After the rather eventful afternoon in Ponyville had passed, which consisted of three dragons attempting to raid it only to be beaten senseless by Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy, the whole town had become abuzz about the dragon slayers as well as the Fairy Tail guild itself. Some of the citizens would speak greatly of the wizards valiance and magic but there were some who had grown to fear their power and the 'threat' it could pose. As such the town had become rather flustered since the failed raid and so, Makarov decided it would be best to allow the townsponies to settle their thoughts in a town meeting which Celestia heartily agreed on. So, one day the guild members, along with the mane six, gathered in the town hall which was filled tot he brim with ponies muttering ecstatically to one another.
"Ahem. Citizens of Ponyville!" Celestia called to gain their attention. "Now, as we all know, the dragon's recent attack on the town has been quite the disturbance for a great many of you."
"OH YA THINK?!!" one spoke up.
"MY SHOP NEARLY CAUGHT FIRE!!"
"I THOUGHT MY CHILDREN WERE GOING TO BE EATEN!!"
"CAN YOU, PRINCESS LUNA AND PRINCESS TWILIGHT PROTECT US?!!"
"CAN THESE WIZARDS BE TRUSTED?!!"
"RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!" the crowd immediately unraveled into storm of gibbered yammering. Makarov shook his head before his voice boomed.
"ATTENTION!!" he rumbled bringing everypony to a silence. "Thank you. As the Princess has said, I understand many of you have your concerns and questions, and we will listen, but one at a time, if you please." he said in a calm but orderly tone. A few moments of silence passed before one mare raised her hoof. "Yes, you there." The mare stepped forward revealing the little red filly from before standing beside her.
"I just wanted to thank the three of you who saved my little girl from those dragons. I thought I was going to lose her but you saved her life. I owe you so much." she bowed her head as did her daughter.
"Oh no, please think nothing of it." Wendy waved her hand shyly. "We were just doing what needed to be done."
"Yeah I bet any of you would've done same." Natsu grinned.
"I just don't like thugs who pick on little kids." Gajeel excused.
"And are you three the only ones who have this dragon slaying magic?" asked a stallion reporter.
"No Laxus has it too. He uses lightning." Natsu confirmed.
"So then what are the rest of you capable of?" another reporter asked the guild.
"Well the majority of us here are caster types where we produce magic from our bodies. I for example use ice, while Juvia here uses water." Gray explained.
"Though some of us use caster magic that isn't elemental. Such as my team the Thunder Legion who use enchantments, voodoo and fairy magic." Laxus added while the Thunder Legion raised their hands.
"The other class of magic we use is holder magic where we channel our power through items. primary examples include Lucy's celestial magic and my own requip magic." Erza said as Lucy showed her keys to the crowd.
"I use my keys to summon celestial spirits to aid me." she said. "The silver keys are various, but the gold ones are really rare and are connected to members of the zodiac, ten of which I have contracts with."
"You mean like if you chose Cancer you'd summon a gigantic crab?!" Sweetie Belle asked fascinated though Rarity suddenly went rigid with wide eyes as if she'd just had a unwanted flashback. Lucy giggled.
"Not quite. My spirits aren't exactly identical to the zodiac signs their based off of."
"Can we meet some of them?! Oh please~?!" Applebloom asked as she and her friends gave Lucy their big eyed squee treatment. Of course she couldn't resist and stood up.
"Alright you wanna see some magic?" she asked earning an excited cheer from the CMC and many of the other foals. "Open! Gate of the giant crab: Cancer!" in a flash of light the scissor wielding spirit appeared before the crowd.
"That's not a crab! That's just a guy with scissors." Snips pipped up.
"Well I did say my spirits weren't identical to their zodiac counterparts. They're more, aesthetically styled after them." Lucy explained. While the majority of the colts seemed a bit disappointed, Rarity was quite surprised as well that Cancer didn't have the form of a gargantuan crustacean.
"So this is that Equestria place you've told us about, Ms Lucy." he said to his contractor. "Would any of you little ponies care for a mane-cut? Baby." he concluded with his catchphrase.
"You're a stylist?!" Rarity asked earning Cancer's attention.
"Oh my! That's quite a nice do there, baby! You've got some real class!" he said to the unicorn who blushed pink at his compliment.
"Oh please it's nothing. Just my standard." she smiled bobbing one of her curls with a hoof, before Cancer leapt over to her brandishing his scissors. Snip-snip-snip! After a few graceful cuts he turned away to display his handiwork to the crowd who gasped.
"What?! What did he do to my mane?! I swear if he's made it green!" Rarity began to panic before Cancer held a mirror up for her and she gasped. Her mane looked absolutely stunning, like a style she'd never seen before. She could barely speak as she gazed at it as did everyone else, Spike of course completely enamored by it.
"YOU'RE AN ARTIST~!!" Rarity swooned before fainting happily as the crowd applauded Cancer who took a bow.
"ANOTHER!" the kids cheered. Lucy grinned; it wasn't often she got to show off her magic to others. She sent cancer back before selecting another key.
"Open! Gate of the twins! Gemini!"
"Piri-piri!" said the two little blue creatures that were now floating in cancer's place.
"Awww~!" the CMC cooed at their cute appearance.
"So what can they do?" Rainbow asked. The twins responded by looking at the pegasus before Gemi tapped her on the head before engulfing himself and Mini in a puff of smoke and when it cleared a second rainbow Dash was hovering there. The crowd gasped.
"THAT'S ME!" Rainbow gaped.
"Piri-piri!" Gemini Dash tittered gleefully.
"Gemini are able to transform into any individual they touch. And whoever they become, they're also able to copy their abilities and even their thoughts. They know everything you know." Lucy explained.
"Pfft! Yeah right, no one can guess what I'm thinking." Rainbow snorted.
"You have a mad craving for cider and last season you became incredibly annoyed at Pinkie Pie for buying thirty mugs of it leaving none for you." Gemini Dash stated causing Rainbow's jaw to drop. "You've once found yourself caught in a loop when trying to choose between the Wonderbolts and Daring Do as the coolest."
"Ooh she's good! Do me! Do me!" Pinkie clapped her hooves before Gemini Dash tapped the pink party pony and morphed into her. "Meh I've seen better." Gemini Pie frowned at her underwhelment.
"Last week you were bringing ten raspberry and white chocolate brownies to your friend's picnic but you ate every one of them on your way there and then said it was a badger." the rest of the mane six gasped.
"Uhhh I take it back." Pinkie grinned awkwardly.
"Show us your next spirit!" Scootaloo grinned at Lucy.
"As fascinating as their magic is, shouldn't we be focusing on the state of Equestria?" Cheerilee spoke up.
"Yes you're quite right." Erza agreed. "We already have a strategy that should protect the town from any further attacks for the time being."
"I plan to inscribe one of my enchantments around the boundaries of your home so that no dragons may enter the premises." Freed explained.
"But is it permanent?" a citizen asked Freed who shook his head.
"Unfortunately no. Our magic is tied to our bodies so if we use too much we become exhausted and weakened, so my enchantments will only hold for a few hours." this fact sent the crowd murmuring doubtfully.
"Then what's the point?! Can their magic even be relied upon?!" a stallion questioned. "If only four of them have this dragon slayer magic what good are the rest of them?!"
"Is their magic even safe?! What if they pose just as much a danger as the dragons?!"
"Hey! I'd rather take a little damage from them than the whole town burnt to the ground!" Rainbow defended.
"Yeah! The Princess called these fellas here to help us! A hooful of them already spruced up my farm out of kindness!" Applejack added.
"I understand your doubts, but we do have a plan." Celestia tried to console her agitated subjects. "Discord has been searching for Garble's location and with his magic he's sure to find and infiltrate them. Once he reports back to us, half of Fairy Tail, including the dragon slayers will go with him, while the other half will remain here on standby. So as soon as the dragons show up, Freed will activate his enchantment to block them out of the town while we will fight them off."
"But that brings up another factor that needs addressing." another pony spoke up. "Him." they pointed to Spike. The little dragon was confused as he looked from side to side before pointing to himself.
"Me?"
"Yes you. He's a dragon. What if he poses a threat?!"
"Now wait just a minute!" Twilight shouted. "Spike's been raised by ponies ever since I hatched him! He's a valued member of our society! What reason would he have to betray us?!"
"Who said anything about betrayal? This is about danger! Isn't it true he lost control and nearly destroyed the entire town when he turned into a giant?! Am I wrong?!" Spike felt himself shrink upon recalling the bad memory.
"...No...it's true." he murmured shamefully.
"Hold on! He had no way of knowing what would happen!" Rarity spoke up. "And he was able to regain control by himself. Spikey-Wikey wouldn't hurt a fly." the unicorn defended as she gave Spike a comforting hug.
"But who's to say it won't happen again, intentional or not? What if he loses control of his fire and sets the town up in flames?!"
"Or what if he goes mad with hunger and tries to eat us?!"
"You don't know if any of those things are even likely to happen!" Rainbow spat. "You don't know anything about dragons!"
"And you do?!" the pegasus opened her mouth to retort but couldn't answer. "Any of you?! How can you be sure he isn't a threat if you don't know anything about his species?!"
"The way things are now we can't risk it!"
"He's too dangerous!" the crowd began to fire paranoid assumption after accusation while the Mane Six couldn't come up with a proper counter. All the while Spike was on the verge of tears. He'd always felt he belonged here, that this was his true home where he was loved, but now that his kind were threatening the land suddenly he no longer felt welcome. But just as he was about to get up to run away a sandal-dressed foot stamped down hard on the desktop cracking its wooden surface.
"THAT'S ENOOOUUUGH!!!!" Natsu roared sending a cloud of angry flames over the crowd silencing them immediately. "How DARE you talk that way to him! He's part of your society isn't he?! And now just because other dragons are attacking you walking glue factories are grouping him with them?!"
"Dragons may be different from ponies, but their morality is no different than yours is!" Wendy puffed. "Just as their are bad ones like this garble guy, there are good ones like Spike. We know because we were raised by them!"
"Yeah! They were like parents to us even though we were human they raised us as their own and taught us magic." Gajeel said.
"You lot should be grateful to have a dragon like Spike on your side!" Natsu said as he put an arm around him. "I can tell just by looking at this little guy that he's gonna grow up to be one hell of dragon! Strong hearted and proud like my Dad Igneel."
"Thick skinned and tough like my old man Metalicana" Gajeel grinned.
"Kind and wise like my Mother Grandeen." Wendy smiled. The whole room had fallen silent.
"So be happy he's on your side cause if he wasn't you'd really be in trouble then." Natsu said before sitting down while Spike stared at him in absolute awe as Celestia cleared her throat.
"Well, I think we can safely say meeting adjourned."
XXX
After the eventful meeting was brought to a close, Spike saw the guild members leaving the town square as they were heading out towards the fields just outside of town. The little dragon had grown even more fascinated in the Fairy Tail wizards, not just the dragon slayers and so he decided to follow after them just as Twilight and the rest of the girls saw him leave. The alicorn was about to go after him when AJ stopped her.
"Slow down there, Twi. I think he needs some time with them. After standing up for him like that he probably wants a chance to thank 'em." Twilight sighed.
"I just wish I could've done more. Even though the citizens were out of line, they were right about us. What do we know about dragons?"
"Species ain't got nothin' to do with it! We know Spike as a person and that should be enough. Everypony's just on edge right now. But since our fairy friends know more about dragons than we do, I think they're the folks he needs right now."
"You're right. I just hope Spike doesn't take what happened too hardly."
XXX
Spike followed to where the wizards had gone before he found them standing in a clearing, split into groups and pairs as they challenged each other with their magic. He watched in awe as Erza blocked a bolt of lightning from Laxus with a large halberd while Gajeel and Lily were exchanging punches with one another. Lucy and Levy were sparring against Cana and Juvia while the Thunder Legion were facing off against Mira, Lisanna and Elfman and of course Natsu and Gray were locked in a stalemate of combat while Makarov, Wendy, Happy and Carla were observing from the sidelines; the former would be on medical duty for this day so she could ease her comrades after the training was over. Spike honestly felt overwhelmed by their presence and he was reluctant to approach them for an underlying fear that he might be blown away but he was soon spotted by Happy who waved and called to him
"Hey Spike~!" everyone stopped training to see the baby dragon at the edge of the clearing.
"Hey, come to enjoy the show?!" Natsu asked with a grin. Spike twiddles his claws awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
"Well what are ya standing around like that for with your mouth open? You tryin' top catch flies, pipsqueak?!" Gajeel laughed earning a slap to the shoulder from Levy. "What?! Kid can take a joke!"
"I just...I just wanted to say...thank you. For standing up for me like that. No one's ever done that for me before." Spike said.
"Never? But you have friends don't you?" Mira asked confused.
"No you don't understand. I mean my friends have stood up for me, but not like how you did. A while ago, I once felt like I was anything but a dragon. I knew nothing about what it meant to be one, and neither did my friends. So I set during a dragon migration to meet them and learn. But when I got there the dragons I encountered were nothing I hoped they'd be: They were bullies and only liked destroying and burning stuff. They even wanted to smash phoenix eggs just for kicks. What I didn't know was that Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow had followed me there and helped me when I put my foot down against the dragons." the wizards listened intently to his story, the dragon slayers most of all.
"My friends defended me being the way I was and that i shouldn't be ashamed of it for not being like a dragon. At that moment I truly felt like I'd found a home where I'd be accepted and for a while it seemed that way." Spike paused to sniffle as he felt tears sting his eyes. "But now, because of what Garble's doing, I'm suddenly an outcast. I thought this was my home but now I don't feel welcome anymore and even my friends couldn't stop them from treating me that way cause they don't know anything positive about dragons besides me. I feel like I can't fit in with either side now, dragon or pony!" the guild mates looked amongst themselves with mixed frowns as Spike wiped his eyes before he felt a pair of arms lift him up and he looked to see Lucy smiling at him kindly as she pulled him into a soft embrace petting his scales lovingly.
"It's ok." she said as she hugged him. "You're not an outcast but we understand how you feel. Many of us have felt similar to you before."
"Blondie's right. I mean, che, look at me?" Gajeel spoke up. "I used to be a complete punk before. Me and Juvia were members of a dark guild once that went to war with Fairy Tail. Juvia managed to earn herself a spot after she joined them on a side quest but for me, I had no right."
"But he had no where to go, and for all the time I knew him he always had this, emptiness about him so I asked Master Makarov to bring him into Fairy Tail too." Juvia said. "Of course it wasn't easy for him to fit in but I didn't get off so easily either. I was still mistrusted by some of the guild for my passed actions, but when I sacrificed myself to help a friend, and she cried for me, her tears were all the proof I needed that I was loved here." she smiled at Cana who returned the gesture.
"You guys talk like, you're a family." Spike said.
"Well we are; that's a guild's all about." Erza smiled. "A place where those who have no family can find their own. Those who have lost their way can find a place to belong amongst other misfits like themselves. A place that's warm, welcoming, safe: a sanctuary." Makarov grinned proudly at Erza's statement while Spike felt his own spirit lift as a smile reached his face.
"Can...can you show me? What it's like to be in a guild? What it means to be a dragon?" he asked hopefully which caused everyone to smile at him.
"We'd be happy to my boy." Makarov welcomed him. "Anyone is welcome in Fairy Tail, unless you're an enemy in which case stay far away from us HAHAHA!" the others chuckled at the old man's joke before Gajeel stepped over to Spike and leaned down to his height.
"Well if you wanna have what it takes to be a dragon you've gotta have a strong set of lungs. So gimme your best shot."
"Huh?"
"He means show him your breath attack. What element are you, Spike?" Wendy asked.
"Well, fire I think. It's all I've ever been able to breathe."
"Awesome! You're like me then!" Natsu grinned. "Go on then show us whatcha got!" Spike swallowed before taking a deep huff and puffed only for a small poof of green fire to come out.
"What the hell was that?! You couldn't light a candle with that, pipsqueak!" Gajeel spat.
"Lay off him he's just a baby, remember?" Lucy scolded.
"I dunno, I think he's right." Natsu said. "I can tell you've done better than that before, Spike. Fire comes from strength of the heart. It needs to be burning with will before you let loose with the flames. When was the last time you felt closest to a dragon?"
"Well, I guess at the Equestria Games. There was an accident in the final game which caused a giant spiky ice cloud to come crashing down towards the crowd. Thousands would've been killed if I hadn't melted it with my fire. It's a long story." Natsu thought for a moment before he whispered something to Makarov and Gray who also pondered before nodding to him. Gray looked up before he spotted a cloud and put his hands together.
"Ice-Make: Super freeze arrow!" he materialised a large icy bow into his hands before shooting an arrow at the cloud causing it to expand into a giant frozen mass of death which began to fall rapidly towards the guild members.
"OH MY GOD IT'S GONNA CRUSH US!! NATSU DO SOMETHING!!" Lucy screamed but found the dragon slayer sitting on the ground with his arms and legs crossed and his eyes closed.
"What the hell are you doing, Salamander?! Melt the damn thing!" Gajeel shouted. "Fine I'll do it myself!"
"STAND DOWN, ALL OF YOU!" Makarov barked. "Happy would you kindly give our little dragon a boost?" the exceed was puzzled at first before he figured it out and grinned before grabbing Spike and carrying him up towards the cloud.
"HAPPY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!"
"Do it! Breathe like a dragon!" Happy said. Spike looked down at the guild, Natsu not moving an inch before the dragon slayer looked right at him. The gaze shook Spike to his core but also seemed to light a fire in his heart...and that's just what he let fly from his maw as an inferno erupted from him and melted the ice cloud into rain. A few seconds passed before everyone cheered the little dragon as Happy flew them back to the ground. Spike could barley speak before Natsu ruffled his spines.
"Now you've got a fire in your belly."
"That's what I call a roar, pipsqueak." Gajeel grinned.
"You were amazing!" Wendy clapped her hands. "And if you can breathe fire like that at your age who knows what you'll do when you're older?!"
"I may not have been raised by a dragon, but that's definitely what I'd expect from one." Laxus praised.
"Let's hear it for Spike! The Purple Wonder!" Cana cheered along with the others as they applauded Spike. He'd never felt this respected since the Crystal Empire. If this was how it felt to be a dragon, he never wanted it to end. Afterward the guild decided to take a break from training and so the music, meat and drink was brought out and soon came the brawling which, as always, began with Natsu and Gray.
"Are they training again?" Spike asked.
"No just another one of their fights." Erza said who was enjoying one of the cakes she purchased form Sugarcube Corner.
"Shouldn't we stop them then? Friends shouldn't be fighting."
"Oh it's fine they do it all the time but they're still friends. Heck they're practically brothers." Lucy smiled at them locking horns.
"That's how they've always been since they were little. They know a real man sees his battles through to the very end!" Elfman praised them.
"Honestly if they just stopped all their brawling we'd probably get worried." Mira chuckled. "It just wouldn't be the same without it."
"Just one of those things that makes it feel like home?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, you're getting it now." Lucy grinned. "Families fight all the time, big and small but they're still a family in the end."
"But, with that being said," Erza said standing up and walking to the pair. "A family also knows when enough is enough." she concluded before slamming Natsu and Gray's heads together knocking them out which made Spike jump at her ferocity though the others were laughing at the spectacle as he soon found himself joining in with them.
XXX
Many hours passed as Spike made merry with the Fairy Tail guild. They sang, danced, roughhoused and shared stories of their respective adventures but as the little dragon woke up, having passed out from exhaustion along with everyone else (though some were out from drinking instead) he suddenly remembered he needed to be somewhere.
"Lucy? Hey Lucy wake up." he called as he woke the celestial mage.
"Spike? What time is it?" she yawned.
"That's what I was gonna ask." Lucy pulled a watch out of her pocket and glanced at it.
"Seven thirty PM."
"OH NO! I missed it!" Spike panicked before he sped off like a bullet before Lucy could say a word.
XXX
Back at the castle Twilight was slumped over a desk surrounded by charts and books. The Princess of Friendship had been spending the passed several hours discussing and going over strategies and battle plans to both defend the town and confront the dragons while also maintaining the citizen's calmness. And with Spike absent she'd also had to cover his share of the house work. In short, she was utterly exhausted. She lifted her head when she heard the door and looked to see Spike rushing in. She got up from the desk and trotted over to Spike, frowning as she did so. Spike looked at her before he grinning awkwardly.
"Sorry I'm tardy?" Twilight groaned.
"Where have you been, Spike?! I've been stuck all day working my flank off and I had to cover your share of the work too!"
"I'm sorry, Twi. I didn't mean to be late. It won't happen again I promise." Twilight sighed tiredly before patting her assistant on the head.
"It's fine. Everyone slips up once in a while. But right now I need to rest." the alicorn then conjured a scroll which she handed to Spike. "That's your list of chores for tomorrow." she began as Spike let the scroll roll across the floor as he opened it. He grimaced but after the day Twilight had had it was the least he could do to make up. "Please tidy away the books and then go to bed."
"Ok. I'm really am sorry. I just got so wrapped up I forgot you're under a lot of stress with everything going on."
"Wrapped up in what? I saw you following after the Fairy Tail guild but I assumed you just wanted to thank them."
"I did. But then they invited me to hang out with them." Spike smiled at the memories he'd made with them. "The way Natsu and the others stood up for me like that, it was so amazing. They're all amazing. They taught me so much about what it means to be in a guild. They're like one huge family even though only a few of them are related. They look out for each other and teach each other and welcome anyone into their group no matter who or what they are. The dragon slayers even told me about the ones who raised them. I'd give anything to meet Igneel, Grandeen and Metalicana. Even Laxus who wasn't raised by a dragon still has that greatness about him. And boy oh boy do they know how to party! Fairy Tail is the absolute best!" but as Twilight listened to his idolization of the guild she couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy spark within her and her stressed and exhausted state didn't exactly quench it.
"...I think maybe you should give them some space for a bit." she said earning Spike's attention.
"What do you mean? You mean I can't hang out with them?"
"Just for now. Remember they're here on a mission so they need time to prepare if they want to stop Garble. So unfortunately you'll need to put your partying with them off."
"B-But, I wanna help too! They invited me to their next training session! I think they want to teach me dragon slayer magic. If I had that I could finally be strong."
"Don't be ridiculous, Spike! You're far too young to be fighting! This isn't some playground scuffle it's war! You'd just risk getting hurt or worse out there!"
"You don't know that! Natsu told me that even baby dragons can hold their own in a fight! Igneel told him so and he'd never lie to his own son!"
"It doesn't matter if Igneel's right or not! I'm your guardian and I say you don't fight. It's for your own good." Spike stood there and glanced at the list which crinkled in his tightening grip as he frowned.
"So that's it? While you're all out there with Fairy Tail and Discord doing all you can to protect Equestria, I'm stuck here sweeping floors and stacking books when I could do so much more...SO MUCH MORE!!!" he roared ripping the chore scroll to pieces and beating his chest which knocked Twilight for a loop from his sudden outburst.
"This can't be all that there is for me! Fairy Tail believes in me and meanwhile this town just rejected me!"
"Spike no! This is your home!"
"It sure doesn't feel like it! I've been thinking about this for while now and after today...I'm an outcast here! An orange among apples! A sore thumb! I should've seen the signs! I mean, heh, look at how they treated Zecora for being different, and now me! Time after time I've been the butt of everyone's jokes and when I'm not I'm an errand boy running around doing this and that for everypony, nothing special! And at the end of the day I'm still just the little baby dragon!"
"Spike I didn't mean you were a baby in spirit. I only meant it since dragons live for so long so twelve is still very young for a dragon."
"And there it is again. Because I'm a dragon. I don't have a place to belong I can call my own like everypony else here does. I'm just your assistant. I don't even have much of a childhood because of it. I never went to school."
"But I've been teaching you everything." Twilight reasoned.
"I have no friends!"
"Now that's a lie! What about Rainbow? Applejack? Rarity? All of them, you have plenty of friends."
"Only because they're your friends! I've never made a single friend on my own who hasn't met me through you! Heck! I don't even know where I came from! Did I have parents?! Was my egg stolen before being handed over to you?! There isn't a single other dragon in Equestria cause that egg hatching you did couldn't have been a common test! So why would Celestia use me like that?!" By this point Twilight was beginning to grow frustrated.
"It shouldn't matter where you came from! You belong here with me and the others!"
"Well after what happened back there I find that hard to believe!"
"They were just on edge from the attacks!"
"It's not just them! I mean what do you call that?!" Spike pointed to a group picture of the Mane Six...with a torn picture of Spike taped on to the corner. "And that was just after we got back from my quest! Was that just a cheap way to make me happy?! To feel like I was one of you?!" Twilight winced at the retouched photo.
"Spike..."
"And now, after I've finally formed a bond with a group who accept me for what I am! Make me feel proud for what I am, you want me to stay away from them when they could help me become more than this judgmental town's chore boy?! You're not doing this to protect me! You're just jealous cause they know dragons better than you could ever hope to in a hundred years! I wish I'd been born into their guild than into this town that would brand me a threat based on nothing but paranoid fear! I HATE THIS TOWN!!" Twilight stared at him utterly shocked. Never had she seen him this enraged, as he panted heavily, before she lowered her head and turned her back. Spike snorted angrily and kicked a stray book across the room before stomping to his room and slamming the door shut, unaware that Twilight was crying silently, but she wasn't the only one as outside the castle Lucy, who had followed Spike after he ran off, had witnessed the whole thing and now she too was weeping not just for Twilight, but for him to. For the first time ever, the two friends had truly broken apart.
To be continued...