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// Putting Your Hoof Down 
// Story: Where Was Spike? 
// by powerpony 
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Spike pulled his wagon though the Ponyville market place. Twilight had asked him to pick up a few things and he stopped and eyed the items he got to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. 
“Strawberries? Check! Apples? Check! Cherries? Check! Tomatoes? Check! Carrots? Check! Well, it seems like I got everything,” Spike said to himself.
He was just about to head home when he heard a familiar voice. 
“Ten bits for one cherry is outrageous!”
“That sounds like Fluttershy,” Spike said as he followed the voice.
He then stopped when he saw Fluttershy talking to the owner of the cherry stand. He overheard her trying to lower the price of the one cherry the owner had left, but she was actually increasing the price from ten bits to twelve. Before she could hand them to him, Pinkie Pie and Rarity stopped her, saying that twelve bits is just too much for one cherry and they tried pulling Fluttershy away from the stand. But Fluttershy broke from their grasp, claiming that Angel needed that cherry and she didn’t care what it cost. 
But just as Fluttershy was about to grab the cherry, the stand owner quickly changed the price to twenty bits. Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks and reveled that she didn’t have that much money. 
“Then quit wasting my time,” the cherry owner said rudely. 
Spike just stood where he was with his jaw dropped. He was shocked at how rude and selfish the cherry owner was to Fluttershy. He was shocked even more when another pony walked by the stand and offered three bits for the cherry and the owner gave it to her with no fuss at all. But what really disgusted Spike was what the owner said to Fluttershy just after that. 
“Tough break, kid. Next time, don’t be such a doormat.”
Fluttershy then simply walked away with a sad look on her face. 
Spike was furious at what he just saw. Fluttershy was the one of the kindest ponies he knew and she did not deserve to be treated like that. He then walked up to the cherry stand and shouted “Hey you!”
The cherry owner looked down and saw Spike glaring back at him. 
“You talking to me, kid?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you,” said Spike. “How could you treat Fluttershy like that?”
“What? I didn’t do anything,” said the owner
“Liar!” said Spike, adding a little bit of volume to his voice. “I saw what you did. You tried to cheat Fluttershy out of all of her money for one measly cherry.” 
“Cherries can be quite expensive,” the owner said, a bit irritated. 
“Oh really?” said Spike. “Then how come you gave that one pony the cherry for only three bits?”
The cherry owner was about to say something, but Spike stopped him.
“Actually, you don’t have to say it, because I already know the answer. You knew that Fluttershy really needed that cherry and you took full advantage of it.”
The cherry owner soon noticed other ponies were hearing what Spike was saying and were looking at him with disgusted looks, making him feel a bit nervous. 
“Hey c’mon, kid. Give me a break,” he told Spike. “I’m just trying to run a business.” 
Spike could feel his blood boil as he kept getting madder and madder. He clutched his little fists together before talking again, this time in a more infuriating tone. 
“You’re not running a business, you’re just being greedy! What you did to Fluttershy was downright terrible, and I didn’t like it one bit!”
“That goes double for me,” said Pinkie Pie as she and Rarity walked up to the stand and stood beside Spike. “You’re just a big meanie.” 
“I couldn’t agree more,” said Rarity. “Fluttershy is a dear friend of mine, and I will not stand by and watch ponies like you take advantage of her.” 
Spike then walked up to the stand owner until he was looking at him right in the eyes. 
“I’d better not catch you doing something like this again, or you’re going to be very sorry,” he told him. 
The cherry owner just scoffed at Spike and let out a nasty chuckle. 
“What are you going to do about it, you little runt?” he said. 
Rarity let out a sharp gasp before giving the owner a huge glare. 
“How dare you talk to Spikey-Wikey like that,” she said. 
“It’s okay Rarity, I got this,” Spike told his friend before looking back at the cherry owner. “You have no idea who I am. Do you?”
“Yeah, you’re the guy who’s annoying me and trying to ruin my business,” the owner said. 
“Wrong,” said Spike. “My name is Spike. I’m the assistant of Twilight Sparkle, the star pupil of Princess Celestia. I can simply go to Twilight, tell her what you’ve been doing and she will send a letter to the princess that talks about you and your misdeeds. And I should warn you, Princess Celestia doesn’t take too kindly to ponies who try to cheat others out of their money.” 
“Oh, I’m so scared,” the cherry owner said in a mocking tone. “What is she going to do? Give me a slap on the wrist?”
The owner let out a small laugh but then stopped when he saw Spike looking at him with a sinister smile. 
“Actually, the princess can do way worse,” he said. “When me and Twilight were back in Canterlot, we heard a story about a pony who was selling counterfeit tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. Princess Celestia heard about it and was not too happy. Last I heard, the pony was spending time in an underground prison where he’s fed nothing but moldy bread.”
Spike saw that the cherry owner had a look of sheer terror in his eyes. His whole body was trembling and he had sweat pouring down his forehead. 
“Now, am I going to see you trying to steal an innocent pony’s money again?” asked Spike. 
The owner let out a big gulp before letting out a small “No sir.”
“Good. Thank you for your time,” the little dragon said before walking off with Pinkie Pie and Rarity. 
“That was amazing, Spike,” said Rarity. “I didn’t know you had it in you.” 	
“Thanks, Rarity,” said Spike. “Nopony messes with my friends and gets away with it. 
“Spike, I have a question,” said Pinkie Pie. “Did the princess really send that pony to an underground prison and forced him to eat moldy bread?”
Spike let out a small chuckle before answering his friend. 
“Actually, the princess just let him off with a warning. But that cherry pony doesn’t know that.” 
The three friends all joined each other in a laugh as they walked away from the market place. 

A few days after the whole Iron Will incident, Fluttershy was back at the market place. She had gotten everything on her list and now all she needed was a cherry. She made her way to the cherry stand and just like before, the owner only had one cherry left. Fluttershy took a deep breath and walked up to the stand. 
“Excuse me, sir. I don’t care how much that cherry is,” she said. “But I really need it. So just name your price and I’ll be on my way.” 
“One bit.”
“That is outrageous…” Fluttershy started before realizing what he just said. “I’m sorry, did you say ‘one bit?’”
“Yes I did,” the cherry owner said, a bit nervously. “One bit for one cherry.”
“Oh, well, um, thank you,” Fluttershy said as she handed the owner a bit and then took the cherry and placed it in her saddlebag. 
Fluttershy was a bit confused at the way the cherry owner was acting, but she was happy that she got her cherry. 
Nearby, a young purple dragon smiled as he saw his Pegasus friend walk away. 
“You did good, Spike.”