//------------------------------// // Beginning to Understand // Story: Curse of The Werepony // by dlazerous //------------------------------// Curse of the Werepony Chapter 3 "Beginning to Understand" By Steven Little My Little Pony © Hasbro Rarity was crushed. Spike was like a completely different pony from the little dragon she knew. Staring at the empty doorway where he once stood, tears started to slowly fall down her cheeks. She sniffed and thought about everything he said. 'He's right, I'm a horrible mare, what was I thinking? Of course he wouldn't forgive me.' Soon Rarity's few tears turned to crying then uncontrollable sobbing. All of Rarity's friends, save one, embraced the crying mare tightly. "Don't you worry bout anything sugar cube, Pinkie and I are gonna go talk to that boy and see if we can't smooth things over. You hang in there." Applejack told her. "I think it was really mean what you said about Spike but he said some really mean things too. It makes me super sad to see my friends fighting so I'm gonna do what ever I can to put a smile on your face and Spike's too." Pinkie Pie said. "Come on Applejack, we got a dragon to cheer up!" Pinkie practically dragged the farm pony out the door and ran after Spike, somehow knowing exactly where to find him. "I can't believe Spike would react that way. It's unlike him to get so angry." Twilight said as Pinkie and Applejack left the room. "That is part of the curse Twilight." Luna said. "Dragons under the effects of the curse are in a perpetual, hyper-emotional state. When they get angry, they get very angry. When they get sad, it borders on severe depression. I do not know if I should tell you but when I found Spike at the overlook, he was standing on the very edge looking down at the ground hundreds of hooves below. If I had not been there, I am certain he would have walked off that cliff." Fluttershy leaned over and whispered in Princess Celestia's ear. "Yes, I think that's an excellent suggestion. Please excuse me; I need to speak with the guards about posting a watch on Spike's door till he decides what to do." Rarity watched Princess Luna walk out of the room, digesting what the Princess of the Night had just revealed. "No, I can't accept that. I can't believe Spike would do something like that over me." "You heard the Princess, Rarity. This isn't a simple case of rejection and sadness. In Spike's current state I'm afraid your words didn't just break his heart, they crushed it." Twilight hugged the grieving unicorn as she cried out the pain in her chest, a pain that was not there earlier that night and whose source she did not understand. Princess Celestia approached the two friends and placed a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "Do not blame yourself for this unfortunate turn of events. Yes, you hurt him with the words you spoke but his suffering was never you're intention." The crying mare nodded her head. "I'm sure my sister did not reveal what happened to cause you further heartache either but I think you should understand Spike's point of view now." "The Princess is right Rarity." Rainbow Dash said. "It's not like Spike told you how he felt. I mean, how were you supposed to know." The pain in Rarity's chest intensified. "He did tell me, three years ago after the whole incident during his birthday. While we were falling, before you and Fluttershy caught us, he told me he had a crush on me. I have to admit that at that moment, it made me happy to know somepony or dragon in this case had those feelings for me. But after we were rescued and the town was put back together, I slipped back in to the way things had always been. I convinced myself it wasn't real, Spike was confused he didn't really mean it. I was so concerned about myself and what ponies might think that I pushed any though of Spike as anything but a friend to the back of my mind. I never knew his feelings went so deep, he, he..." Rarity collapsed on the floor and began to shake as if somepony had thrown ice water on her. "Guards, Guards!" Celestia called out. Two guards, a grayish brown unicorn and a white pegasus barged into the room. "Yes your majesty. Has something happened?" "Yes, please go and fetch the royal physician we need him immediately. Tell him to meet us at my suite in the hospital wing." Princess Celestia commanded as she levitated the unconscious unicorn onto her back and galloped toward the other end of the expansive palace. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew next to the Princess, trying to keep pace. "Oh my, I hope she's okay." The yellow pegasus said. "What happened, she seemed fine a moment ago? Is she sick?" "No Fluttershy, I think it's shock." Twilight informed her, running next to the Princess. "Correct Twilight; it seems that Rarity is having as hard a time dealing with this turn of events as Spike is." Celestia surmised. =============================================================== Spike sat alone in the room remembering all the good times he had with Twilight there before he knew his friends. The room itself was small and seemed much smaller now that Spike was a pony. The walls curved around the room following the contours of the tower and were light blue in color from floor to ceiling. Even though it had been over a decade since he and Twilight shared the room, it had not changed in the slightest. It was odd, but there was no dust, no disorder, everything neat and tidy from her small bed to the stuffed toys patiently sitting on the shelf next to it. Children's books and small tomes on introductions to magic were neatly stacked on the small bookshelf. Spike walked over to the bed and noticed the tiny bassinet next to it, his bed when he was so little. He lay down on Twilight's old bed and wept. He wept for all the wasted years chasing after a pony that did not return his feelings and even with that knowledge, he still loved her. There was a knock at the door. "Go away Rarity, I don't want to talk to you!" He shouted. "Spiky it's me and AJ." Pinkie Pie said through the door. "Can we please come in? Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty please with sugar on top?" Spike reluctantly went to the door and opened it, sticking his head out to check the hallway. The only two ponies he saw were Applejack and Pinkie Pie. "What do you guys want?" He asked depressingly. "We just want to talk with you. No tricks, just three friends talkin'." Applejack assured him. "Sure, come on in. Not like I really live here anymore." He said. "Now that's enough of that talk ya hear?" The light orange farm pony said. "Me and Pinkie are here to try an explain a few things to you since you don't want to listen to anypony else." Spike went back to the small bed and lied down again. "I'm not really in the mood to be lectured girls." "Well, how about a drink then?" Pinkie Pie said, pulling a bottle of Big Macintosh's Special Reserve Apple Bourbon from seemingly out of nowhere. "I just so happen to have a bottle of the good stuff with me; nothing like a good drink to get ponies talking." "So that's where that bottle disappeared to. Big Mac's been looking for that all week. He wasn't ready to put it on the market yet since nopony but him had tested it." Applejack said trying to grab the bottle. "Well we can test it for him at tell him what we think. Besides, this is going to be Spike's first drink and who better for him to share it with then us? Seriously, Twilight can't hold her liquor and Fluttershy, just forget about it. Dashy would just drink the whole thing herself." "I suppose you're right there Pinkie Pie. What do you say Spike? Would you like to share your first drink with us?" The purple pony thought about it for a moment then smiled weakly. "Yeah, sure why not; I've heard of pony's drinking away their sorrows, maybe it'll help." He said. "It couldn't hurt." Pinkie said as she produced three glasses and poured a small amount in each. Passing them out, she raised her glass to Spike. "Here's to Spike, whether you stay a werepony or go back to being a dragon, you'll always be our friend." "Darn tootin!" Applejack said, taking a small sip of her drink. Pinkie drained hers in one gulp and started coughing so hard they were afraid she was going to throw up. "Pinkie, haven't you ever heard of a sippin' drink. This stuff is too strong to shoot like John Daniels." Spike took an experimental sip of his drink. "Hey, this stuff isn't half bad." Spike finished his drink and help out his glass for more. "So, what are we going to talk about, as if I didn't already know?" "That's right, we're gonna' be talking about you and Rarity sugar cube." Applejack said as she sidled up to the side of the bed. "Why'd you say those mean things to her down there?" Pinkie Pie asked him. "She was trying to apologize and you were just so, so, mean." "I was mad and I wasn't done being mad; I'm still mad at her and right now I don't want to forgive her. She hurt me, more than any of you could ever know and I don't know what I'm supposed to do or how I'm supposed to feel." Spike said, confessed. "Do you still love her?" AJ asked. "You do, don't you? Even after she said those horrible things back at Shy's place, you still love her." "I don't know. Part of me wants to say yes but another just wants to keep being mad at her. I'm so confused right now. Why did she say those things? Is that how she really feels or was she just showing off for what she thought was a new pony? If that's the case, why does her showing off have to be at my expense?" Spike asked. "Is it me, didn't I pay her enough attention, wasn't I helpful enough? I did everything for her and all I ever wanted was a smile." The two mares in the room sighed softly. "If Rarity doesn't claim you I just might. That was the most romantic thing I ever did hear. Rarity would be a dadburned fool if she didn't snatch you up." Applejack said. "AJ's right. Rarity should feel lucky she has somepony who cares about her so much." Pinkie added. "Then why is she like this? She's always so judgmental and critical. Nothing seems to be good enough." "Well Spike, there's something you should know about Rarity." Applejack said. "It hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for her. I remember about nine, ten years ago when Rarity came to Ponyville with her little sister Sweetie Belle. =============================================================== A young white unicorn with a royal purple mane and tail cautiously stepped out into the main road of Ponyville. She had been there years ago when she was just a little filly to go to school because of the fire at her private school in Manehattan. The newborn filly resting in her open saddlebag shifted and began to whimper. "It's okay Sweetie, we'll be there soon, I promise." She said. "Uncle Carlton lives around here somewhere, I'm sure of it." A young light orange pony with a straw blond mane and tail approached the new unicorn conversing with herself. "Howdy, names Applejack, how y'all doin? You new to town?" "Oh, uhm, hello. My name is Rarity." She responded nervously. "I'm not new to town; I lived here for a little while, years ago. I'm having trouble finding my uncle Carlton's home. He and his wife Fran live around here somewhere. You wouldn't by any chance know where they reside?" "Carlton and Fran? Well shoot, of course I know where they live. They're living out in the Rainbow Estates just north of the center of town on the left. If I remember right, they should be the fourth door down, name's on the mailbox." "Thank you ever so much Applejack." Rarity said. The farm pony noticed a movement in her saddlebags. "I think you might have a critter stowin' away in your bag there. You got to watch out for those things, they get into everthin'." Applejack informed her as she moved to remove the offensive animal from the unicorn's bag. Rarity sidled away from her quickly jostling the bag and causing the foal inside to wake up and start crying. "What the heck? You have a foal in there!" "Yes, it's, it's uhm, my baby sister." She lied, reluctantly allowing the light orange pony to look in the bags. The young mare reached in and picked up the foal from the bag, holding her carefully. "My Ma' and Pa' just had a little one a year ago, her names Apple Bloom. Who knows, maybe your sister and my sister will be friends." Rarity held out her forelegs allowing Applejack to gently place the foal in her hooves. The young white unicorn hugged the foal, rocking her gently. She needs to be fed, is there a place I can um, mix some formula?" She asked. "Sure is. Let's go to Sugar Cube Corner. I'm sure they wouldn't mind some early visitors." Rarity followed Applejack though the streets till they arrived at what appeared to be an enormous gingerbread house. "Here we go. The Cakes are the nicest ponies you ever did meet and their cookies and sweets are just as good." The two ponies walked into the pastry shop to be met by a bouncing pink pony with a fluffy pink mane and tail, and three balloons on her flank. Before the young pink mare had a chance to accost Rarity, Applejack tackled her to the ground and sat on her. "Howdy Pinkie Pie, this here's Rarity, she sort of new to town. She used to live here years ago and now she's back. Now see here, she has her baby sister with her and by baby sister I mean a real baby she just a little newborn foal so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tackle her or jump and surprise her. Last thing we need is for you to scare the baby." "Okie dokie lokie AJ. Can I see the little foal? I love foals!" Rarity pulled Sweetie Belle out of the bag again and held her in her hooves, showing her to Pinkie. "Oh she's so cute!" She quietly cheered. Pinkie looked from Rarity to the foal then back to Rarity. "She looks a lot like you." "Well, she is my sister. If she didn't look anything like me I'd be wondering about my parents." She said. "Speaking of which, where are your parents, shouldn't they be looking after your sister?" Applejack asked. "They um, they can't. They abandoned us." She said, starting to cry. "That's why I'm here, my uncle Carlton is the only family I know and I don't know if I can handle Sweetie Belle all on my own." "Oh my stars, that's horrible. Who could do such a thing?" Applejack hugged the depressed mare. "It's all right. You stay here; I'll go fetch your Uncle. Pinkie, could you help Rarity make some formula for little Sweetie Belle while I'm gone?" =============================================================== "They abandoned her?" Spike asked. "Yup, they certainly did. To this day I don't think anypony's ever seen them. "But what about that white Stallion she calls father?" "Oh, that's her uncle Carlton. Actually Carlton is a cousin of her Father, it's just easier to refer to him as her uncle; you know, for Sweetie Belles sake." Pinkie Pie said. "So, what happened next?" Spike asked, eager to find out what happened to the mare he was quickly softening towards. "Uh Applejack, could you leave the room please? I kinda need to talk to Spiky alone for a little while. Give us about an hour and then knock on the door but pretty please don't listen in from the other side of the door." Pinkie said. "I guess so Pinkie but don't take too long, I'm sure Spike needs his sleep and we still have a lot more story to tell." "This is super-duper serious AJ. I want you to promise me you won't listen in." "I said I wouldn't Pinkie. I need to use the facilities anyhow then I'm going to check up on Rarity." Pinkie waited for Applejack to leave before turning back to Spike. "Spike." She sighed. "I'm gonna' do something I've never, ever, ever done. I'm going to break a promise to my bestest friend in the whole wide world. I need to know; can you keep what I'm about to say a super duper secret? Can I trust you to do that?" "Sure Pinkie. You know I can keep a secret; I'm not like Twilight or anything." "I guess that will have to do. Spike, I just want you to know that I would never ever do this but it's important that you know. Rarity is going to hate me for a while but I'm sure she'll forgive me in time. Okay, this is what happened after Applejack left the shop." =============================================================== Applejack looked to her friend. "Pinkie, could you help Rarity make some formula for little Sweetie Belle while I'm gone?" "No problemo AJ." Pinkie said. The over excited mare waited until Applejack had left before addressing the white unicorn, "follow me." She said with a slight smile. Rarity placed Sweetie Belle back in the bag and followed Pinkie up two flights of stairs into what appeared to be a large bedroom decorated with balloons and streamers. "Do you have a private bathroom with a sink so I can mix the formula?" Rarity asked. "You know, if you're going to lie you really should get better at it. If I can see through it then anypony can." Pinky said with a deadpan expression on her face. "I'm surprised Applejack didn't see through it. She's really good at knowing when somepony is lying to her." Rarity was starting to panic. "Lie? I, I, I don't lie." She stammered. Pinkie Pie just sighed. "You say you need to make formula but you don't have any with you. The only food you have for that foal is what you're carrying with you and I don't mean in your bags." The pink mare pointed out. "The foal is yours isn't she?" "I, I, I..." Rarity had been caught and didn't know what to do. Pinkies sedate expression slowly turned into a grin. "Hey, It's okay. I'm not gonna judge you. If the baby really does need to be fed, you can use my bed over there." The foal started to cry out of hunger. "Go on, you shouldn't keep her waiting." Rarity climbed onto the bed and placed Sweetie Belle down against her belly. The hungry foal latched onto her mother's teat and fed enthusiastically. "How did you know?" "Well, other than not having any formula with you, you're, um kinda full of milk back there. It's not hard to notice if you know what you're looking at. I have two younger sisters myself." Pinkie told her. "Why did you lie about it though and where's the foals daddy?" "Sweetie Belle's father broke up with me and ran off as soon as he found out I was pregnant. The whole time I carried her, my mother forced me to stay in my room she wouldn't let me out even to eat, our butler brought meals to me." "Butler? Where are you from?" Pinkie asked "Manehattan. My name is Rarity Filigree. My father is a fairly famous jewelry maker and my mother is an artist and socialite. We're reasonably well off but mother was afraid about how the family's reputation would suffer seeing as how Sweetie Belle would be born out of wedlock. My father was always busy with his work so I hardly ever saw him. I was left alone for eleven months with my mother who took every opportunity to belittle and insult me. After Sweetie Belle was born my mother tried to force me to put her up for adoption. I just couldn't do it. She's my perfect little angel. When I wouldn't give her up, my mother threw me out of the house. She told me that neither she nor my father ever wanted to see us again. I came here because I have nowhere else to go. In a way I didn't lie about that part, my parents really did abandon us." Rarity looked and the pink pony with desperation in her eyes. "Please promise me you wont tell anypony about this." "But why, the ponies here a really supportive; I'm sure they'd all help out." Pinkie said. "It's something my mother said while she was throwing us out. She said to give the foal up or she'd make sure Foal Protection Service would take the foal away from me." "That horrible mare!" Pinkie thought about Rarity's request for a moment. "Okie Dokie Lokie. I don't like it when ponies lie but I can understand why you did. I promise I won't tell anypony about it I'll even Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" "What's a Pinkie Promise?" Rarity asked. "It's a super duper serious promise to never ever ever tell somepony something super secret. I just made it up. Pretty cool huh?" The hyper pony asked. "Anyway, I think I have an idea that can help you out. The Cakes were taking care of Scootaloo, while her parents were out of town. Oh, she's another foal that was born a few days ago. I think they left a few extra bottles lying around and some formula. I'll go mix some up and bring it up here for you while you finish feeding your baby." "Thank you so much Pinkie Pie. I don't know how I'll ever repay you." "When you finally tell her that you're her mommy, you have to let me throw you both a party okay?" "It's a deal." Rarity said, smiling for the first time in days. =============================================================== Pinkie was about to continue with the story when she saw Spike sleeping soundly. 'Poor guy, both you and Rarity have had it rough. I promised Twilight I wouldn't tell you about your parents but it's not right to keep this stuff away from you. She should have told you as soon as she found out. I'm going to give her only a little while longer and if she hasn't told you then I will.' She thought to herself as she stroked the purple pony's green mane. Pinkie leaned down a kissed him on the forehead. "Sleep tight Spike." She whispered as she walked to the door and closed it behind her. Heading down the stairs she met Applejack coming back up. "Pinkie, we need Spike downstairs right now, Rarity had to be taken to the hospital wing of the palace. She's knocked out cold and we're all real worried about her. Spike should really be there." Applejack informed her. "No, Spike's sleeping and he needs his rest." She stated. "But Pinkie this is serious." Pinkie Pie's mane and tail had fallen flat. "I said no. I know what's going on with them more than you do." She said. Applejack could see tears forming at the corner of the pink pony's eyes. "Please Applejack, go back downstairs and check on Rarity. I'll be there shortly." Pinkie Pie asked of her. Applejack slowly backed away from the upset pony then turned and trotted back the way she came. Pinkie calmed herself as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She addressed the two guards, one pegasus and one unicorn, standing at the bottom. "How you guys doin? Oh that's right, you're not supposed to be talking to ponies huh? Just do me a favor okay? Don't let anypony up there for a while. The poor little guy needs his sleep. The Princesses are okay but none of my friends. I'm sure you know them. It's only till morning. Can you do that for me?" "Sure thing," the unicorn guard said. "We remember Twilight and Spike when they used to live here. They were always nice to us and all the other guards. Anything we can do for them we will, we promise. Don't we Gust?" "You know it." The pegasus guard said. Pinkie hugged them both in a giant Pinkie Pie bear hug. "Thanks guys, you're both the greatest." She said, giving them each a kiss on the cheek. Pinkie trotted off after Applejack, leavening the two guards with a blush on their faces. =============================================================== Rarity woke and found herself lying in a bed three time too big for her in a lavishly decorated room. To her left was a machine measuring out her heart beats, on her right hung an IV connected to her right foreleg. "What happened, where am I?" She asked confused. "Rarity you fainted from shock, we brought you to the hospital wing so you could rest." Twilight told her. Rarity tried to get up. "I'm fine, I need to see Spike, and I need to tell him I'm sorry." Princess Celestia pushed her back down to the bed. "That can wait a little while yet. You need to rest or you're just going to faint again." Applejack trotted into the room closely followed by Pinkie Pie. "How's Spike, is he okay?" Rarity asked them. "We got a few drinks in him and he calmed down but I think that dragon's a long way from bein' okay about anythin'. We were telling him about when you came to Ponyville ten years ago but then Pinkie kicked me out of the room." Applejack explained. Rarity looked at her pink friend in shock. "Yup, I did and now I'm gonna do it again. So all of you out, Princesses if it would be all right, I need to talk to Rarity alone for a moment. Twilight, don't go too far, I want to talk to you when I'm done here." Pinkie said, ushering them out of the room and shutting the door behind them. When she was sure they had all gone she turned back to Rarity "Please tell me you didn't. Pinkie Pie, you promised you wouldn't tell anypony." Rarity said. "Exactly, I said I wouldn't tell any pony but Spike's not a pony is he? Rarity, Spike deserved to know why you act the way you do. You've let your past control you for so long you don't even see it anymore. You're so worked up about how other ponies will think of you. And because of that you hurt Spike. You didn't mean it and I doubt you even knew what you were doing but that's the way it is." "How did he react to the news?" Rarity asked cautiously. "He cried. I held him and he sat there and sobbed against my shoulder. He was crying for you Rarity he felt horrible about how you were treated and abandoned. I was about to get to the part where your uncle came in with AJ, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy but he fell asleep." "I will have to tell him the rest in the morning. He should know everything." Rarity said. "Nope, sorry; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are next, then you and Twilight. Can't cut in line, it's not nice." Pinkie told her. "What?" "Never mind," Pinkie said smiling at her friend. "I need to go talk to Twilight, try to get some sleep okay, something tells me you're going to need it tomorrow." =============================================================== Pinkie knocked on the door of the room Twilight was using during their visit. "Hi Pinkie," she said opening the door. "What did you want to talk about?" "Not out here, inside please." She said, walking past Twilight into the room. Twilight closed the door and joined her next to the bed. "What's going on Pinkie? Is everything all right? You don't seem yourself." "No, everything's not all right. You need to tell Spike about his parents. I've kept your secret for two years and you still haven't told him like you said you would. The Summer Sun Celebration was last week so; I'm giving you till Hearths Warming. If you haven't told him by then, I will." "But you can't, you Pinkie promised you wouldn't tell anypony." She pleaded. "I know Twilight, I did promise but the more I think about it the more I realize I shouldn't have. This isn't about silly little things like when Fluttershy and Rarity couldn't' admit how they really felt about Shy's modeling. This is Spike's life. This is important and he deserves to know who he is and where he comes from." "Okay Pinkie, you win. I'll tell Spike what I know." The pink mare hugged her tightly. "Thank you Twilight, I just know everything will work out for the better." "When did you get so smart about these things Pinkie?" Twilight asked with a smile. "I guess I've been hanging around you a lot." She said, returning the smile. Pinkie yawned loudly. "I'm heading to bed. See you in the morning Twilight." =============================================================== "Rise and shine little dragon." Fluttershy said, peering down on him from the side of the bed. "Time to get up Spike, I swear you sleep more than I do." Rainbow Dash said from the other side of the bed. Spike sat bolt upright, almost knocking the two ponies over. "What's going on?" Where's Pinkie and Applejack?" "They're getting their grub on. Rainbow Dash informed him. "Speaking of which, we brought you a little snack as well. The Princess said that the transformation is gonna make you really hungry so I hope we brought enough." She said. Moving aside the two ponies revealed three large platters piled high with scrambled eggs, hay bacon, and fresh fruit. Spike dived into the food and started to devour it with a will. The two pegasi sat there with their eyes wide and jaws hanging open, watching as the piles of food disappeared before them. Spike belched loudly. "Thanks guys, that was great. I'm gonna' go and say good morning to everypony downstairs." "Uhm, actually you can't." Fluttershy said. "Why not?" Spike asked starting to get a little upset. "The Princesses said you have to stay in here until they feel it's safe to let you out." The shy yellow pegasus told him. "What?" He shouted. "So I'm a prisoner now?" "Hey! Don't yell at Fluttershy, she didn't have anything to do with it." Rainbow Dash told him. "Uhm, actually I'm the one who suggested it to Princess Luna." Fluttershy admitted. "What?" Both Spike and Rainbow Dash asked in unison. "I was worried about you Spike, I'm sorry. When Princess Luna told us about finding you at the overlook and her fears that you would have, would have..." Spike walked over and hugged the sniffling mare tightly. "It's okay Shy. I'm sorry I yelled at you, I didn't mean it. Thank you for worrying about me. I'm glad somepony does." "Are you kidding? We're all worried about you Spike." Dash told him. "Twilight was close to freaking out when she heard, and Rarity." "What about Rarity?" Spike asked. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked to each other unsure of what they should tell him. Spike saw the worried look on their faces. "What's going on guys?" "Spike, first I want you to know it wasn't your fault okay?" Rainbow told him. "Yes, she hadn't eaten anything since the night before so..." Fluttershy said before Spike cut her off. "What's wrong with Rarity?" He asked in a panic. "Please, calm down Spike. Rarity's okay, she went into shock last night and fainted. They took her to the hospital wing and the doctor said she'd be all right. She just needs rest and food." Spike sat down hard on the bed, bouncing a little as he did. "This is my fault. Rarity's hurt because of me." He began to cry. Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around the little dragon. "It's not your fault Spike, none of this is your fault or Rarity's. Don't feel bad please?" She hugged him tightly. "Pinkie said you feel asleep while she was telling you Rarity's story, did you want to hear the rest of it? Rainbow and I were there too when Applejack went and got her uncle." "Does everypony in town known about Rarity's aunt and uncle?" Spike asked. "Nope, I think it's just the four of us unless somepony told Twilight, but then if Twilight knew, the whole town would know." Rainbow said. "Anyway, what's the last thing you remember her saying?" "She said Applejack had left her to go get her uncle while she helped Rarity feed the baby." He told them. "Perfect, that's when we met up with her." Rainbow said. "Let's see, if I remember correctly, Fluttershy and I had just come back from one of my practices when we found Applejack running through town like there was a fire or something." =============================================================== "Hey AJ, what's the hurry?" Rainbow called out. Applejack came to a sudden halt. "Hey Rainbow, how you doin' Fluttershy? Sorry, I don't have time to talk too much, there's a sorta' new unicorn over at Pinkies and I need to get her uncle over there right away." "I hope it's nothing too serious." Fluttershy asked. "Uhm, who's her uncle?" "Carlton, you know the unicorn hoofball player that lives on the north end of town? He's her uncle and I need to get him over to Sugar Cube Corner quick." "Well, what are we waiting for, if she's in trouble, then we should get going?" Rainbow Dash said as she flew off for the ex-hoofball player's house. The three ponies raced to Carlton's house and the front door. Applejack was first and knocked loudly. A tall, strong looking unicorn stallion answered the door; his brown mane, tail, bushy mustache, and the three hoofballs on his flank offset the pony's white coat. Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow Dash; ponies with mustaches always made her nervous "Hey there AJ, how's your dad doin'? I hope I didn't hurt his shoulder too much." "Pa's doin' fine, where here to let you know Rarity's here and she has her new baby sister with her." "Well that's great. My cousin doesn't bring the kids around too often. I didn't know he had another daughter. It'll be good to see them, thanks for letting me know." He said. "You don't understand, they're here by themselves. Rarity said their parents abandoned them; they have nowhere else to go." "What? No, that can't be right. Where are they dear?" Carlton asked. "They're over at Sugar Cube Corner. Rarity needed to feed her sister." Applejack told him. "Then what are we standing around here for? Let's get going." He said as the four ponies ran to the towns' largest purveyor of sweets and pastries. =============================================================== When we arrived, we found Rarity putting Sweetie Belle down for a nap. She told her uncle everything about how her mother couldn't handle another foal. Her parents left for a party and never came back. She stayed in the house for a week when a realtor came and told her that the house was being sold and movers were coming to pack up the belongings. He told her he had no way of contacting them and said she couldn't stay there any longer. She had nowhere else to go so she came here to Ponyville." Fluttershy concluded. "Carlton and Fran took them in right away of course." Rainbow Dash said. "Didn't they try and find her parents?" Spike asked. "Well of course they did. Carlton wrote hundreds of letters and every time they came back marked, return to sender. I think Rarity told me once that he went up to Manehattan personally to try and talk to his cousin but no one could or would say anything to him. It was really weird; it was like her parents dropped off the face of Equestria and no one cared. It was only a year ago they resurfaced in Canterlot and Carlton immediately went to go see him. From what I heard, he couldn't get through the front door." Rainbow Dash sighed. "I have no idea what happened but I can't imagine what it's like to be rejected by your own parents. I mean I lost my dad years ago to an accident but that's different, I had my mom and she had me to get through it. Rarity hasn't really had anypony." "Rarity was always alone. She never really talked to anypony but Pinkie. It was about two years before you and Twilight came to town that she started her store. Carlton and Fran helped her get the money to start the store and from the first day she was a big success. She seemed to brighten up afterwards and became more outgoing. She and I even started going to the spa together. That's when she told me that the store was a creative outlet for her; she could let her frustrations out through her designs." Fluttershy told him. "That doesn't explain why she's so picky and judgmental, why nothing seems to be good enough for her." Spike said, hoping for more of an explanation. "Oh no Spike, you have it backwards." Fluttershy said. "It's not that nothings good enough for her, she feels like she's not good enough for anything." Spike was shocked. "She acts like she's above everything and that things are tacky or not good enough but that's all it is, an act." "How do you know all this Fluttershy?" Spike asked her. "It was Sweetie Belles tenth birthday, you remember how Rarity wasn't seen for most of it?" "Yah, Twilight told me to see if I could find her but I never could and then later that night she came back on her own, said she had a very important client that was having a fashion emergency and she had to leave." Spike said. "I found her with Pinkie crying her eyes out. I don't think I'd ever seen Rarity that sad before. I caught up to her as she left and she told me that Sweetie Belle's birthday had always reminded her of the day her parents abandoned them and how she didn't want her little sister to see her cry. She told me about how she felt and made me promise to never tell her sister. She blamed herself for her parents abandoning them and always question if she could have done something better or been a more perfect daughter, maybe then she would have been deserving of them." "I never knew. Thanks girls for telling me all this, it kind of puts things into perspective. I'm a little tired and I have a lot to think about." "No problem Spike. Don't worry. If anything happens we'll tell you." Rainbow Dash told him. "I'll try, thanks." "Is there anything you want us to tell the others?" Fluttershy asked. "Just tell them I'm okay. And if Rarity has a moment, I think I'd like to talk to her later. I said some pretty horrible things to her and I'd like a chance to apologize. She didn't deserve it." "I think that's a wonderful idea Spike. If the doctor says it's okay then I'm sure she'll come to see you." Fluttershy said as she and Rainbow Dash left the room closing the door behind them. Standing on the landing outside the door, Rainbow looked at her long time friend. "That was easier than I thought." She whispered. Fluttershy didn't respond. Looking in her eyes, Rainbow could see tears being held back. "What's the matter Shy?" She whispered. Fluttershy turned and looked back at Spike's door. Rainbow Dash followed her gaze and that's when she heard it. Spike was crying. Pressing her ear to the door, she could make out some of what he was saying. "I'm sorry Rarity, I'm so so sorry. I didn't know. I'm sorry." The cyan blue mare yanked her head back from the door in surprise. "Aww man, I didn't mean to make the guy sadder." She whispered to Fluttershy. "It's okay Rainbow Dash. Twilight and Rarity will be up soon to talk to him. I'm sure they can fix this. They've been closer to him than any of us. "Come on Shy, let's go. The others will want to know how it went." She said as they walked down the stairs. =============================================================== Spike's friends had allowed him to rest for several hours. Dusk was rapidly approaching. Twilight and Rarity were hoping Spike had gotten enough rest. There were some issues both of them needed to get through with the young dragon. "Do you think it's okay if I come with you, are you sure he's going to want to see me?" Rarity asked as she and Twilight climbed the steps of the tower. "From what Rainbow and Fluttershy said, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you. I just have one question for you." She said. "We've known each other for five years now and you never told me about your parents abandoning you and your sister; Why not?" "It was my burden to bear Twilight. And after all that's happened with Discord and Nightmare Moon and everything, I didn't want to add more weight on your shoulders." "That's very thoughtful Rarity but I still wish you had told me, you're my friend and if there's any way I can help you, I want to." Twilight said. As they approached the door Rarity froze a few steps before the landing. "I don't know about this Twilight. Do you think I have any chance of being forgiven for how I treated him?" Twilight held a hoof to her mouth and waved Rarity over to the door. Both unicorns could here Spike through the door. Rarity listened to him sing and felt the love in his voice. 'Even after everything that was said, he still cares about me?' She thought to herself.