper. He didn't realize it, but having to bear through all of Twilight's reading sessions gave him a limited understanding of the different sounds of different papers, enough to tell a magazine apart from a book. Not like Twilight, who could probably tell how many pages the book was and what it was about just from the sound the page made when turning.

"If Spike got this for you, would you forgive him? You did say you weren't so easily bought with ice cream, and this is much more expensive."

"HA!" Rarity laughed, a sound the purity of which would've made Spike's heart skip a beat, were it not directed at him and what could be his only chance of earning her forgiveness. "Hahahaha! Fine, fine. I'll humor you with a deal, since this will never happen. If Spike gets or gives me this jewelry case, I will forgive him for all recent transgressions dating as far back as the last two months all the way to yesterday. Of course, this will never happen, as Spike couldn't earn enough in a million years to purchase this."

"Oh, don't underestimate him . . ." Twilight said coyly, and for some reason, Spike couldn't help but imagine her wearing a fake mustache like Dick Dastardly, twirling it in anticipation of the success of her next evil scheme.

"Well, if you say so, but I will maintain some healthy disbelief." Rarity said coldly.

Spike couldn't believe it. He just might have an instant out to Rarity's forgiveness of him. He was so overwhelmed at the idea that he stumbled backwards and tripped.

Rarity huffed. "Would one of you please go make sure that wasn't Spike giving Sweetie Belle a matching pair?"

"I'll do it." Pinkie volunteered, and Spike could hear her scuffling as she got up off the table.

"Hey!" Pinkie greeted him when she came into the room. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just . . . surprised." Spike told, scrambling back to his feet to resume his post of looking at the wall. The dull, boring, blue wall.

"Here." Pinkie came up behind him and draped a leg around his shoulders. "I'll help you!"

Spike wondered how Pinkie could 'help' him look at a way, but he supposed she could perhaps have a way to pass the time. Misery loves company, and all that.

"Uh, Rarity? Could I ask you something?" Spike could hear Twilight say to Rarity softly.

"What was it, darling?" Rarity answered, equally quiet, causing Spike to strain his hearing to make sure he caught what they were saying. Whatever it was, it was bound to be something they wanted secret, judging from how quietly they talking.

"It's about my . . . boyfriend." Twilight answered. "I feel like we're taking things too slow."

"Oh, darling!" Rarity chided. "Why didn't you speak up sooner? This is a crime against passion that I cannot ignore! You want my advice, and I assume, since you're asking, you do, I recommend you drive him crazy."

"Drive him crazy?"

"Drive him up a wall! Make him feel head overs hooves for you! Tease until his lust for you begins to consume his every waking thought! I'll make you a new ensemble to help you with. Trust me, I know what a stallion likes."

"I don't doubt that . . ." Twilight muttered, leaving out that the pony she was dating was no stallion.

They all left shortly afterward. Sweetie Belle gave Spike one last thanks for the sundae, while Rarity muttered something about hoping Sweetie Belle would grow up and be 'less gullible than this'. Spike was so enraptured with the thought of getting Rarity that jewelry case he couldn't notice anything else in the world, so Twilight took the opportunity to steal a kiss from Pinkie Pie.

"So, how are we gonna get me enough money to get Rarity that jewelry case she wants?" Spike asked, which made Twilight and Pinkie stop dead in their tracks.

"W-what?" Twilight stammered.

"I heard you talking." Spike admitted. "Rarity said she'd forgive me if I got her that jewelry case . . . must be a really nice case, too . . . so . . . how do we get it?"

Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other.

"Spike, when I said that, I- never mind. How about you just do some jobs around the neighborhood? You know, water some plants . . . mow some lawns." Twilight waved her hoof through the air, trying to indicate she didn't think this out all the way through.

"I'll get right on that!" Spike proudly declared. He dashed through the neighborhood, rushing all the way to the nearest pony with an open stall – it happened to be Daisy, one of the local flower merchants.

"Oh!" Daisy exclaimed in surprise at Spike appearing from out of the blue at her stall. "Hello, Spike. What can I do for you?"

Spike saluted. "I'm looking to do some jobs around the neighborhood so I can hopefully earn enough to buy somepony close to me something really nice!"

"Oh, isn't that sweet!" Daisy cooed, putting her hooves together. "Well, you happen to catch me at a fairly good time. I need to be somewhere on business tomorrow, and I could use somepony to take care of my plants while I'm gone. Think you can do that?"

"With pleasure!" Spike assured her, saluting again.

From this far away, neither of them noticed Twilight's grimace under the forming shadows of the evening.


Turns out, Twilight's grimace was completely justified.

The next day in the afternoon, Spike gave the plants too much water and not enough soil, causing them to wither. He left the stall and sat on the open grass, waiting for Daisy to return, all the while muttering to himself what a great job he did. Spike would've gotten onto Twilight's case for not thinking he could do something by himself if he knew she had been watching him, but Twilight didn't feel like putting it up with that nonsense.

Hiding a bush only a hoof's reach from the stall, Twilight aimed her magic at a billboard and blasted it, knocking it clean off its post. It fell to the ground and smashed into a passing pony. Spike hopped up to observe the resulting scene of chaos and carnage as other ponies scrambled about, trying to make the innocent victim was okay.

"Ooooh..." Twilight groaned. She had been hoping for a distraction, but she didn't realize her little prank would have such a convincing performance. Shaking that thought aside – it was just an accident, and it provided her with the distractions she needed- she strolled up into the stall and used her magic to bring the plants back to life. It was a simply matter, really, as the plants were just flowers. They weren't fantastical complex organisms like some trees in the Everfree Forest. Then, before Spike could turn and noticed, she slipped out the stall and went around.

She trotted up to Spike. "Hey, Spike! How are you?"

"Fine." Spike answered, still watching the chaos Twilight's destruction had wreaked. "Just waiting for Daisy to give me my paycheck."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh..." Twilight nodded, alternating her gaze to look between Spike and the havoc. "Well, uh, I'm going to go see about maybe helping out with all that chaos over there, but before I do that, I need you to send this private letter."

"O...kay." Spike hesitated, taking the letter Twilight produced. He took in a deep breath, then stopped. "You're not gonna go on another kick like you did when Pinkie stayed over with us and have me send private letters constantly, are you?"

"No, no. Hopefully." Twilight answered before galloping over to the scene. "Mister! Mister, are you okay!?"

Spike shrugged and blew his magical fire breath on the letter, sending it away through a twisting nether realm where Princess Celestia would receive it, read it, and respond to it. How she would respond to it, Spike didn't know.

"Ah, there you are!" Spike was pleased to see Daisy returning from her trip. "Did you take good care of my plants?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Spike said with a salute, even though he hadn't, really.

Daisy took a glance over her stall and the potted flowers on it. "Mmm...excellent! Here, have some bits for your troubles."

Daisy reached into her purse and tossed Spike a handful of bits. Spike caught them in his claw and held them tightly. In any other circumstance, he wouldn't have minded the measly fee. It was just a simple...babysitting plant job. But Rarity liked nice things, and nice things tended to be expensive things, so he was gonna need way, way more than this to pay for that case.

With that thought weighing heavily on his mind, Spike proceeded into town in order to find some more neighborhood jobs to do...

"Hey..." Daisy muttered after he had left. "These look even better than when I left them!"

So, Spike went around town, snatching up every opening he could find, doing every job that caught his eye. It often involved him running around from one end of town to the next.

One job he took was helping Applejack and her family feed their stable of pigs. That didn't go too well. The pigs refused all the food he offered them – even after Apple Bloom pointed out he was using the chicken feed and exchanged it for the correct one. But the instant the feed went into Big Macintosh's hoof, the pigs started lapping it up.

He went to Old Man Hayseed's apartment and asked if there was anything he could. Hayseed responded he needed to mow the lawn, but with his bad back... Spike gave his trademark salute and went to work. Unfortunately, Hayseed's diesel lawn mower didn't seem to like Spike anymore than the Apply Family's pigs did, and it ended chasing him around the yard, leaving a very uneven cut around the grass. It was sheared off until it hit dirt level in some areas, then left completely untouched in others. Hayseed eventually ran out and pulled the lawn mower's switch, and he recommend Spike not take up an occupation that required working with machines.

So then, after that, increasingly desperate and running out of places to go, he went to Zecora's house to see if the zebra witch doctor needed any fresh herbs. As it happened, she just ran out of some Honeymalacus or whatever. Spike didn't pay attention to the name, just the description and what he needed to do to get it.

As magical plants have a tendency towards, getting to it was difficult, and picking it out would be even more so. Zecora explained Spike would have to do a complicated dance with otherwise normal leaves stuffed into his mouth while flapping hand fans in his arms. He managed to do all that, but on his way there, he got mauled by a Manticore, which seemed to lost interest in eating him after it had given too many bruises to count on one claw.

And then he went back to Zecora's to find she had found another sample of the Honeymaka-whatever.

And THEN, after ALL THAT, Flutterhshy found him, demanded to know who gave him "all those nasty cuts and bruises", dragged him to her house for "a nice, disinfecting bath" and he was promptly humiliated the whole time by that deranged rabbit Angel of hers. When he finally gave in to temptation and gave that bunny the kick in the posterior region he so righteously deserved, Fluttershy told him to get out. He tried to protest about how the bunny had been mean to him the whole time, but Fluttershy shoved him out the door...while he was still in a towel. He saw Angel waving at him through the window, and unable to contain himself, he punched it with his fists, shattering it, giving the darn rodent a good scare, but also cutting himself.

Tired of it all, ready to drop down dead, Spike retired to the library. It was late. He was humiliated, he was frustrated, and to make it all worse, he hadn't earned zilch in the way of getting Rarity that lovely jewelry case.

Stopping to readjust the towel on him, Spike opened the door and was ready to collapse onto the welcome mat, expecting Twilight would carry his unconscious body up the stairs to his basket, but he was surprised by a hug from behind.

He turned around to see it was Rarity.

"Rarity? Wha-?" Not that he minded, but still . . . the last time she saw him, she was glaring daggers at him.

"Thank you thank you thank you so much, darling!" Rarity gibbered at him, overjoyed at something he didn't know about to the point she couldn't form coherent sentences. "I never expected you would be able to get me that case, but you did better than that! With all those orders from these Canterlot ponies, not only can I afford the case, but my business should boom! I take back everything I said about you being a brute, and I will never underestimate you again!"

Rarity . . . gave him a kiss. On the cheek.

"See you around, darling!"

"Yea-buh...yeah-buh...fi fike it, vut..." Spike stammered, his mind turned into a swirling cesspool of confused emotions at Rarity's kiss. He was entirely too flattered to think about much, but the back of his mind was still going . . .

Wait, how did she get the case? You haven't earned anything yet except a bath and scratches!

Spike turned around and staggered his way inside, where Twilight was amused to see him stumbling so drunkenly.

"What's got you so uplifted, champ?" Twilight jokingly asked him.

"Rarity . . . gave me a kiss!" Spike answered. "Right on the cheek! She says I got her enough clients to get her the case, but I never got her – hey, what are you two doing?"

He hadn't noticed Twilight and Pinkie lying on the couch next to each other when he came in.

"Uhhh . . ." They both stuttered."

Twilight cleared her throat. "I . . . placed those orders for Rarity for you. I . . ." Twilight looked into Pinkie's eyes. "I know what it's like to not be sure sompony you love will forgive you for something." Pinkie's lips quivered. "So I had you send that private letter to the Princess so she could pull some strings and get Rarity that case, telling her it was from you."

"You . . ." Spike blinked. He dropped the towel and put his arms over his chest. "You'd do something like that for me?"

"Obviously, since I did!" Twilight replied cheerily. Then she noticed the state of disarray Spike's body had been left in. "Why don't you limp onto bed? You look terrible."

"I don't feel much better!" Spike answered, before falling backwards onto the floor and collapsing, falling unconscious.

Pinkie and Twilight shook their heads.

"Should we carry him to bed?"

"At some point."

They rubbed their hooves across the others' chins.

"I'm proud of you." Pinkie said, burying her muzzle into Twilight's shoulder. "It's nice that you got past your... 'Pink Fever' and helped somepony else with their romantic problem."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, thinking for a moment of how to process this.

You have to drive him crazy! Rarity's voice echoed in her mind.

"Maybe I could help you with some other problems..." Twilight suggested with a tone of voice to indicate all mannerisms of naughty, inappropriate behavior.

The cue went flying over Pinkie's head, and the pink pony just raised an eyebrow in return. "Huh?"