Spike trotted into the library of the crystal palace with a smile on his face. “Morning, Twilight,” he called out. “Have fun reorganizing things?”
He turned around a bookshelf and saw Twilight lifting her head out of a pile of scrolls on a table. Despite the dark bags under her eyes, she smiled when she saw him. “Hey, Spike,” she replied. “Yeah, I think I’m off to a good start. Enjoy your sleepover?”
’You could have helped her, instead of-’
“Yep,” Spike said, not missing a beat as he walked over and pulled some of the scrolls to the side. “I got to show the guys that juggling trick Blueblood taught me. Plus, Snips’s dad knows how to juggle chainsaws, so that was fun to watch. Don’t worry,” Spike said as Twilight’s mouth opened, “he didn’t let us try anything.”
Twilight yawned. “Aw-huuuuuuuuh- awesome.”
“So, you want breakfast?” Spike asked.
Twilight shook her head. “That’s alright,” she said. “I think I’ll just make myself some coffee and go to bed.”
’You should make that fo-‘
“Okey-dokey,” Spike said. “See you in a couple hours.” He turned and walked to the library door, but then stopped. “Oh,” he said as he turned around, still smiling. “I noticed that Rarity was looking especially ravishing today. Who’s the lucky guy?”
Twilight’s blank face suddenly sprouted an overlarge grin. “Oh, you know,” she said. “Just some random guy she found at some random event who’s really nothing to worry about. You just take the day off, mister.”
’OK, what’s going on?’
Spike frowned at Twilight. “Really?” Spike asked. “Just some random guy?”
Twilight’s grin vanished. “Look, Spike, it’s her personal business. It doesn’t matter who she’s going out with.”
“Then why aren’t you telling me?” Spike asked. “If it’s no big deal, then why are you scared about what I might think? I dealt with Trenderhoof no sweat.”
Spike bared down on Twilight as she sweated. “Well…” she said. “It’s just…” Her eyes crossed Spike’s once more before she lost her will to fight him and crumpled. “It’s Blueblood,” she murmured. “They met up again and…”
’You spent how much on that dress? Do you know how many poor people that could’ve fed?’
Spike shook his head. ‘No,’ he thought. ‘He doesn’t do that. She… probably knows what she’s-‘
Then he saw Rarity sobbing at some Canterlot fountain, sprawled out so that her dress was dipping into the water. Her body heaved up and down as her mascara ran down her face. Off to the side was a white, blond stallion frowning at her. “Now I know you’re distraught,” he said, “but you should probably know that wearing bangles is insensitive to…”
Spike sped out the door. “Spike, wait!” Twilight called. She took to her wings, but she soon crashed after one exhausted quiver too many. “Uh, AT LEAST PICK UP THE DRY CLEANING WHILE I… THINK OF SOMETHING!”
“WE DON’T HAVE ANY DRY CLEANING!” Spike snapped over his shoulder. ‘Hold on, Rarity,’ he thought, ‘you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.’
<*>
Blueblood turned off the water. While he didn’t care too much about the rest of his house, the shower was required for his position. Thus, he stepped from a filthy tub onto warped floorboards and dried himself with a clean-ish towel from an exposed pipe. Then he dropped the towel in an old recycling bin and stepped out into the hall. The place was filthy, but that didn’t matter. It was going to be brought up to code soon anyways.
’Not like you need it,’ he thought to himself. ’You can give it to somepony-’
Blueblood stopped. “No,” he told himself. “This is your house. You will live here. Only you.”
Somepony knocked at the door. Blueblood started, then dashed into the kitchen. The clock on the broken stove still worked, and read eleven. “Shoot!” Blueblood spat. “I’ll be right out!” he shouted to the door. Then he dove into his closet and pulled on his suit, recently laundered so it was as white as he was. Briefly checking to see if his bowtie was straight, he walked over to the door and pulled it open.
Standing there was a gold earth stallion. Blueblood opened his mouth, but then it hung open as a name matched itself to the stallion: Gold Leaf. Gold Leaf did the same, staring back at Blueblood with an expression Blueblood couldn’t interpret. The two stallions stared at each other, both attempting to speak, but with no words coming out of their mouths. A few moments later, though, Gold Leaf straightened up a little. “Fancy party?” he asked.
“No, I just want to look good,” he stated. “I’ve got a lunch date.”
The other stallion smiled. “Lucky dog,” he said. “We always did think you’d be a great boyfriend once you settled down.”
’Word choice.’
“Actually, Gold Leaf, we’re just hanging out,” Blueblood clarified. “Nothing romantic.”
Gold Leaf snorted. “Riiiight,” he said.
“Hello, Blueblood.”
Blueblood looked up. There was Rarity, dressed up in a simple lavender dress, trimmed with white lace. Around one of her forelegs was a very nice silver watch shaped like a heart and next to her was a wicker basket. She smiled at him. “I see you’re ready for our date.”
Inwardly, Blueblood winced at the contradiction he’d created. Outwardly, though, he nodded. “Of course,” he said. He walked forward, then he stopped. He looked back at his house. It was a moldering hunk of junk, with holes in the walls and the floor, paint allowed to peel off, and windows either cracked or missing. Still, it hadn’t served him that badly. He could probably find something to patch the bigger holes with, and if he couldn’t-
Rarity grabbed him by the ear with her magic and pulled him out the door. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about a thing,” she said. “After all, you recommended these people to me. The finest and most cost-effective renovators in Canterlot, you said.”
Gold Leaf stared at Blueblood for a moment, then smiled and tipped his hard hat to Rarity. “It’s true, ma’am,” he said. “My team has a knack for pulling off miracles under budget. Trust me, whatever we have to do to this house, it’ll be fine.”
“Excellent,” Rarity said, dragging Blueblood onwards. “Well, it’s time for us to be going. Take care, boys.”
She gave the workers a little wave, and they all immediately straightened up and waved back. As she kept moving, Rarity continued to drag Blueblood by the ear until they turned a corner. Then she let go. “Are you alright?” she asked.
’That’s a rhetorical question.’
“Yes, I’m fine,” Blueblood said.
“You can tell me the truth,” Rarity clarified with a smile. “This is all for you, after all.”
Blueblood bit his lip, and nothing came out of his mouth for several long seconds. Rarity kept smiling at him, but it started to lessen.
’She’s waiting for an answer.’
Blueblood exhaled. “OK, I’m a little bothered,” he said. “I just keep thinking about all the ponies without homes that I could be spending this money on.”
“That’s alright,” Rarity said. “That’s why you’re going out with me today: to help take your mind off of it.”
“Yes,” Blueblood admitted. “Yes, that’s right.” He took a deep breath, then he sighed. “But now I can’t stop thinking about how much damage they might find. And I’m counting out how many ponies I could’ve fed.”
“Perhaps this can help,” Rarity offered. “You’re helping pay these ponies’ wages, which pay for their meals and their homes. Furthermore, you’re not just paying ponies who want to do this work. This company also employs ponies who might not be able to find jobs elsewhere because they don’t have the skills or they have minor offenses that no-one else is willing to forgive. You might not be helping them directly this time, but you are helping them help themselves, which is much better for them.”
Blueblood frowned at her, but he meditated on what she said. At first, he wasn’t convinced. With a little repetition, though, the thought came more easily to him, and he started accepting it more. Eventually, his nerves settled just enough. “I think that’ll take the edge off,” he said.
Rarity patted him on the cheek. “Just tell me if you need anything else,” she said.
She turned, and the two continued down the street. “So, how are you?” Blueblood asked.
“I’m well,” Rarity said. “I’ve finally been declared flu-free and I can talk without coughing.”
“That’s good,” Blueblood said. “How’s Spike?”
Rarity turned to stare at him. “He’s… he’s fine,” Rarity said. “You haven’t heard from him?”
“We don’t hang out much.”
The two ponies spun around. Standing a few feet away, his arms crossed in front of him and a frown on his face, was Spike. The two men shared a series of glances before Spike’s face settled back into a soft frown. “So, you’re… back in Equestria,” Spike mused.
Blueblood looked at Rarity, who shrugged. Then he turned back to Spike. “Yes,” he said. He cleared his throat. “Well, it’s been a while.”
Spike nodded. “Years.”
Blueblood waited, but Spike said nothing. “So,” Blueblood said, “I heard you saved the Crystal Empire.”
“With Twilight’s help,” Spike added. “But yeah, I did.”
’You could have been there. You should have been there.’
Blueblood opened his mouth, but one glare from Spike quickly closed it. “So, Spike,” Rarity said, “what are you doing here? Not that you’re not welcome to come along, of course, but what brings you out to Canterlot?”
“Nothing,” Spike said. “Just thought I’d revisit some old friends and hang out at the arcade again. How ‘bout you two?”
“Well,” Rarity said, “we’re just going to the park for a picnic. Nothing fancy.”
On the edge of his hearing, Blueblood could hear Spike rumble something that sounded like ‘cheapskate.’ “I’m actually having my house renovated,” Blueblood announced. “We’re getting out of the house.”
Spike stopped and stared at Blueblood. “Wait,” he said, “you’re actually… paying for someone to fix your house?”
Blueblood winced, but he nodded. “I ran out of things I could do with alley scraps,” he said. “Incidentally, I was thinking of taking Rarity to the opera when the workers start work.”
Now Rarity turned to stare at his complete seriousness. “Seriously?” she asked.
“I do have my less miserly moments,” Blueblood explained. “And I actually find opera quite soothingly epic.”
Rarity beamed at him. “Not everypony sees that,” she said. “Granted, I can see why, but most ponies just go there to socialize.”
Blueblood chuckled. “Perhaps if the lyrics were in English, they might pay more attention.”
“Well,” Rarity admitted, “that is part of the reason I prefer musicals.”
“I’ve been to a few of those recently,” Blueblood said.
“Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!” Spike exclaimed. “You’ve been going out? To see plays? And OPERA?”
Blueblood nodded. “Well, not quite so recently, but a few months ago I had a bit of a social life.”
“He did,” Rarity confirmed. “I actually saw him a few times. Even if he didn’t see me.” She turned back to Spike. “He didn’t do that?”
For a few moments, Spike could only blink and walk. “Not willingly,” he said. He frowned at Blueblood again. “Cadance made you do it,” he accused.
“No,” Blueblood replied. “I was actually doing very well for myself.”
Spike stared at him. “Whoa.” His frown returned. “Was?”
“Excuse me, miss?”
Blueblood’s heart sank at the sight of the beggar stallion, a unicorn, walking up to them. His clothing wasn’t threadbare and his only sign of poor hygiene was a slight odor, but what disheartened Blueblood was his face. Emanating from it was a blend of apology and desperation that Blueblood had memorized through his formative years. “I don’t want to bother you,” he said, “but I’m three months behind on my rent and I’m about to get evicted. If you have anything you can give me, I’d be ever so grateful.”
Rarity’s hoof raised over her mouth. “Oh. Certainly.” Rarity reached into her pocket and pulled out a small gem. “Here you go.”
The beggar stared at it as if it were a blank check from Celestia herself before gently taking it from her. “Thank you,” the beggar breathed. “Celestia bless you.” Then he turned and walked away.
’He’s marked now.’
As the three walked off, Blueblood frowned, his tongue between his teeth. Spike rolled his eyes and looked away. After a moment, Rarity looked back. “Is there a problem?” she asked Blueblood.
Blueblood almost blushed as he cleared his throat. “It’s not safe to do that,” he said. “For him. If anypony else finds out he has that, he’s going to be a very big target.”
Rarity frowned at him, opening her mouth, but then her frown faded and she shut her mouth again. “Thank you,” she said. “I didn’t know that.”
She turned back ahead, but Blueblood could sense gloom around her. He felt Spike dig him in the ribs. “Nice going,” he grumbled.
Blueblood walked up next to Rarity. “It’s OK,” he said. “I did that too.”
“I just wish I could do something for him.” Rarity sighed. “But I guess no matter how much money I give, there always seem to be ponies who won’t get any of it. I just wish I could do more.”
’You could be doing more. You have a home, he doesn’t.’
Blueblood slapped himself in the head. ‘No,’ he thought to himself. ‘He is not sleeping in your house.’
Spike walked up to Rarity. “You’re doing everything you can,” he said. “There’s just a lot you can’t do. That nopony can do,” he quickly clarified. “So don’t beat yourself up just for doing your best.”
The silence hung in the air for a second before Rarity mumbled thanks and kept walking. Spike slowed to a halt, staring after her briefly, before he sighed and hung his head. Blueblood walked forward, but Spike looked up and scowled at him. “I’m fine,” he growled.
Blueblood nodded. “Understood,” he said.
Spike turned and stomped off. His heart sinking, Blueblood drifted into a memory.
<*>
“Alright, Blueblood, I finished straightening up the bathroom.”
Blueblood looked up from his dust rag. Even though her wards lived in a castle, they were still in charge of keeping their own rooms clean. Since some sort of company was expected later that day, Celestia had ordered her charges to clean up, the ponies in charge of their rooms and Spike in the bathroom. Spike seemed to be finished, though, since he was now in the doorway lightly flecked with sweat and tossing a hoofball up in the air. “You want to look at my project before we start playing?” he asked.
‘Run down the list.’
“Did you wipe down the faucets?” he asked.
Spike groaned. “Yes,” he said.
“You put the toothbrushes away?”
“In the right places.”
“You swept under the rug?”
Spike’s claw met his face. “Yes. Now can we-“
“Did you organize the soap?”
Spike just stared at him as the hoofball fell onto the floor. “What?” he asked.
“The soap,” Blueblood repeated. “Did you put it in a different corner than the shampoo and conditioner?”
Spike growled. “It doesn’t matter!” he snapped. “It wasn’t on the list!”
Blueblood bit his lip as the image of a regal yak tearing his bathroom apart filled his head. Eventually, though, his heart came too close to bursting. “What if-“
“It doesn- ugh!” Spike spun on his foot. “Fine,” he grumbled as he stalked off, “I’ll organize the freaking soap.”
Spike stomped off down the hall. Blueblood lifted his hoof, but couldn’t move himself forward. Instead, he smacked himself hard on the head and picked up the dust rag again. Then he noticed the black stain on one side of the dust rag. He brought the rag closer to his eyes; the stain looked like oil. Blueblood’s face puckered up as he tossed the dust rag into the hamper. Then he walked through the bathroom into Cadance and Spike’s room.
Sitting on Cadance’s desk was a volcano, which Blueblood couldn’t help but admire. It was a beautiful thing, tall and even molded with little caves and vents. A small forest of green Q-tips surrounded the base, cut through with a river of blue tissue paper. Dotted around the volcano were dragons: two action figures and one small figurine Blueblood thought he’d seen Shining Armor playing with. “Wow,” Blueblood muttered with a smile.
‘Did he get everything? He could have forgotten to sign his name.’
Rigidly and slowly, Blueblood bent over and checked the bottom. Sure enough, in flawless clawwriting on the bottom was ‘Spike; Mrs. Data Set, period 6.’ For good measure, Blueblood checked inside the cone and found the explanation cards, all impeccably written, neatly rolled up around the baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring. Blueblood nodded to himself. “Good jo-“
‘That’s his science fair project? A baking soda volcano? He’ll get eaten alive.’
‘He’s in the first grade; his teacher’ll probably go easy on him.’
‘Remember when you had her class? What exactly she said?’
‘It looks fantastic. His teacher’s bound to give him points for that.’
‘What if everyone else did just as well? He’ll have to start over.’
‘But he worked so hard on it, and I’ve pushed him hard enough about his chores today. He’ll be crushed.’
‘Do you want him to fail?’
“Alright, I organized the so-”
Blueblood made himself smile, then turned around. Spike’s eyes had widened as he looked from Blueblood to the volcano. “You saw it?”
Blueblood nodded. “Yes, I did,” he said. “It’s beautiful.”
Spike stared at him for a moment before he started beaming. “Is it gonna’ clean up or what?”
‘You’ll break his heart.’
‘You’ll fail him.’
Spike’s face gradually fell as Blueblood’s tongue failed to unlock. Eventually, Spike looked down at the floor and sighed. “Alright, what’s wrong with it?” he moaned.
Blueblood felt his heart breaking as he opened his mouth. “Well,” he started, “i-it’s a wonderful volcano, but… the thing is-“
“It’s a volcano,” Spike murmured, the light having gone out of his eyes. “Everyone’s already done one, and nopony wants to see another one.” Spike trudged over to the volcano and raised it over his head.
“No!” Blueblood grabbed it before Spike could bring it down. “It looks wonderful,” Blueblood restated. “Just show it to Mrs. Set and see if she’d let you enter it.”
Spike looked up at his older brother. “You think she would?”
‘Don’t lie to him.’
‘Don’t hurt him.’
Spike sighed again as he turned around. “I guess not.” He walked to the door.
“Wait!” Blueblood said, putting the volcano on his bed. “Where’re you going?”
”To go find Twilight. Looks like I need to make another project.”
Spike slammed the door on his way out. Blueblood started towards the door, then stopped and fell backwards onto his tail. He lasted all of three seconds before the tears started rolling down his cheeks. ‘I’m sorry, Spike,’ he thought to himself. ‘I’m so sorry.’
“Blueblood?”
<*>
“Blueblood?”
Blueblood shook himself as he returned to reality. Standing in front of him was Rarity, one of her hooves on his cheek. “Are you alright?”
Blueblood noticed Spike standing off to the side, looking at him softly. Blueblood turned his eyes back to Rarity. “Yeah,” he said. “Just having a flashback.” He cleared his throat and straightened up. “Let’s keep moving.”
Within a few minutes, they had arrived at the Daylight City Park. It wasn’t a very big park, consisting mostly of a lawn, a tree, and a few picnic tables, but it was still watered and maintained well-enough to look pleasant. The three sat down at one of the benches and Rarity opened the basket. To Blueblood’s relief, she only brought out plates and sandwiches, and simple ones at that. She put one of the sandwiches on a plate and passed it to Spike, who started scarfing it down almost instantly. Then she passed a plate and sandwich to him. Blueblood looked at it, then smelled it. It was indeed simple: just a few vegetables on ordinary white bread, but a few spices helped make it smell quite bold. He opened his mouth.
“Excuse me.”
Blueblood felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as somepony walked up next to him. “I don’t want to bother you,” the young stallion continued, “but I haven’t eaten in three days. If you could just-“
Blueblood pushed his sandwich over. He didn’t look up as the stallion thanked him and retreated. He tried to keep his head down as he felt the gaze of his two lunchmates continue. Finally, he had enough and looked up. As he’d thought, Spike had turned away and was tearing into his own lunch with a scowl. Rarity was frowning at him, but the only emotion Blueblood could see was pity. “Don’t,” Blueblood moaned as Rarity offered her sandwich. “That’s yours.”
“Hey, that’s a nice watch you’re wearing, miss.”
Blueblood instantly perked up. A blue unicorn stallion had walked up to them, a little unwashed, but otherwise unspectacular. Rarity shifted her watch away from him. “It’s not for sale,” she told him.
The stallion magicked up a knife. “That wasn’t a question,” he said.
“Hey!” Spike snapped. “Back-“
The mugger smacked Spike with the knife’s pommel, sending him tumbling off the bench. In the next instant, from Blueblood’s reckoning, a police officer was approaching as Rarity stood between him and the unconscious mugger. “It’s alright, Blueblood,” she assured him. “It’s OK. Spike’s alright. Aren’t you, Spike?”
“Yeah,” Spike groaned. “Just a little bump. It’ll-ow!”
The fire in Blueblood’s veins instantly turned to ice. He whipped around and started towards Spike. He stopped almost instantly, though, when he saw that Spike was just putting rubbing the wound, which wasn’t even bleeding.
’He might have a concussion.’
Blueblood knelt down and looked at Spike’s head. “How do you-“
Spike pushed him away. “I’m fine!” he snapped. “Vision: fine! Hearing: fine! Memory: fine! I just. Got. Bonked. On. The head! No big deal, OK? You can stop hovering over me!”
Blueblood backed up. “OK,” he said. “I ju-“
”Don’t,” Spike snarled. “I don’t want your help. It ever occur to you that all your ‘help’ did was hurt me? You know how embarrassing it was to have your brother treat a papercut like a mortar wound? And there was my science fair volcano. I spent days on it and you just picked it apart!”
Blueblood glared at him. “I didn-“
“No ‘good job, Spike’,” Spike continued, “just ‘it’s useless, find something else’!” Spike rolled his eyes. “Why can’t you just switch off for three little seconds?”
Blueblood stomped his hooves. “I’m TRYING!” he snapped. “I’m sorry, but I can’t just ‘switch off’! You know what it feels like to have your conscience latch on to every little thing you could be doing just because you haven’t passed out yet?”
Green sparks flared out of Spike’s nostrils. “YES!” he shouted. “All the freaking time! I volunteered to serve as a pincushion! I started a fight with an owl… I repeat, an OWL… who I thought was going to take my job! Not to mention the time I indentured myself to Applejack. Yeah, and that’s between being maid, cook, and forklift! You know how long it’s been since I had a day to goof off? FOREVER! Sometimes I don’t even know what I’d do with it!”
Spike stopped for a moment, his mouth silently working up and down for a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath. “I want to goof off,” he started up again. “I want to relax. But every time I get a chance, I can hear your little voice yammering away in my head about how Rarity might get jaundice from a rusty pin or Twilight might get buried in a book avalanche! Twilight still invents things for me to do because she’s scared I’m going to go crazy again. Congratulations, brother, I’m crazy! You did it.”
Blueblood’s mouth gaped open several times during his brother’s tirade, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. Eventually, his imagination started in, splicing images of Spike run as ragged as he was among memories of minor scrapes and inane requests. Blueblood could feel a tear work its way down his cheek. Several times more, he tried to speak, but his aborted attempts just devolved into a silent sobbing. All the time, the voice in his head kept speaking the same thing over and over.
’You are such an idiot.’
Blueblood didn’t quite lose himself. He was aware that Spike and Rarity were talking next to him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to care. All he wanted to do was curl up and disappear. Just have nothing left to get caught on.
Something poked him in the side of the head. Blueblood tried to ignore it, but it continued to bother him. Finally, he turned to face it. Spike was standing there, a little hunched over and his limbs pulled close to his body. “Blueblood?” he asked softly. “Are you OK?”
Blueblood turned away and let himself drop onto his stomach. “I’m sorry, Spike,” he breathed. “I turned you into me.” Blueblood laid his head down and sighed. For a moment, there was just silence.
“…well, not really.” Spike knelt down next to Blueblood’s head. “I mean, I live in a crystal palace and I talk to othe…”
Spike trailed off, but Blueblood’s blank expression had turned into a small scowl. “Good for you,” Blueblood muttered. “I didn’t succeed.”
Spike winced. “Blueblood, I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you love me, and I’m really glad you leapt in back there. It’s just, you can get a little hard to live with sometimes.”
“Especially when I’m in your head all the time,” Blueblood rumbled.
“It comes and goes,” Spike replied. “I can count on one claw the number of times recently that it actually got out of hoof. Like just now. Most of the time, though, I can tune it out just fine, and it’s not the only thing I remember you for. I got to show a bunch of other ponies that juggling thing you taught me. Remember?”
Blueblood heard Spike dart off. As he tilted his head up, he saw Spike dart around the park picking up small rocks. Once he had three or four, he walked back over to Blueblood. Then he started tossing them from one claw to the other. After a few seconds of that, he started passing them in a figure eight, then in crossing arcs. Gradually, the pattern became more and more complicated, crossing over and under legs and arms until it ended with Spike tossing one of the rocks into the air. Blueblood moved to get up, but he felt something tug on his tail long enough for Spike to catch one of the rocks in his mouth and swallow it. Spike spread out his arms. “See?”
Blueblood turned around. Rarity released her hold on his tail. “Spike didn’t talk about you that much,” she said. “However, about half of what he said was good, and that’s better than what I used to average with my little sister.”
“Wait,” Blueblood said, “you knew me before the Gala?”
“No,” Rarity said. “Blueblood’s kind of a common name for royalty, and Spike said you wouldn’t be there.”
“Wait a minute!”
The two ponies turned to Spike, who was frowning at Blueblood. “You were the jerk at the Gala?” he asked.
An image of cake fluttered into Blueblood’s mind. Sadly, he nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I was, and I’m sorry.”
Spike stared at Blueblood for a moment, face shifting between two different emotions. Then he stomped forward, walking right up to Blueblood’s barrel. Blueblood wanted to look away, but he forced his eyes to stay on Spike’s. Spike just looked back up at Blueblood. Then Spike scowled and kicked him in the leg.
“Ow!” Blueblood yelped as he lifted the injured leg and rubbed it against himself.
“That’s for being a jerk,” Spike told him. Then, before Blueblood could say anything, Spike hopped up and put his arms around his neck. “And that’s for going in the first place.”
Blueblood stood rigidly for a moment before he looked up at Rarity. She said nothing, merely motioning towards Spike with her hoof, a small smile on her face. Thus, Blueblood lifted his leg and draped it around Spike. “Thanks,” Blueblood said. “So I have your blessing to date Rarity?” he whispered.
“We’ll see,” Spike said.
<*>
Rarity bought lunch from a taco cart. After an extended lunch, Blueblood and Rarity moved to head back to Blueblood’s house and Spike tagged along. At the corner before the house, though, Blueblood stopped. “Spike,” he said, “I just want to warn you…”
“Sweet Celestia!”
Spike hadn’t stopped moving. Instead, he had gone on, and now he was staring at the cracked, dingy dump that was Blueblood’s house. Gold Leaf half-stumbled out of the house. Then he noticed Blueblood. He stared for a moment, then scowled, then stormed over. “I don’t believe you,” he remarked.
Blueblood stopped, a weight dropping into his stomach. “It’s not fixable, is it?” he asked.
“It’s uninhabitable,” Gold Leaf snapped. “As the floor collapse should have demonstrated. It’d be cheaper to just knock the whole thing down and build another house, which is something we don’t have the permits to do.” He groaned. “Blueblood, why didn’t you say anything? I could’ve-”
“Excuse me,” Spike asked, a glint in his eye. “Who’re you?”
Gold Leaf whipped around to see Spike, but halted. Then he put his face in his hoof and groaned. “You’re right,” he moaned. “Blueblood… I’m sorry. Don’t,” he told Blueblood, putting his hoof up. “Don’t you forgive me; I don’t deserve it.”
“What’s going on?” Rarity asked.
Gold Leaf turned to Rarity with a blush. “I used to know him,” he said. “However, once he started living with the Princess, I…” he hung his head again. “I was such an idiot.”
Blueblood patted Gold Leaf on the back. “Look, it was a long time ago,” Blueblood said. “Now what’s going to happen to the house?”
Gold Leaf brought his head back up and stared into Blueblood’s eyes for a moment. Then he cleared his throat. “Well, we know a good demolition company. They can get the permits and stuff cleared away. As for right now, I’d recommend finding somewhere else to live for the moment. No charge for the inspection. It’s on me.”
Blueblood shut his mouth, paused for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. Thanks, Goldie.”
Gold Leaf smiled for a moment, then turned back to his men. “Alright, folks,” he called, “pack it up!”
Blueblood turned back to Spike and Rarity. Spike took his head out of one of his claws. “If you need a place to stay,” Spike offered, “I... the castle has a few open rooms.”
“And if those accomodations are too flashy,” Rarity said, “I know a few ponies who’d be happy to have you room with them.”
“Twilight and I can gunge up the castle a little if you want. I’m sure there’s a rat running around we could let loose.”
Blueblood chuckled a little. “Thank you,” he said. “Spike…”
’You’ll make him uncomfortable.’
“…if you don’t mind,” Blueblood continued, “can I stay with you?”
Spike looked into Blueblood’s eyes for a moment, then nodded. “Sure.”