Epilogue — Twilight
The rest of the week was awesome.
Applejack and Apple Bloom gladly accepted Spike's help with the Zap Apple harvest the following morning. Then he assisted with the jam-making and once the deal with Filthy Rich had gone through he was even able to help them patch up the barn roof, a job which left him oddly satisfied. They talked and joked and laughed the whole day, and when he eventually remembered to ask, Applejack told him that her favourite song was a tuneful but haunting folk melody called, The River Wild. He didn't recognise it, but Applejack gave him a quick, heartfelt rendition, and it was beautiful.
Afterwards, Apple Bloom and the others had apparently had the brilliant idea that what they wanted most of all for a cutie-mark, was a dragon. So he got roped into helping the Crusaders with all manner of activities that, in the end, were just an excuse to spend an evening having fun with friends in good company. And when the day was over and none of the three had a picture of Spike on their hip to show for it, he made a self-deprecating comment about it being for the best that they not have to look at his ugly face forever and they all shared a good, honest laugh.
He finally got the misunderstanding about his story cleared up with Pinkie Pie. Then she absolutely insisted on hearing every single detail as though he were telling it for the first time back at the party. And when he'd finally finished telling her, she squee'd and proclaimed it the Best Story Ever. She especially liked the part where he gave Twilight the telescope at the party; partly because it was a happy ending, and partly because Pinkie herself made a brief cameo appearance, jumping out of Twilight's cake—and right through the fourth wall, as Spike had Story-Pinkie say hi to Audience-Pinkie, to much delight.
He still felt a little guilty for Fluttershy. When she invited him for a critter tea party to make up for the thing he kept insisting she hadn't done wrong, he accepted only because it would make her feel better. He had to admit it wasn't the usual thing he went in for, but they were far more ease with each other, and a pleasant afternoon in the sunshine trading light, easy banter with a good friend accompanied by tea, cake, and chirping animals was—notwithstanding the huge hungry-looking grizzly bear—a wonderful, relaxing way to spend time. When, at Fluttershy's beseeching insistence, Spike told her honestly why he'd been so bummed out at her cottage, Fluttershy nodded quietly and said she understood. She'd been a bit surprised, she explained. Ponies—even those she was friends with—didn't often stop by for no reason other than to 'hang out' with her, and she admitted she might have fallen back too hard on her instinct to make him feel welcome. She accepted that she might need to rein it in in future, but she promised that she didn't think of him as anything less than a true friend. He'd smiled at that and told her he knew. Fluttershy thought of everyone as her true friend, and it didn't matter how many arms or legs they had.
Rarity wanted to make up for her blunder by taking him first to lunch and then to—where else?—the spa. And in spite of his insistence that it was an unnecessary gesture, she simply wouldn't take no for an answer. He was pampered and massaged to his heart's content, and Rarity ensured that for the whole time there, he was the centre of attention for once. It might have been a little much, but while his aching muscles screamed in ungrateful protest, he had to admit his scales had never shone so brightly by the end of that long afternoon.
The same evening, Rainbow Dash invited him and the rest of the gang to watch her practice her aerobatics over Sweet Apple Acres. She'd got a discount on a consignment of surplus thunderbolts from the Weather Factory, and with them she set four storm clouds in a staggered pattern in the dusky sky over the rolling orchards. Then she performed her Cloudburst on all of them at once, ricocheting from one cloud to the next, lighting up the sky with spectacular electric explosions in every colour imaginable, to a chorus of cheering and a party atmosphere. Afterwards, she insisted on flying Spike home on her back, giving him a lengthy and peaceful aerial tour of midnight Ponyville—a sight he'd never seen before. The village by night from the air was breathtaking, especially with the castle catching and reflecting the moonlight just so. When they'd alighted he hadn't been able to thank her enough, but she'd just responded with a warm smile, a quick wink, and an, 'Any time, Spike.'
And when, the next morning, he received a letter sent from Princess Celestia advising him that Twilight was on the next train home a day earlier than expected, he was right at the station to greet her.
"Whew! What a week!" she said happily, disembarking from the train, her saddlebags in tow. "But I did it. I found a copy of every last book! Most of them are on order, but Celestia's agreed to store them for me as they come in until the Mayor and I can agree on a plan for a new library. So, what'd I miss?" she asked as they slowly made their way from the station.
"Oh, not much. Usual Ponyville stuff." said Spike with his typical, relaxed smile.
"It can't have been that usual," Twilight chuckled. "The town's still in one piece, for one!"
They left the station and made their way into Ponyville, heading towards the castle at the edge of the village. As they continued to chat, Twilight glanced down at him with a peculiar, curious expression and he realised he'd been staring.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"No," he said, still smiling. "It's just... I missed you."
"Oh, Spike," Twilight chuckled happily and gave him a soft, playful nuzzle. "I missed you, too." They carried on walking. "So? Did any of our friends come by while I was gone?"
Spike stopped a moment and blinked, automatic reply dying in his throat. He looked up at Twilight. "Yeah," he said. "They all did."
"What, all at once? It wasn't anything serious was it?"
"Uh... nah. Nothing that talking to a friend couldn't fix." He smiled again. "Come on. I'll tell you all about it when we get home."
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