//------------------------------// // Home Again. // Story: Bigger Than Mac // by DraconequusMaximus //------------------------------// Canterlot had been surprisingly uneventful, and the date had been wonderful. Macintosh and Spike had spent the last day apart, as everyone needs a little alone time now and then. Spike had purchased some new comic books and hung out at Pony Joe's for the majority of the day. Mac had said he had taken in the sights of Canterlot. Celestia had magicked their new bed into their house for them while they were out, saving them a lot of time and effort. Spike was tired of being treated like cargo and flew the pair home himself. Mac had procured a safety harness in a shop in Canterlot after the first flight he had experienced. Though he doubted he'd ever truly get used to being in the air. The pair landed outside the library tree to meet with the girls. The elements of harmony had assembled in front of the tree, Fluttershy had even brought Angel, who Spike hadn't seen since the growth spurt. Spike landed a safe distance from the girls and helped Mac unbuckle the harness. Mac slid down the dragon's side and dusted himself off. "Hey Spike, nice landing. Dunno if I could land so easily if I weighed more than a ton." Rainbow said with only a little snark. "Yeah, thanks, it's so nice to have everypony always reminding me of my weight." Spike said mocking gratefulness. "Darling, I don't think anypony would call you fat. You are the definition of fitness." Rarity said with more than a little envy. "Yeah, you're like a rock. Tom could take lessons from you." Pinkie Pie said from her new position atop Spike's head. "Actually, I think I ate Tom during the whole growth spurt thing." Spike said trying to remember the feeding frenzy. "Good riddance." Rarity said turning her nose up at the memory of Discord's antics. "Yes, well I'm just glad to have you two home Spike." Twilight said smiling. "Yeah, speaking of, why is nopony caring that we just landed in the middle of the town?" Spike said before looking around at the ponies going about their business. None of them were particularly interested in the couple arriving in town. "Oh, yes it seems Prince Blueblood was caught propositioning a mare he thought was a prostitute this morning. As it turns out, she was the new ambassador for Zebrica here to discuss trade agreements." Rarity said with the largest smile Spike had ever seen. "So we're old news?" Mac asked with a smile. "Yes, and it seems that Blueblood is finally getting the boot too." Twilight said pretty pleased with the turn of events. "Nice, so how's the house looking?" Spike said looking to Applejack. "Perty good, they were just finishin' the soundproofin'." She replied using her hat to avoid his eyes. "Great, gonna go hide there forever. Because apparently all of Ponyville knows about that, and my mom." Spike says looking to his sister with a look that could seemingly melt steel. "I'm sorry! I didn't think that's what the roars were! I thought you were having nightmares or going primal. Pinkie Pie had to explain it to me later." Twilight said both incredibly guilty and embarrassed. "Okay, seriously. I'm setting you up with Trixie, you need to get out more and she's seriously crushing on you." Spike said pitying his older sister. "Oh, um... okay?" Twilight said blushing intensely. With that they left that topic alone, and headed out to the house. They shared some small talk, and the couple told them about their date. Before long the girls and Mac had all piled onto the dragon in an effort to save time. Spike's strides were considerably longer than their's and they were all anxious to see the completed house. The only exception was Rainbow Dash who insisted on flying herself. As soon as they got to the acres they found the three local crusaders standing in front of the enormous dwelling. "You guys took forever! We wanna see in the giant house!" Sweetie squeaked as she hopped in place. The other crusaders nodded in agreement. The barn had essentially been torn down and rebuilt to better suit the requirements for Spike's size. It was about twice the size it had originally been and was now a lighter lilac color instead of Spike's shade. The massive home's large sliding door could be opened easily enough by anypony. Spike took the opportunity to slide it open after he had taken in the full outside. The inside of the house was a lot like the inside in an average home, but things were spaced out more for Spike's maneuverability. The various accoutrements were also a bit larger than would be in a pony's house for obvious reasons. It was mostly bare, as it still needed to be furnished. "Wow, it's pretty normal actually. I was expecting... I dunno what I expected." Scootaloo said rubbing her chin in thought. "Ah think it's nice, needs some furniture though." Apple Bloom said with Sweetie nodding her agreement. "Yeah, the only room we actually have furniture for is the bedroom. We swiped Sombra's favorite bed from the empire. It's like drowning in puppies and sunshine or something. Not even kidding." Spike said as he opened the door that he assumed led to the bedroom. He was proved wrong after seeing a toilet in the all white room he was facing. "Wow, Spike that totally looks like an awesome bed." Rainbow teased. "This'n Dear." Mac said smugly from across the hall as he opened the door to the actual bedroom. The mares all turned to see the bare room, except for the massive bed. Pinkie Pie instinctively jumped into the air in and touched down onto the magical surface. "Oh, my gosh. It's like taking a bath in warm cream cheese frosting while listening to Bob Marely." She said before drifting off into a blissful unconsciousness. "Well, that was a slightly disturbing mental image." Rarity said visibly uncomfortable. "Pfft, it can't be that great." Rainbow Dash said laying down on the side opposite Pinkie. "Oh buck me. It's like having your blood replaced with hard cider and then getting thrown in the dryer." She said as her eyes closed in pure bliss. Within seconds Rainbow was lost to them as well. "You should charge for this." Sweetie Belle said poking a loudly snoring Pinkie. "First sleeps the best'n." Mac said with a small smile. "Shouldn't we wake them up?" Twilight asked looking them over. "We'll kick them out eventually. Let them enjoy it." Spike said smiling as the pair unknowingly began snuggling. After a moment Spike's smile fell as a great rumbling shook his stomach. His nose also began leaking pink smoke. "Spike? Are you feeling alright?" Rarity asked him with a look of concern. In reply Spike belched a torrent of purple flames into the air, a package with a letter taped to it flew from his jaws, landing on the bed. "Ugh, that was worse then the time Chrysalis hijacked the flame channel. That definitely wasn't from mom." Spike said clutching his stomach in discomfort. Twilight levitated herself the package and read the letter attached. Her eyes widened as she read the letter, as she finished she saw the assembled ponies staring at her. "Who sent it Twi?" Applejack inquired causing the alicorn to make the letter vanish in a flash. "Oh, um. It was a colleague of mine in Canterlot, they needed to get that package to me right away so they sent it to Celestia. It came through weird because of the magical nature of the contents." Twilight said with eyes that wouldn't directly meet Spike's. She also seemed to be sweating nervously. To complete a trifecta of suspicion she teleported herself away saying only: "Gottagodoresearchbye!" as she vanished taking the package with her. "Anypony else think we're missing something?" Spike said looking at the assembled Mares and Macintosh. "Eenope." Macintosh said unconvincingly, with eyes darting from side to side. He looked an awful lot like Applejack did when she lied. Is Mac involved with this somehow? And lying about it? Spike thought to himself. Nah, can't be, but Twilight is up to something. "Can you guys head out? I think me and Mac need to get settled in." Spike said as he scooped up the mares on the bed and placed them across the backs of Rarity and Applejack. "Gonna test out the acoustics?" Scootaloo said suggestively. She quickly received a punch in the shoulder from Apple Bloom. After some goodbyes the group headed off and the pair took to inspecting the new house. When Spike was sure he was alone he located some paper and a quill. Luna had the brilliant idea that he should write using his tail's new dexterity. He practiced a few times, finding it relatively easy to write, though it would be awhile before he regained his impeccable penmanship. Dear Trixie, Twilight is desperately in need of a love life, which you can help with and I know you're interested in her. She wasn't exactly against the idea of me getting in touch with you either. She just got some kind of special project today, so I assume she'll burn out in about three days. In four days, Friday, I'll have her cleaned up and ready to go by seven PM. Her favorite place to eat is hayburger, so don't freak out about bits. She likes vanilla ice cream too. Her favorite color is purple, surprised? And she likes lilacs. She's going to ramble and go off on tangents and is likely going to get embarrassed. It's adorkable, work with that. Also, I will find you if anything happens to her. I eat diamonds and can cut them with my claws. I breath fire and am essentially immune to all but the strongest of magics. Watch yourself, no more criminal activity, and no magical artifacts please. Other than that I look forward to seeing you two together, you can even have Twilight teach you to access the flame channel by yourself. That's method of harnessing dragon fire for mailing purposes, which is how this letter is reaching you. We've met enough times for me to lock onto your magic signature. If you have any difficulties please contact me in person or via normal post. Sincerely, Spike. "And with that, Twilight will tell Trixie all about her experiments on their date, and start living a better life. With luck, I can figure out the real sender of the magical package and figure out if Macintosh is somehow involved. Now I just need to wait." Spike said before flaming the letter to it's recipient. He had a smug smile about him as he walked off to find Mac. But the more he thought about it, he was playing the long game. He was becoming calculative, and secretive, maybe even plotting. "I'm becoming my mother." He said completely unsure of how he felt about it.