//------------------------------// // Stage 4-Depression // Story: The five stages of being turned down // by Charzoid //------------------------------// After the incident at Rarity's and his talk with Twilight the next few weeks went by in a blur for Spike as he mostly just stayed in his room. He did come out for food but didn't eat much. Twilight at first wanted to just give him some space but was getting more concerned with how little she ever saw him outside his room. She left his usual chores to some of the guards she asked Celestia to send over. At some point he claimed to have headaches so she took him to a few doctors but none of them found anything wrong with him physically. One of them did suggest that it might be brought on by stress or a sign of slight depression. The first thing Twilight did when she got home was look up a book on the signs of depression and what to do about it. According to the book she was already doing the right thing in giving him his space but she couldn't expect something like this to be magically fixed in an hour or week with whatever she followed. This however didn't mean it was impossible to make him feel better about himself. This type of thing would take some time but her friends could likely help in some ways. First thing she needed to do was try and get him out the house. She knew just the pony to help him take his mind off his troubles for at least a little while. "So that's basically the situation and I hope you've got some ideas to lift his spirits at least a little bit." Twilight said to Pinkie pie. She had just given the party pony a brief summary of all that had happen up to this point. "Wow poor Spike must be super duper sad after all that. I've never been in a relationship but my sister limestone pie did and she was really upset when her boyfriend broke up with her. I forget what the break up was about but she didn't talk to anypony for days. It was years ago when we were teens and she's over it plus better now but every once in a while she'll bring him up if dad asks her when she'll feel like dating again." Pinkie replied. Pinkie Pie started to pace around the room in thought for a few seconds before continuing. "Oh! For limestone she would go out to the fields and smash rocks to relax or go galloping around the farm to keep her mind at ease. Does Spike have something he likes to do when he gets upset or just in his free time in general?" Pinkie asked. "Well he usually either likes to cook or read his comic books whenever he can." Twilight replied. "Hmm, I think I know how I can combine both those things. Just leave this to me Twilight. I might not be able to make him completely forget his troubles but I can at least help him relax a little more." Pinkie said with a grin. With that Pinkie pie galloped out the door and returned 6 minutes later with a saddle backpack. She then ran up stairs to Spike's room where she found Spike with an icepack on his head. He seemed to be counting his scales in the mirror with a bored look on his face. He didn't seem to acknowledge her even as she approached him closer and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Spike?" Pinkie pie questioned. "Ah! Oh, I didn't see you there Pinkie. When did you get here?" Spike asked in surprise "Oh, I've been here for a few minutes now and since I haven't seen you in a while I thought I'd drop by." Pinkie said with a smile. "Twilight didn't send you up here did she?" Spike asked suspiciously "Nope! I actually want to show you some fun comics I came across by the Neightendo group." Pinkie replied "Thanks Pinkie I really appreciate it but I've already read all their comics before they stopped making them a few years ago. Besides that I really haven't been in a reading mood lately." He said with a half smile. "What? Didn't you hear they got back into the comic business a few months ago? Since I hadn't seen you what with every pony getting busier and busier lately I wanted to share some of these with you. I thought you might like the concepts and we could read it together." She said with a sad smile. Spike didn't think about it until Pinkie had said it but it was true that every pony was busier now. Not only Rarity with her shops and wedding but the others to. Rainbow dash was out doing tasks for the wonderbolts and Applejack's farm was expanding with her brand of apples getting more popular. Even Fluttershy said she'd be making plans to go to college to become a certified veterinarian. This way she could help animals with bigger boo boos that couldn't be healed overnight with just flower bandages. Pinkie pie was likely feeling lonely with all her friends doing more while nothing that big was happening for her. "Well I don't really know but I guess I could read a few pages at least. What's it called?" he asked. "Its called battling banquets!Its about a world where ponies compete in cooking contests by first making regular delicious meals in one round then magically making the foods become sentient monsters to battle each other the next round. The winning dish maker is crowned champion chef!" Pinkie explained. After hearing a description like that Spike couldn't help but wonder if it might of been better for the Neightendo group to leave comic ideas to the companies. "Um, I've got to be honest that sound kind of odd and a bit dumb but I guess reading a page or two wouldn't hurt." Spike finally said. "Great!" she exclaimed. He had to admit it was just really random and a bit slow in story at the beginning but the more he read he couldn't help but become actually interested in what was going on with the main characters. Even the ones who were there just to be annoying kind of had a bit of charm to them the more he read. Without realizing it they had finished 3 comic books. "Wow, I never knew they even made comics like these." Spike said "Well that comes from them collaborating with some Ibexes from the west of Equestria called the chewsoft organization. They have some pretty quirky ideas from time to time." Pinkie explained. "Any other comic series by them?" Spike asked "Well since I'm a big fan I've got a lot of different ones back at Sugar cube Corner. I don't know what other types of stories you might like by them. Why don't you come over and take a look?" Pinkie suggested happily Spike paused for second to think about it. A part of him didn't want to go but the other was kind of sick looking at the same crystal walls all day. A slight change in scenery couldn't hurt to bad. "Well I don't really have much else to do here and I really did like this series so sure." he accepted. With a grin Pinkie pie led Spike to Sugarcube corner and on the way there told him about how many different genres and subjects that Ibex made stories that covered more then most. He was still having a headache but it felt slightly less bad then before. By the time they got there Spike was more then ready to see these supposed game changers to the comic world. When they got near the door there was a large blur of blue running past them and out the store. Said blue blur turned out to be Mrs. Cake. "Oh Pinkie pie and Spike! I know this is a kind of a last minute request but could you watch the store for a bit? I need to go all the way to Canterlot just to pick up a cake decoration because it was sent to the wrong place. Carrot cake is busy buying the twin's birthday gifts so I have to go by myself." Said Mrs. Cake. "No problem Mrs.Cake! We can both watch the shop and read comics to pass the time till you get back. You don't mind do you Spike?" Pinkie asked. Spike simply shrugged his shoulders indifferently and nodded. Once inside the store Pinkie lets him to her room where she had a very large brown dresser cabinet that he hadn't recalled seeing the last time he was in her room for a sleepover. Her pet alligator Gummy was somehow on top of the cabinet and slumped over on its back with it's eyes half closed. "When did you get that and is Gummy okay?" He asked. "Oh this is the cabinet I keep the magazines organized I got recently and don't worry about gummy, he's gotten really into meditation lately. He'll snap out of it in the next hour." Pinkie answered. Opening the cabinet he saw drawers packed with more magazines then he'd ever seen in even the old Ponyville library. The were even labeled by genre. "You've really read all of these?!" the dragon asked in shock. "Of course not silly! I won half of these in sweepstakes along with the drawer to hold them all a while back but I've only read a couple dozen of them. Some of these I don't even know what they are but just sticking a hoof in and finding something surprising is always fun. You wanna try or want me to do it?" Pinkie said eagerly. Now even more curious to see if all the hype Pinkie made of these comics was true, he stuck his hand in a drawer that was labeled comedy/adventure in big red letters. Out of it he pulled a comic with a green fish in a bowl wearing a red helmet and glaring at a smiling pair of identical little colts that were holding him on the cover. In bubble letters it was title Secret Captain finny fish. It was about an alien fish and his comrades failed attempts to take over Earth after being bought as pets by a pair of twin brothers. "Oh that looks like a funny one, let's get started!" Pinkie pie exclaimed. The next half hour was spend reading different volumes of both the comic Spike found and comics Pinkie pie found. Spike had to admit that hanging out with somepony after being in his room so long felt good. For a brief moment he almost forgot why he was feeling so down until he read the final page of an action, comedy, and romance comic called Dark Clover. It was about griffon assassin whom with the help of a strange mare would relearn how to respect and love the value of life again. It started pretty straight forward with some funny dark humor in it but ended on a bittersweet note when the griffon couldn't save her in the end. He didn't know why for whatever reason he started to compare them to himself and Rarity's situation. Rarity wasn't as childish as the griffin in the story nor demanded for compliments if not immediately given one and Spike was raised knowing about how your suppose to respect the lives of others even if you dislike them. The situation with him and her wasn't about life and death since Rarity wasn't dying but that didn't make it hurt less knowing she was going to be around even less now since a guy like Fancy Pants tended to travel. With her love of finding new inspirations and making business deals Rarity would no doubt want to go with him wherever he went. Fancy could afford to take her out to expensive stores plus he knew how to rub elbows with the elites to get her what she wanted. Rarity might even want to have foals in the future. Fancy Pants was the same species as her so he could give her that to unlike Spike since dragons came from eggs and ponies didn't. With all this in mind he started to feel an old pit open in his stomach again. It didn't register to him that he had been scratching unconsciously at the back of the comic until Pinkie started to shake him lightly while asking something was wrong. "Oh um, sorry Pinkie Pie I'm fine but do you mind if I use your bathroom for a minute?" the purple dragon suddenly asked. Instead of waiting for an answer he was already walking in the direction of the bakery's bathroom. "Sure thing Spike but I hope you know you can talk to me if anything is bothering you right?" Pinkie asked. "What would make you say that all of a sudden?" he asked. "Its just even though I really did bring you here so we could hang out and have fun I was told about what happened with Rarity. I just thought maybe getting you outside to do something you use to like would at least make you a bit happier. Not all the way better but at least a bit more happy." Pinkie confessed. "Oh come on pinkie, just because a guy's dream girl is marrying someone else and doesn't even give a good excuse as to why she never gave him a chance doesn't mean he'd be bothered by anything!He emphasized this last part a little louder then he meant to before disappearing into the bathroom. Pinkie pie visibly flinched as she heard him slam the door. Now she felt a bit guilty for even bringing it up. Since she wasn't a unicorn of any level she couldn't travel back in time to tell herself what not to have said so she was stuck on what she should do next. *bing bing zip* A customer now of all times!? Pinkie thought with alarm when she heard the doorbell. She'd have to deal with whoever it was quickly before she could go and help Spike. Quickly shoving all the comics back into their original homes she made her way down stairs. When she opened the door it seemed like the last pony on Earth appeared in that moment. She didn't know if now was a good time for them to be here. In the bathroom Spike didn't know really why he came into the bathroom or why he had yelled at Pinkie pie who was only being nice. Over the last few months he'd been doing that a lot it seemed. He wasn't a child but he was being snappish and impulsive like one to those around him. He knew that he knew better then that and yet still behaved that way. He already felt like a loser for failing at being a good assistant to Rarity and not winning her from Fancy Pants. Now here he was sitting on the blue tile of his friend's bathroom next to a clothing hamper and sulking. Was he sulking because of his outburst toward Pinkie? Was it to his outbursts toward all his friends? Was he sulking because no matter how mature he wanted to appear he just kept on doing immature things that would likely make his friends not want to be friends anymore? The list could go on but he honestly didn't know which to pick. He just faintly heard the knock on the bathroom door. If not for the headache coming on from it he probably wouldn't of responded. "Pinkie pie, I didn't mean to yell but I'm really okay in here. I don't think its good for any mares to be around me at moment though." he said to the door. "She forgives you young drake and respects your wishes but I do hope your not excluding stallions from being nearby who'd want to talk." said a male voice that was definitely not Pinkie pie. It took a moment for him to even remember who's voice it was. His circle of male to female friends wasn't particularly large. After a few more seconds of thinking it finally hit him. "Fancy Pants?" Spike questioned. He walked to the door and opened it just to be sure since he had no idea of why out of all ponies that Fancy Pants would be here. He had even less of an idea on why he would want to talk to Spike of all creatures since he no doubt heard of all the things that happened up to this point. Why would you want to talk to someone who was trying to steal you wife to be and pranked you out of jealousy? Maybe to scold them or something of that nature? Once he opened the door sure enough there stood the monocle wearing off white stallion with a blue mane and matching mustache. His face didn't look like an angry pony nor did it look like he was going to swing his hooves into Spike's jaw. Instead his face had a mix of concern and what looked like sadness for some reason. It made him think of a concerned father who just heard something bad happening at school and wanted to talk to their child about it. Spike didn't know what to do or say at the moment so he let Fancy pants in and returned to his seat next to the hamper. Fancy moved the hamper aside so he too could sit beside him. There was a brief pregnant silence between the pair as it seemed Fancy Pants was thinking what to say before finally speaking. "First thing I wanted to let you know is that I'm really not upset over the whole wild goose chase a few months ago and if anything I'm sorry your going through a moment similar to mine in a past life." said the stallion. Out of all the first things he expected to come out the older pony's mouth that was not one of them. "What do you mean by a past life?" Spike asked. "Its what I called my teenage years before I got my cutie mark. I wasn't always the pony I am today and your already a better character then I was at my teen years since you at least know to feel sorry for your actions. I don't know if you want to hear the whole story but you should know you've got truly loving ponies around you since none of them hold your behavior against you. They know where its coming from as do I." Fancy Pants said. Up to this point Spike had always seen Fancy Pants as a annoyingly flawless pony and for him to say words like this made very little sense. On the other hand he never really knew the guy's background. It didn't seem like something that he needed to know but for the fancy stallion to be sitting on a dirty bathroom floor and attempting to comfort someone he should dislike made him curious. "What were you like before your cutie mark?" the dragon asked. Canterlot jr. high many years ago I was the son of a very successful and loved politician at the time named Fancy Suit and as such I thought I could do whatever I wanted. I was a playcolt of sorts and was so impatient about my cutie mark that I wore a fake painted one because I thought I was to cool to waste time on thinking about things like special talents. All that was important was being popular and if that meant wearing a fake gaudy trophy cutie mark and buying friendships then so be it. I had recently dumped one mare for a pretty new girl named fleur. I never even gave the other poor girl a reason why I broke up with her, I just thought fleur was prettier. One day during geography class I noticed our usual teacher was late. Usually when he was late that meant that we'd likely have a substitute coming. "Anypony want to see me greet the new guy with a special treat?" I said to my classmates while pulling out an extra chocolate pie my butler packed me. Of course a chorus of "Go for it Fancy!" was my reply. One pony locked the door so we'd all know when the teacher arrived when we heard the sound of keys trying to open it. Not to long after I had made my announcement we heard the jiggling cue of keys and I leaned back in front of the door ready to pie what I assumed was a middle aged stallion. I could pay some pony to take the fall for me later if I made it to my seat in time before the teacher cleaned their face. However I froze mid swing because instead of an old stallion there stood the most gorgeous young adult unicorn I'd ever seen. She had a figure like celestia but with lime green fur, long honey brown mane with soft curls, and white streak down her muzzle. Her gorgeous dark brown eyes looked at me questioningly. "What pray tell are you planning to do with that pie young colt?" she asked in an accent I never heard. I later learned it was from the neightherlands. I didn't know how to reply and just stood there with the pie over my head in one hoof. I wanted to say something cool to play off the shock but my hooves were visibly shaking now and while searching for anything to say I lost my grip on the pie which landed smack dab on my face. Everyone minus the teacher started laughing and pointing at me. "I really should send you to detention for the attempt but I can assume from how pink in the face you are that this should be punishment enough. Go wash up in the bathroom Mr. Pink." she said with the cutest smile. "Um, thanks but I'm Fancy Pants." I said lamely "And I'm your new teacher for the rest of the semester, Madame Biosphere. Now do as I asked Mr. Pants and go wash up."She replied I did as I was told and for the next week despite some genius's idea to combine the nicknames she gave me to thus dub me Mr. pink pants I didn't care. All that mattered was getting to know Ms. Biosphere more. It didn't even matter that I still had a girlfriend either. I learned she was the daughter of a former governor in the neighterlands who retired early to let a friend take his place instead. Learning this I thought the best way to swoon her was with my status as I had done with others. One day as class was ending I decided to stay behind so we were alone as she graded some papers. "Say Ms.Biosphere? Did you know my father is one of the most popular guys in politics right now? If you ask around I'm as awesome as him by association you know." I said with confidence. She gave me a brief glance then returned to her papers but didn't look back up at me as she spoke next. "Yes, Mr.Pants I know he is but I kind of feel bad for him having a son that thinks just being related to someone of good character makes them better then others." she said "What?! I exclaimed "In the short while I've been here I've heard a lot of gossip about you and your activates. One day your going to graduate into the real world and if you never plan to do anything but ride one the success of your father like that then no real mare will want true happiness with you. Who do you think wants to love someone who's never accomplished anything?" she questioned Looking back at this I think a part of me deep down did think she wouldn't be that easy to impress with status but I still wasn't expecting that response and I had no idea how to really respond back. It took me a moment for everything she just said to register but when it did I was only able to get out one question from it all. "What do you mean never accomplish anything? My cutie mark clearly says I'm good at winning anything I put my mind to." I said this to play off the shock but it didn't work. "Cutie mark? You mean that clearly marker traced image on your flank with a mild glamour spell on it to make it look more real? Sorry but after being around many slime ball ponies in politics and the few good ones I know fakers when I see them. "she said with a sigh. She looked over a few more papers then finally looked up at me before speaking again. "Look, I'm not saying that I don't think you really could be more if you put your mind to it. Heck,from what your other teachers have told me when your not pranking ponies, flirting, and being bossy you know how to do your school work wonderfully. You aren't a stupid pony and have the potential to be better but these habits of yours are going to hold you back." She said this with finality in her voice. No pony had ever spoken to me like that before nor seen right through my act so thoroughly. I still didn't want that to be the end of things. I was determined to have her see me as so much more. As she made to get up with her papers I jumped in her path. "What should I do then? I don't want other ponies thinking I'm fake! Is there anything I can do?" I asked this a bit more whiney then I'd like to admit. "Well, if you want ponies to see you as more then just a the figurehead son then maybe you should do some school volunteer work? Make yourself an example to others by doing work that's selfless and helps other see the good in doing the right thing by yourself. I hear that there are a lot of student school volunteer positions opening for extra credit in a few weeks. Maybe pick one and see how you like it? "Ms. Biosphere suggested. "I promise I'll prove to you I can do it!" I vowed. Within the next few weeks I did even more then that and practically volunteered to do half the schools volunteer positions. It was an exhausting 3 months but in that time I started to notice some changes about the ponies around me. They were becoming nicer to the teachers and the teachers seemed less stressed to. One of my jobs was to give a fruit to each of my classroom teachers and I heard of other ponies doing the same. As embarrassing as it would be I even removed the fake cutie mark to show that I meant what I said to Ms. Biosphere about not being a fake. I broke up with fleur the day after I removed my fake mark and she hated me the rest of the semester. The fact that I was actually influencing others in a way that made school life enjoyable felt oddly good. It was only on the day a pony I had tutored came up to me with their little sibling that something special happened. "Hey, that's him right there! He's the pony who showed me how to save you." said the pony "I did what?" I asked. "Remember how you helped me with studying safety defense class and encouraged me to keep at it till I got that A? he asked. "Um, yes but how did you doing that save another pony?" I questioned. "My little sister was being mugged by some big kids and I normally freak out in emergencies but I remembered from my lessons to keep calm and what to do. If not for you showing me how to keep at it I wouldn't of remembered how to respond. We both wanted to say thanks!" he explained. "Wow, that's amazing! Still you should give yourself some credit to, even for some ponies who know what to they usually freeze up." I replied. "Well we still wanted to thank you anyway." he said with a grin. "Your very welcomed then and I'm glad I was able to help you find courage like that." I said back. After they walked away I was on my way to the bathroom when I realized I not only was really good at bringing out other pony's good sides but also their courageous sides to. I really liked that I could do something like that and I felt a great tingle of joy down my spine at the thought. I almost didn't notice it as I walked out the bathroom until I glanced at something on my flank in the bathroom mirror. 3 crowns with purple jewels sat on my flank and unlike the trophy they were very real. I had a feeling I knew what they meant but wasn't completely sure so I went to the library on cutie marks and symbolism. The crown traditionally represents honor, legitimacy, victory, and righteousness. Purple jewels mean wealth, dignity, devotion, and peace. In a nutshell it meant I was someone who could lead ponies with my wealth and righteousness to their goals but with dignity and for honorable causes. End Flashback Spike sat silently taking in the story he was just told. It was a lot different then he would of pictured He still really found it hard to imagine a mean or spoiled Fancy Pants but if that was the case then love must really change people in bigger ways then he thought. For both good in Fancy's case and bad in his case. Still he felt something was being left out in the end. "So what ever happened to Ms. Biosphere?" he asked. "Well, the day after I got my cutie mark I wanted to show it to her of course as a way of proof to my word but she didn't come in due to having hay fever. When I went to the hospital after school with chocolates, flowers and a get well card I met 2 ponies I didn't quite expect. "Who?" asked Spike. "Well, her daughter for one and her.....wife for the second."Fany Pants answered. "Ouch." said the dragon. "Yes, well it was my own fault for only checking her political bio and not her personal life one. Still her wife had to leave for a meeting and drop off the daughter so they asked if I wanted to stay with her till visiting hours were over. At first due to shock I didn't know how to respond. Still I did it anyway because even if I couldn't be who she wanted in that moment I could still be the support she needed even if I didn't get what I wanted in the end. I lost many friends when I stopped being fake, found my purpose when I started acting better, and still didn't get the girl but still knew things would be fine. " Fancy Pants said. "How did you know things would just be fine though? Didn't you feel dejected? Didn't you feel like you lost your true love forever? " Spike questioned. "It wasn't instant of course since even as I met other girls I still thought of her until one day I thought of how she influenced me. I might not been able to love her for what I wanted us to be but I could always look back and love what she helped made me be. Thinking of the experiences that she helped showed me a side of myself I didn't realize I had. In that sense I'm always with her in gratitude. Can you say that you've done things with Rarity that you might not of tried or learned about without knowing her?" the fancy pony asked. Spike didn't take as long this time to reply. "Yeah of course, me and her have had all kinds of crazy adventures. Same goes for me and all my friends." He said with a small smile. They sat in a now slightly more comfortable silence for a few more seconds before Spike spoke again. "I'm still not 100% sure how to feel but thank for telling me your story and for sitting here with me. I've got some thinking to do now but I think you helped some. I'll tell Pinkie pie she helped to." Spike said. "Any time my good drake." said Fancy with a smile. The stallion then gave the dragon a small hug before leaving him in the bathroom.