• Published 10th Sep 2013
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Every Little Bit - The Descendant



Rainbow Dash and her friends are surprised by the "quality" of stallions bidding on the kiss she offers at a charity auction. The winner, however, is the biggest surprise of them all.

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Chapter 2: The Dinner

Chapter 2: The Dinner



“Yes, seriously,” Twilight answered a short while later, seating Spike in a wooden chair in the library’s small sitting room. “You said a bad word, you made a large purchase without my consent or knowledge… a really, really large purchase, and you used your ‘Hyper-Rude Gesture of Maximum Inappropriateness’. Twice. You’re in time-out, mister.”

Spike grumbled a little, muttered something sarcastic, and spun about on the chair.

Twilight wrinkled her nose. There, she thought, that will give him a moment to think about what he did. His small mutters faded behind her as she walked to the kitchen, put the kettle on, peeked in the icebox for no real reason, and then walked back into the sitting room.

Once there, she promptly leapt upon her baby dragon.

“Time-out’s over!” she said, gathering him into her forelegs. “Oh, Spike, I’m so proud of you for sticking up for Dash!” Spike’s eyes went wide as the alicorn pulled him down with her to the rug, and there she squeezed him tight.

“Heh!” Spike laughed, wrapping his hands around her legs. “It… it wasn’t anything that big, Twi. I… I just, well…”

Spike’s words slowly drifted away, and as they did Twilight sat up. The dragon slid into the space between her outstretched forelegs.

“Spike?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

The dragon sighed a tiny sigh and rubbed his eyes. “Twi?” he asked. “Who… who won the d-date with Rarity? Was it a nice guy?”

“Actually,” she began, slowly whispering an ever-so-slightly-censored version of Rarity’s last act as auctioneer into his ear. As she did Twilight watched Spike’s eyes getting wider and wider until, finally, the whelp fell over in a fit of laughter, holding his sides and rocking back and forth, his arms across his chest.

Twilight let him laugh. She had questions for him. Questions that she, a caring–if sometimes absent-minded–caregiver had to ask. Where had he gotten the bits? What had he meant by “love to get a kiss” from Dash? What had he meant by “saving” Dash and Rarity? Why had he felt the need to do these things?

Most importantly, who had he been calling to? Who had he been begging to come and save Dash?

Soon enough, she would have to ask these questions. But, at that moment, all that she cared to do was smile over her dragon as he rolled back and forth on the rug, his laughter filling their small home.

“Hey, Twi?” he said, recovering from his fit of hysteria. “Don’t you have some princess stuff you were finishing up?”

“Yes,” she said, rising to her hooves. “But, if we’re going to have Dash over to give you some smooches… kissy, kissy, kissy–”

“Really mature, Twi.”

“–then I should help you clean up and get dinner on, instead.”

“Now, Twi,” he said, bopping her nose with an outstretched finger, “we talked about this. You have your stuff that you need to do, your responsibilities. It’s my job to take care of the rest. We already had this talk when you became an alicorn-princess-thingy.”

“But…”

“No buts, Sister!” he said, pointing to the stairwell. “Go and do your princess paperwork thingies! I’ll call you when I need help with dinner! Now, left hoof, right hoof, march!”

A grumbling alicorn began to climb the stairs as the broom closet came open behind her. She grumbled some more as the chime of pots and pans rang out from the kitchen. As she looked over the pile of papers that she had brought from Canterlot, Twilight suddenly realized something.

Wait, did I just get sent to my room to do my homework?

A small smile appeared on the alicorn’s face.

Sometimes, Spike, she thought, listening to his little song lifting from the kitchen, I wonder who’s raising who in this house.





Rainbow Dash had questions to ask, too.

Fortunately for her, she had an excellent listener at her disposal, one that cared for her immensely.

Dash called on his tender affection, his absolute devotion to her, as they lay upon her bed together. She held him close, pressed against her chest and barrel, as she dropped her worries and anxieties across him.

“You wouldn’t have believed these colts, Tank,” she said, hugging her tortoise closer. “The crap they were sayin’… I wanted to…”

The tortoise blinked at her.

“Yeah, it was the pits, but I’m okay,” she said. “I’ve been through worse.”

The tortoise blinked again.

“Hey, I know you would have, but I don’t need anypony… or creature, really, to fight my fights for me," she said, punching the air with her hooves. "Nopony says that sorta stuff about Rainbow Danger Dash without getting a fat lip!"

A small expression went across Tank’s features.

“No, I’m alright, really. I just wanted to make it up to Scoots and the other Filly Scouts so bad. I… I wouldn’t usually let anypony get away with saying stuff like that about me, or about anypony. You know that.”

Tank’s head moved up and down slowly.

“Awww, it’s awesome that you’re worried about me,” Dash said, rubbing the top of his head. “You’re really cool like that.”

The tortoise grinned.

Dash laid her head back on her cloudy pillow, staring at the ceiling of her cumulus-based home. In her thoughts, she went back over the scene that had played out in the boutique. Rainbow Dash, usually so cock-sure and confident, leaned her head to the side, pondering the events of the day.

She let the jeers and catcalls of the colts drift out of her mind. Eventually, they departed, leaving her feeling better… and with a strong determination to make each and every one of them know her opinion on their actions.

I’ll talk to Pinkie, and we’ll take care of that, Dash thought, any number of devious plans flashing through her mind. They won’t even know what hit ‘em.

She smirked a quick smirk, and then her thoughts turned to the prize she had offered, and to the little dragon who had won it.

“What really got me though was Spike,” she said. The mare tossed her mane, letting it drift out behind her as she let loose another string of sighs. Little wafts of cloud drifted around her, dissipating as she contemplated the day.

“I mean… wow, Tank,” she said. Rolling her hips around, Dash settled farther into her oversized bed. “Just, wow, right?”

The mare’s faced creased. “He gave up a chance to go out on a date with Rarity. He really just did that,” she said as Tank took to the air, his magithopter whirring to life.

“I mean, everypony knows how crazy that kid is about her. And, well, he gave it up!” she called. “And you wanna know what the weirdest part was? Rarity said that he did it to ‘save’ me! Can you imagine, that little guy feeling like he had to ‘save’ me?”

Tank made a low grumbling sound.

“Well, yeah,” Dash said, her eyes rolling slowly to the side. “I guess, in a way, he did. But, really, what kinda colt…”

The tortoise chortled.

“… dragon, boy, whelp… thingy, guy… does that sort of thing?” she concluded.

Dash let her mind wander back across the times that she and Spike had spent together. There wasn’t much, if she was honest. It seemed like, whenever they involved him in one of their adventures, he clung to Twilight. When they were at parties or celebrations, he hovered around Rarity.

The pegasus struggled to find some moment of connection between the two of them, some fleeting instant in time where the two of them had seemed closer.

She came up with bupkis.

Did he see her any differently than he saw the rest of the girls? Well, Twilight, of course, and Rarity. Especially Rarity. But, apart from those two extremes, did he treat her any differently than he treated anypony? Had she missed something?

Why had Spike said that he’d “love to get a kiss from her”?

Why had he felt the need to “save her”?

Why was a flying tortoise boinking her?

“Hey!” she said, rubbing her head. “What gives?”

The final few whirs of Tank’s magithopter whispered through the air before it folded away. Dash placed him on her chest once more only to discover that the tortoise was holding something in his mouth. Dash took it from him, and eyed the picture.

It was a photograph, one that showed her at one of her many autograph sessions when she had been… well, less than humble about her achievements. Her face wrinkled as she remembered the harsh lessons she had learned at the hoof–hooves–of the Mare Do Well… Mare Do Wells, actually.

She studied the photo closer, trying to determine what Tank could possibly be trying to show her. She narrowed her vision, looking through the crowd, looking past the faces of all the admirers and gawkers, studying the picture intently.

Her eyes came back open as they settled over the only familiar figure within… that of Spike.

The little dragon stood there, fedora on his head with the press pass sitting proudly upon it in stark relief. His eyes were turned up to her, ready to begin writing at a moment’s notice, the same way he would for Twilight.

He was watching her be awesome.

Once again Dash pondered all of the times that she and Spike had spent together, struggling to find some time that they had been in each other’s company. It seemed that she could think of no time when they had been alone together, no time that she could see him looking at her any differently than he had looked at her in a way that could betray… anything…

She sighed, rocking her head back and forth across her cloudy pillow. As she did, her mind went back to the very first moment that they had met… to the moment that he had lain against her in the street, laughing at Twilight’s manecut.

From the first moment that they had met, he had felt comfortable being close to her, being near her.

Was… was that enough for him to have feelings for her?

“He said… jeez, Tank, he said that he’d love to get a kiss from me!” she said as she put her forelegs behind her head. “I can’t believe he’d give up a chance to go out with Rarity, just to…”

Dash blinked. The elephant in the room was threatening to go crashing through her water-vapor villa, significantly reducing the resale value. She grasped Tank and looked into his wrinkled face.

“Tank? Do you think that Spike could… well, have a crush on me?” she asked. “Do you think that the kid could… well, have feelings for me?”

The tortoise blinked.

“Well, yeah… he’s just a kid, but he’s all romantic and stuff,” she said, some confusion in her voice. “He’s just as bad as Rarity at times. I’m just trying to figure it out, is all...”

The tortoise made a low rumbling noise. Dash just barely managed to startle in surprise before realizing his joke.

“No, you dummy!” she said, bopping his nose. “You wouldn’t have to call him ‘Dad’!’

The pegasus gripped her tortoise harder, and rubbing her nose to his she began to giggle. That is how Dash passed the time, holding her pet, before she departed for dinner in the library far below.





“… and he just cashed them all in. All except these three,” Twilight said, holding the tall, thin door to the cabinet open.

“He said that he just saved a few every time I gave them to him, that he just put a couple in the cupboard each time,” Twilight said, gazing into the cabinet. Only three gems remained, but deep mars in the wood showed where many had been piled to the top, the gems digging into the surface.

“He sold his whole hoard, Dash,” Twilight said, sliding her hoof across the cabinet door. Worry played across her face, and the unspoken truth that he had not eaten all of the gems hung over the pair… that Spike had been denying himself sustenance in the hope of winning the auction.

Dash and Twilight looked into the cupboard once more. He could hardly have been accused of hiding his stash, as it sat there right in the middle of the library, next to the stairs. The mares looked over the gems that still lay there, the remains of a dragon’s hoard. Twilight drew a long breath, and then closed the cabinet.

“He gave it all up, huh? Jeez, Twilight, he totally sold everything just to win that date with Rarity… and then he gave it all up to keep me from having to kiss one of those colts. He totally just did that, didn’t he?” Dash asked. A soft look of distant contemplation settled over her, and she ran her hoof up and down her foreleg.

“Hey, Twilight?” Dash said, lifting her face back to the alicorn. “Did Spike ever… well, did he ever say anything about having any, well… feelings for me? I mean, we all know about his crush on Rarity but… jeez, I don’t know if he’s ever seen me as anything other than just a friend. He… he said that…”

Dash saw a grin creep across Twilight’s face as she spoke. Her voice slowed, and she witnessed a small glow appear across the alicorn’s features, and the grin erupted into a full smile.

“Yes, Dash,” Twilight answered, leaning closer to her friend, drawing her into an unexpected nuzzle, “I did ask him about that. I-I’ll let Spike explain…”

Dash stood there, letting the touch of Twilight’s face fall through her, the pleasant closeness of her friend locked in combat with the words that the alicorn had just spoken. Dash blinked twice, and then muttered “What?” before the telltale sound of clawed feet across the library floor signaled the approach of her confusion’s source.

“Ladies,” Spike said, affecting a genteel tone, a towel across his forearm, “dinner is served!”





The porch had been set up for a dinner of three, Spike having decorated it plainly and elegantly to match the shades of a young summer’s day. The three friends sat on the lofty perch, dining on a creamy butternut, blue cheese, and walnut cavatappi that Spike had assembled. The conversation was pleasant, and the sun of a newborn summer was enough to warm the coats and scales of those who sat there, partaking of the meal.

The conversation was brisk and pleasant, and the sights and sounds of Ponyville below added a certain charm to the afternoon. As the tones shifted from afternoon to evening, Spike brought forth some sorbet. “To cleanse the palate,” he said, placing the small bowls before the mares.

He then blushed brightly as he brought forth the dessert. It just so happened to be rainbow sherbet–in honor of their guest–which was, effectively, the same thing as sorbet.

The little drake blushed brighter as a realization settled over Dash; the pegasus noted that, under certain conditions, “cleansing the palate” could be interpreted as “getting the gunk out of your teeth before you kiss somepony”.

Those conditions had certainly been met.

To her own surprise, Dash found herself swishing the sweet treat past her teeth, risking a headache as it melted and became a syrup that lingered across her tongue. Dash lifted her head, staring across the way to where Spike sat. His eyes caught hers… and in a moment of realization that startled them both, each realized that they were both doing the exact same thing.

Rainbow Dash swallowed, pulling a distressingly large walnut that had somehow managed to hide itself in her molar down her throat. She gave a little hack before standing.

“Hey, Spike?” Dash said, fidgeting a little.

“D-Dash?” he answered.

She tried not to laugh as she heard the nervousness in his voice as he lifted his tail, as though trying to hide behind it. “Hey,” she said, her voice breaking a touch, betraying the sudden, uncharacteristic nervousness that floated through her. “I’m gonna take a powder… and then, I’ll be back. We’ll… uummm, yeah…”

“Y-yeah,” Spike answered, still twiddling his tail. “Okay…”

Dash backed away, tripping across her own hooves a little. Blowing a waft of her mane out of her eyes, she gave a grunt of exasperation before winging into the library, through the bedroom, and into the bathroom beyond.

The two remaining occupants of the porch began clearing away the dinner, one stifling her little giggles behind her hoof as the other shone with a blush that matched the late-day sun in its intensity.

Twilight giggled some more, drawing the attention of her assistant.

“Something you wish to add, Twi?” he said, arching an eyebrow at her as he balanced a stack of plates, bowls, and cups.

“Spike and Rainbow Dash, sitting in a tree!” she called in a sing-song tone, making him nearly drop his pile in surprise. “K! I! S! S! I! N…”

“Really mature, Twi. Really super-mature…”





Rainbow Dash stood there, looking in the bathroom mirror. Her head slowly went back and forth.

This is stupid! she told herself. Why is it such a big deal? Why am I nervous?

She looked back to her reflection in the mirror. She studied her own face, noting the look of doubt that hung there. I don’t get it! she thought. What is up with me? It’s not a big deal. He’s just a kid, and I don’t really think that he’s got a crush…

Spike’s words, his statement from that morning, flashed through her mind.

Dash, I’d love to get a kiss from you…

Rainbow Dash had always been a mare who prided herself on being brash, strong, and independent. She had learned how to use her strength, speed, and agility to preserve her own sense of freedom and autonomy.

Being “girly” wasn’t part of that. Being “girly” meant having to betray a part of herself, to surrender to the ads in fashion magazines, to capitulate to make-up and perfumes. It meant being tied to others’ views of her, and that was unacceptable.

So, she wondered as she stared at her reflection, why did this little thing seem to be bugging her so. Why had she suddenly become so nervous? She had volunteered the kiss, and when she had thought about giving just some colt a smack on the lips... well, it hadn’t done anything for her.

But now, with Spike waiting on the other side of the house… why did it suddenly matter? Why would he “love” to get a kiss from her? The mare ran her memories of Spike through her head once more. Nothing, nothing, nothing spoke of Spike ever looking at her like he looked at Rarity. Nothing betrayed such feelings as he had for the unicorn…

Dash, I’d love to get a kiss from you…

Love. It didn’t seem like the type of word that Spike would just throw around. Dash groaned a little, placing her hoof over her eyes. Peeking out from behind it, she dropped a sigh across the towels and washcloths, and then turned to exit the bathroom.

Whatever this was, whatever he meant and whatever had demanded that he “save” her… it was time to find out. Leaving her expectations and doubts hanging amid the toiletries, Dash turned and exited the bathroom.

She made her way back across the bedroom, and then turned towards the porch beyond. To her immediate surprise, she felt a hoof press against her chest. She followed the foreleg until it joined the rest of the mare it was attached to… namely, Twilight Sparkle.

“I’ve got my eye on you, Missy,” Twilight said, a forceful, determined tone hidden in her voice. “No funny business with this kiss…”

Dash pondered the alicorn for a second, and then stifled her giggles. Twilight attempted to make herself seem austere and judgmental, but the final effect simply made Dash erupt into guffaws as she sunk to the floor. Twilight attempted to maintain the glare, but it fell to pieces as Dash looked up to her, trembling with laughter, before falling back to the floor in a heap of laughter.

“Jeez, Twilight!” Dash said, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. “He’s just a kid! It’s not like we’re gonna have a sloppy make-out session or anything!”

Dash lifted herself back to her hooves and readied herself to look upon Old Man Twilight’s portrayal once more. Instead, all that greeted her was the soft brush of Twilight’s face along hers, one that ended with the pegasus and the alicorn resting forehead to forehead.

“Please, don’t spoil this for me, Dash,” Twilight said in a huff. “Who knows when, or if, I’ll ever get to play ‘scowling and disapproving parent’ again.”

The pegasus let the words sink through her, and then rolled her eyes. “Yes, Ms. Sparkle, Ma’am,” Dash said, letting her head rest against Twilight’s that much deeper. “Yeah, I’ll have him home by ten, and no funny stuff.”

Twilight chuckled, leaving her alternate persona behind. Dash joined her in a small fit of giggles, the two floating around in the oddness that hovered across the situation. The mares nuzzled against one another again before Twilight lifted her face from Dash’s, the mares smiling at one another before a more solemn look crossed the alicorn’s face.

“Dash, I have to ask,” Twilight said, her voice flowing with concern. “Why did you offer the kiss in the first place? It’s… it’s just so unlike you…”

Dash hung her head. She looked away from Twilight, drawing her hoof up and down her foreleg. “I…” the pegasus began, the word hanging in the air around the bedroom. Dash rubbed her foreleg some more, and then let a sigh escape her, failing to hide it as a groan.

She was aware of her reputation, of how she appeared to the world. She knew that she had an image of being rough and tumble, rowdy and brash. Her mane wasn’t styled, her hooves weren’t polished, and she didn’t go out of her way to appear… well, feminine. That was who she was.

Being “girly,” or at least what it meant to her, wasn’t part of that. Being “girly” meant batting your eyes at colts, drawing their attention with little giggles. It meant having stallions court you, wanting to be near you, wanting to show you affection. It meant that you could entice them with the promise of a kiss… that you deserved to be kissed.

She had dared venture down a path she’d long ignored. She had wanted to see if there was anything “girly” about her, to see if others could look at her that way instead of… well, not.

The response she had received had been less than what she had hoped.

“I just… I just wanted to know,” she said, her voice catching a little. “I just wanted to know if anypony saw me as… as a mare. I just wanted to know if anypony would want to get a kiss from me… if anypony thought of me the way that, the way that they think of other fillies. I just wanted to know if I could feel that, too…”

She ran the back of her hoof across her eyes.

“But, all I got was jerks…”

The words had barely escaped her lips before she was folded into the forelegs of the alicorn. Twilight pulled her close, and once more Dash felt the comfort of Twilight’s nearness, and the wetness that had been gathering in her eyes fell away as she rubbed her face into Twilight’s shoulder.

“Oh, Dash,” Twilight said, running her hoof across her friend’s back, “of course you deserve to be treated as a mare. It’s part of you, too. Even though you’re strong and proud, you’re also graceful and endearing. You may not wear your feminine side like a badge like Rarity or Fluttershy, but…

“Or you,” Dash said, interrupting the alicorn. “You’re pretty girly, too, Twi.”

“Umm, thanks?” Twilight said, arching an eyebrow.

“Hey, I… I meant it as a compliment!” Dash said, as she lifted her head. “This is what I’m talking about! It’s so hard for me to have these frou-frou moments, and I don’t like being all mushy. I don’t like thinking about make-up and spa stuff. But... but I want to know that ponies still see me as a mare. I want to be a filly… I like being a filly. I like being me.”

Dash’s eyes found the joists of the floorboards once more.

“I like me.”

After a moment, Twilight lifted Dash’s forehooves into her own, patting them over and over in a way that seemed far more motherly than her attempt at intimidation a moment before. Little noises reached them through the open doors to the porch, and Spike’s humming of a catchy tune carried on the early evening air.

“Dash,” Twilight said, “we all like you, too. You are the only one who gets to decide what being a mare means for you, and we’ve come to love that mare… that brash mare with a wild tangle of rainbow mane. All of her friends, all of us, love her… even the one you just called a jerk, which wasn’t very nice…”

“Wait, who? What?” Dash said, lifting her head back to Twilight. “Who… which of us did I call…”

Twilight tossed her head, motioning to the porch and its occupant just beyond the doors. Spike’s humming met them.

“Oh, jeez. I-I didn’t mean to say that Spike was a jerk!” Dash said, startling herself. “I meant one of those other jerks! No, wait, that came out wrong. Spike wasn’t a one of the jerks I was talking about. Or, at all! He stepped up! I was just…”

I’d love to get a kiss from you...

All of her friends love her…

That word again. Rainbow settled herself and looked back to Twilight. “Hey, Twi?” she asked. “Did Spike say… well, did he say anything about having… feelings for me? I just don’t get why he’d give up a chance to go out with Rarity just for me. I mean, he hasn’t said anything about having… having a cru…”

Once more, Dash felt Twilight’s head lower to hers.

“I was wondering the exact same thing. I asked him about it,” Twilight said, a little chuckle in her voice. “Once again, I think if I let Spike explain for himself. Just know that you’re very special to him, Dash.”

With that, the alicorn lifted her head from that of her friend, and ushered her towards the porch.





Rainbow Dash found herself taking smaller steps than usual. Lighter ones, too. As she made her way forward, she watched Twilight lean against the doorframe, almost hiding behind it. Dash rolled her eyes, not knowing if Twilight was trying to keep from embarrassing Spike, herself, or Dash… or if she simply was peeping on the exhibition to follow.

The orange and purple glow of twilight was settling around the porch. The fields and forests beyond Ponyville were alight with it. It drifted among the railings and beams of the library’s deck in large, visible shafts that Dash walked through gingerly as she looked for Spike.

She blinked, trying to find him amid the colors of the dying day. She lifted her head towards the sound of his humming, following the sounds of his high, childish voice.

She began to shield her eyes with her hoof, but the sunlight faded, casting a hazy glow around the pegasus as she found the young drake. Spike was leaning against a corner of the porch, hovering dangerously close to the edge in a way that Dash was pretty sure that Twilight had probably told him not to at some point. He was facing away from her, humming some small tune that she could not recognize, his eyes set out across Ponyville. As she watched him, he lifted his arms, leaning that much farther over the railing. He bobbled back and forth as though he were some bird flying across the landscape…

… or a massive dragon winging through the twilight skies.

Dash pondered him for a second, tilting her head as she did so. After a moment, she lifted her voice to call him over to where the smooching would occur. “Hey, Spike?” she said softly, not wanting to startle him as he leaned out across the railing. “I think ya won something, right? How about you come over here and–”

“Dash, what’s your dad like?”

Her words perished in horribly, flaming deaths upon Dash’s lips, her confidence coming out of her as the conversation suddenly went to a place that she could not have guessed. “My dad?” she answered. “My dad is awesome. He’s the greatest guy! I learned everything I know from him, and I’m his biggest fan! My dad is great. He’s just great!”

Dash smiled as she recalled her father, the close ties with the stallion in her life that she, even though she was now a young, independent mare, still loved the most. Her eyes drifted happily through her memories of the days spent with her dad, how after the divorce he had been the one who had struggled the hardest to be her rock.

Her smile faded back into bewilderment. She looked at Spike, the boy still leaning over the edge of the railing, his arms extended wide as he bobbed back and forth on the small breezes.

“Ummmm, why?” Dash asked.

Without turning, Spike revealed to the mare one of the great secrets that lay hidden amongst all of the little concerns that made up his world.

“Everypony always asks me if I have a mom,” he said, slowing his swaying. “Mares raised me, ya know. Princess Celestia, the nurses in the palace crèche, Mrs. Mom… that’s Twilight’s mom, Cadence, and even Twilight. Especially Twilight. They all raised me. I-I don’t have anypony who I call ‘Mommy’, but I’m really lucky. I’m really, really lucky. I’ve got lots of mares who love me.”

Spike went still, his arms simply held out at his sides, his frame highlighted by the colors of the fading day. Dash found herself tilting her head once again, turning it to the side as though fearing that she was about to miss something of great importance.

“But, nopony ever asks me if I have a dad,” he said, his voice trailing off at the end. There was a little sound, a little huff of exasperation. “Everypony seems to forget that… that I don’t.”

Spike’s arms came down slowly. Dash watched him fold them closer to himself, and though she could not see it, she sensed him wrapping his hands together over and over.

“I’ve got a lot of great colts, stallions, who I know. Shining, of course, the Lord Protector of the Nursery, Mr. Dad… that’s Twilight’s dad, and even Joe. But I don’t know them like I know the mares in my life. I’ve… I’ve never got to spend any time with them, really. They… just were, you know?”

A small sigh enveloped the scene.

“I mean, they were great to me, and I loved them to bits… but they, they just aren’t there for me. I… I don’t have a dad, or even someone I can look up to and know what a stallion, a male, I guess, is supposed to be like.”

Spike went quiet, and his head panned across the cityscape of Ponyville below.

“I don’t… I don’t even know if dragon drakes stay with their dams and their eggs. I don’t know if dragon drakes raise their whelps, but… but I know that when I see a colt with his dad, when I see them playing, or when I see a stallion rub his hoof across the colt’s head and say ‘Good job!’ that… that I get jealous,” Spike said, his voice catching a bit as he made his admission.

“I’d like to have a dad. You know, to roughhouse with, to build tree forts… even though I kinda already live in one. To take me to watch hoofball games. I think it would be great to have… have some stallion just to talk about guy stuff with, to ask questions that only dads can answer,” the dragon said, sitting upon the railing, his back still to Dash.

“I don’t though. I don’t have a dad, and I don’t think I ever will…”

Dash blinked a few times, trying to guess how this all could be related to him winning a kiss in a charity auction. She pondered that question as she watched him wipe his arm across his face a few times. The sound of a single sob filled the air… and Dash’s ears flicked as she realized that it hadn’t come from the little dragon but instead from the alicorn that stood in the doorway.

Spike wiped his face once more and looked out across the branches of his home. The broad summer leaves seemed to dance in the evening shades of the departing day.

“I guess that’s a little selfish of me, huh, Dash?” he asked. “I guess that’s a little greedy of me to want one­­–“

“Naw,” Dash answered, relieved at finally being able to add something to the conversation. “Naw, I don’t think…”

“­–especially since Twilight could use a stallion more,” he continued, looking back across Ponyville. “She’s getting real lonely at night. It’s worse since she became a princess, ‘cause she can’t even be with her friends as much. I'd love for her to have a stallion, if that's what could make her happy. I'd love for her to have a guy, as long as he's great to her... a great guy to hold her and stuff, to tell her how wonderful she is. ”

Dash’s expression froze on her face. Suddenly, the wheezing cough of an alicorn added itself to the soundtrack of the evening, both mares caught decidedly off guard by the statements.

“I try to give her more hugs and stuff now, to be an even better assistant, but what she really needs is a stallion… one to keep her close at night, do that squishy grown-up stuff.”

Twilight’s wheezing amplified in volume by untold magnitudes. Dash’s eyes sat wide as she pondered what exactly the whelp could mean by “squishy”. Spike, seemingly oblivious to all of this, continued down the inexplicable path that his bits had set in motion at the auction.

“Whenever we’re walking and she stops to talk to a colt or stallion, I start to ask myself ‘Is this the guy? Is this the one that can take the hurt and worry out of her? Is this the guy who’s gonna be wonderful to her? Is this the one who can make her happy?’ Heh, so far none seem to be the one! I still have some hope for this colt she was all goofy for after we got back through the portal, the one I gave her the smile about. What was his name?” he said, brushing some various flotsam from the railings, watching as it fell to the streets below. The boy sighed, and then continued down his course of conversation.

“When Twilight told us she had visions of her cutie mark with the extra star, the one that showed up above Ponyville when she became an alicorn, I wondered if the new star could be for me. Maybe I was part of the group after all, and not just a kid who you take along. I wondered if it might be, but… but, then I realized, what if it’s for him? What if it’s for the stallion that could really, really be the one for her? Wouldn’t that be something, Dash?” he said as he slid down from the railing.

“Yeah, that’d be… something,” Dash said, dividing her attention between the whelp and the recovering alicorn.

“Then I get all greedy again. Then I ask myself if maybe, maybe this stallion… could he love me, too? Can he love Twilight… and me? Maybe he’d like to help me build go-karts, or take me fishing, or… just be a dad.”

Spike lowered his head so that he peered out between the piers of the railing, his hands still lying on the top. He swung back and forth, his tail swishing behind him.

“But… but that’s too greedy, and I know Twilight has to come first. I don’t have a dad, and I don’t think I ever will­–”­

“Hey, Spike,” Dash said, fighting to find the words to assuage his fear, “it’s okay. A lot of ponies...”

“–so I made one up.”

Silence held sway across the porch, excepting the few staggered hacks that still arose from an Equestrian alicorn princess, one still dealing with the fact that her baby dragon was actively attempting to find her a special somepony to do “squishy” grown-up things with.

Dash shook her head, trying to understand Spike’s meaning.

“You made one up?” she asked, casting a dubious glance in his direction.

Spike turned around, facing her for the first time since she had appeared on the porch. His eyes turned up to her even as he fidgeted with his hands, looking a little nervous about his admission.

“Well, yeah,” he said. “I kinda took all of the best things about the stallions that I know… and made them into one. I took Shining’s strength, Joe’s determination, Mr. Dad’s wisdom, and the caring part of the kind old stallion that raised me in the nursery. I kinda mashed it up and came out with… a dad.”

Dash’s look of dubiousness did not decrease in the slightest.

“Well, hey! I know he’s not real!” Spike cried. “He’s not real… he’s a, a…”

“Metaphorical construct devised to provide a rational personal discourse on the societal values associated with masculinity, gender-roles, and fatherhood?” Twilight asked from her hiding spot in the doorframe.

“Yeah… that,” Spike said, dubiously. “I just wanted some older colt to be there, ya know? I wanted a father-figure-guy-thingy to help me make my decisions, to show me how a male is supposed to act.”

He lifted his face back to the pegasus. “Dash, I was raised by mares,” he reminded her. “If I didn’t teach myself how to be a boy… well, who would teach me?”

Dash felt an insight sink through her. After the divorce, her mother had left. She was a mare raised by a stallion. Had she taught herself how to be a mare, or had she just dismissed it all as “girly”? A sudden understanding flew through Rainbow Dash, and a bridge of connection opened up between the two creatures.

Spike caught sight of it, saw how the look in Dash’s eyes had changed just so. He gave a little nod, and took a few steps forward. He smiled up to her and then rubbed the back of his head with one clawed hand.

“Dash?” he asked. “If your dad had been in the boutique today, and he saw and heard those colts, what do ya think he would have done?”

“Ha!” Dash laughed, her mane flying wide behind her. “My dad? If he had been there, I doubt there would have been any survivors!”

“Yeah,” Spike said. “I mean, that’s what dads do, isn't it? I'm a dragon... dragons protect things they value. I-I guess I see my dad doing the same... all stallions stand up for their kids right? They protect their foals. So, do you think that Twilight’s dad would have done the same thing?”

Dash blinked again. “Well, yeah, if she was up on that stage…” she began.

“No, no, Dash,” Spike said. “If it was still you. Do you think that Twilight’s dad would have tried to help you?”

“I-I hope so, I mean…”

“Rarity’s father?”

“Yes, I mean, sure…”

“Shining Armor?”

“Well, I’d like to think…”

“Joe? Big Mac? Mr. Cake? Thunderlane?”

“Yeah…”

Spike nodded. He ran his hand across his frills again. “I mean, that’s what a real stallion would do… stand up for those who can’t. They help others,” he mumbled, scratching his forehead. “Dash,” he sighed, “my imaginary dad–the one I look up to–he was there in the boutique earlier. He was there. I saw him… well, imagined him, there.”

Spike looked at her like he was confessing a sin.

“He was there, Dash, and he didn’t lift a hoof to help you,” Spike said, the words hidden in a vast sigh as he ran his hands up and down his arms. “He was there, and I called for him…”

Dash’s head swung back to Twilight. The alicorn nodded, confirming what the dragon was saying. The creature, the vision that he had crafted of a father figure… that was who Twilight had discovered. That was who Spike had been staring at amid the crowd of colts. That was who he had been screaming at.

“I was so mad at him, Dash,” Spike said as his brow furrowed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so mad at a stallion.”

Dash returned her gaze to Spike. She watched as he went from the quiet figure he’d been to a loud, unhappy child, one deeply hurt by what he had witnessed. “He just stood there, Dash, staring at me! My own… well, make-believe dad! He just stood there! He… he let them be terrible to you! He just stood there as they called you those names!”

Spike’s hands clenched into balls, and he shook once more, repeating his emotions as they had been in Carousel Boutique earlier that day, copying the hiss that had developed in his voice.

“I screamed at him! I swore at him!” Spike said, the vehemence spilling out of him. “One of my friends, one of the ponies I love and care about was being treated like meat and he wasn’t doing anything! I hated him! I hated him, hated, him, hated him!”

At once a shock of green went across his eyes, and Dash backpedalled a step. “Whoa,” she whispered, watching as Spike shook and trembled.

“I couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t stand it!” he cried. “Why was he just staring at me?! Why, why, why?!”

At once, a shaft of twilight fell across the drake and seemed to wipe the anger away. Instead, the small, shivering form of a baby dragon was left standing there, a look of profound sadness sitting upon him.

“I-I realized why. I realized why he wasn’t helping you. It’s because he’s imaginary… I made him up. My imaginary dad was waiting for a real stallion to come and do something. He was looking at me,” Spike said, choking a little. “I don’t have a dad…”

He looked up to Dash once more.

“I don’t have a dad… and if a stallion was going to save you…” he said, his voice in a whimper. Spike closed his eyes, looked away, and then met Dash’s confusion with a smile. Slowly, the drake lifted his arm into the air, raising it higher and higher until his claws extended, as though he were grasping for the sky beyond. He went up on his tiptoes, fighting to reach as high as he could.

“One thousand bits,” he said, repeating his offer, “for a kiss from Dash.”

The two stood there, staring at one another for a moment. A bright blush went across Spike’s face as he stood there, extended as high as his body would allow. Slowly he lowered himself back down again, his body folding itself around him as he sat under the bewildered gaze of Rainbow Dash.

“That’s the thing, isn’t it, huh?” he said. “I-I’m the one who decided what being a male means to me, right, Dash? When… when those colts were booing me, saying I wasn’t much of a male… I got angry. They were the ones acting like animals, not stallions. When they… when they said I wasn’t much of a stallion, which is kinda stupid anyway ‘cause I’m a dragon, because I wasn’t acting like them… wow, I got mad…”

He smirked a little.

“So, out came the Hyper-Rude Gesture of Maximum Offensiveness. Blammo. Double dragons!”

“Ha!” Dash chuckled. “Yeah, I could totally see myself doing that. I wish I could do that, really… but, you know, hooves.”

“Heh,” he laughed. “Why? You want Twilight to give you a time-out, too?”

“Did she really?” Dash laughed. “She really did that?”

“Yeah, just a little one, though,” he answered a chuckle going through him.

“Heh,” Dash said, casting her eyes around idly. “Ya know, you could have just bid, like, five hundred bits and won, right? Then you could have won the date with Rarity, too.”

“Ugh!” Spike groaned. “I know, but it just kinda came out. Stupid, stupid, stupid!” The whelp slapped his own forehead some more and then pinched the bridge of his nose while muttering under his breath.

“Sorry ‘bout that, Spike,” she said, nudging him with her elbow.

The little dragon peeked at her with one eye, his fingers still held over the bridge of his nose. He let them drop away as a smile came over his face. “It’s okay, Dash,” he said, smiling a faint smile. “Helping you was worth it. You’re worth every little bit.”

Dash blushed. “I am?” she said, a more than slightly noticeable squeak appearing in her voice. “I mean… I am! Of course I am! I’m awesome!”

“Yup,” Spike agreed, nodding at the mare.

The little drake and the pegasus stared at one another some more, and then looked at one another without really looking at one another, very much like they had in the boutique as a hooting group of colts had awaited the spectacle of a kiss that had never happened. The same delicious awkwardness hovered around them, making them laugh little laughs and the faintest hints of blushes go across their faces.

Spike took a deep breath, and then pressed on with his rationale for placing his bid.

“I know that you guys don’t think of me as being very… well, macho, what with the lacy aprons, the tea parties, and the cooking, and the domestic stuff. I know that you don’t see me as male, let alone a stallion, drake, guy–”

“N-No, Spike, it’s not that!” came Twilight’s voice, crying to him from the doorframe. “Spike, it isn’t like that! We…”

“­–-but the truth is,” Spike continued, waving her off, “I was raised by mares, and that’s all I know. I-I know I’m a little frilly, but I still see myself as a boy, and I had to train myself what that means. I don’t see those colts as ‘manly’… I see them as ‘jerks’! I’m the one who decides what being a boy, male, guy… thing, is to me. I want to be a stallion, a drake… I like being a boy. I like being me.”

Spike’s eyes lifted to the fading sun, watching as the embers of twilight sank across the cityscape of Ponyville.

“I like me.”

Dash tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened. She had just heard Spike echo her very words. Another connection came open, and Dash could only muffle a little sound as she suddenly found herself seeing the world through Spike’s eyes.

A world that, all things considered, was not so different from the one she had made her life in, the one where she had tread a thin line of not quite knowing who she was.

“Dash,” he said, “I know that you don’t really think much of me, but…”

“Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Dash called, completely surprised by his statement. “What in the Well makes you think that?”

“One lame dragon,” Spike said, arching an eyebrow as he quoted the mare, holding a finger in the air to make his point.

Dash’s mind spun back to the Great Dragon Migration. When she had cuddled Tank closer earlier that day, she had skipped over the whole episode of what had transpired in the trench outside Ponyville, some part of her feeling a twang of guilt when she remembered lying on her back, laughing at him as he committed the unforgivable sin of serving her blueberry tarts.

“I never apologized for that,” she said, her trademark gruffness coming out of her voice, something more humble and small filling the vacated tone. “Spike, I’m sorry. I’m really, really, really…”

“I forgive you,” he said, letting his finger come down until it bopped gently across her nose. A smile passed between them and, oddly, the sense of nervousness that had been there before had dissipated. They were able to smile at one another now, something coming alive as they found a small peace in his act of forgiveness.

“That’s the thing though, huh?” he said. “You’ve never really seen me as much, but you’re special to me Dash, you’re one of the ponies who make up this weird… well, family I have. I don’t have a mom, or a dad, but I’ve kinda gathered you all up and made… kinda, a thing. A thing made up of ponies that I love and care about.”

The dragon walked forward a few more steps and laid his hand against her foreleg, running it up and down as a smile went over his features.

“I’m just a little dragon, and I can’t do much, but protecting those who mean the most to me any way I can… that’s what being a male is to me,” Spike said. “You’re worth protecting, Dash. You’re strong, talented, graceful, and totally loyal… like your element and stuff.”

“No foolin’?” she said in a slightly sarcastic tone. She watched a look pass between Twilight and Spike, and the dragon rolled his eyes before looking up to her again.

“I’m just saying that you’re awesome, Dash. You’re special to me, you know, just like Twilight, Rarity, and the rest of the girls. Yeah, it didn’t feel good to lose my chance to take Rarity out, but I wasn’t going to let any of them get away with that. I wasn’t going to let them treat a member of my… family, group, thing, that way.”

The dragon quickly ran his face across the back of his arm once more, and Dash felt a little moisture gathering in her own eyes. She recalled how that long, odd journey through the dragon migration had ended. It had ended with Spike, Rarity, Twilight, a phoenix egg, and herself all held close together. It had ended with him declaring her part of the odd, hodgepodge, mish-mashed, improvised family that he had built for himself.

She realized now what he had meant when he had said that he would love to get a kiss from her. It wasn’t a crush, as she had thought… it was something far more valuable. He did depend on her, he did see her as a part of his world. What little they shared, that was enough.

“You’re awesome, Dash,” he continued, not noticing the thoughts that seemed to occupy the pegasus. “You’re amazing, and tough, and you’re a beautiful mare who didn’t deserve to be treated that way…”

Beautiful mare.

Dash looked down at Spike. He… he saw her as feminine, as a mare. This boy, this male, who had seemingly dedicated himself to the most “girly”, the most ladylike and effeminate member of their little circle… saw her in the same light.

Rarity had been right. He was every little bit the knightly figure, a little reminder of the days of chivalry. As needless as his “saving” her had been, it was still a sign that he considered her as being valuable to him, as somepony he loved and cared for. For Spike, being a stallion meant protecting those he loved… the drake guarding a hoard far more cherished than some paltry diamonds and rubies.

And, to top it all off, he knew how to cook.

“Hey, Spike,” Dash said, a little blush growing across her face. “In this family thingy, how do you see me?”

“I dunno,” he answered, scratching his head once more. “I don’t like using real words. They kinda don’t fit…”

“Okay, yeah, but if you had to, what would you say that I am?” she said expectantly. “What would you call me if you had to fill out an insurance form?”

“I… well, huh. Ummm, ‘Cool Aunt’, maybe?” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Aunt? Ewwww… too old! I’m not that much older than you! Saying it that way makes it seem like I’m gonna pinch your cheeks and tell you about my achy knee or something!” she said, rubbing his frills. “How about ‘cousin’?”

“Oh, okay, ‘Cool Cousin’, I guess?” he said, lifting his head to face her. In a moment, Spike’s face registered surprise as a toss of a mane enveloped him.

“What was that? ‘Kissing Cousin’? Hey, sounds good!” she said, the words running together quickly.

With that, the unmistakable sweet scent of a mare passed through Spike’s nose, and as her mane left a tickle across his face, a small, moist spot appeared on his cheek.

Spike lifted his hand, pressing it to the source of the pleasant warmth that drifted through him. It took him a few seconds to realize what had happened, but a small smile formed on his lips
as he did.

“Ohhhhh!” Twilight moaned. “I missed it!”

Two sets of eyes were cast in her direction, and they gauged her coldly.

“Ooops! Sorry!” she said, a bright blush going across her own face as she grinned an apologetic grin. The alicorn then hid herself behind the door once more as the pegasus and the dragon watched.

“Dash,” Spike said. “Thank you so…”

“Hey, Spike,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “This is kinda hard for me to say, but sometimes being the fastest… yeah, sometimes it isn’t so great.”

Spike caught her meaning quickly. “You… you don’t have to give me another if you don’t want…”

The words never crossed his lips, as they were otherwise occupied. Dash had taken a half step forward, catching the little dragon as he lifted his head to speak with her.

It was a real kiss this time, one that she summoned from some part deep inside of her, some part that felt a warm desire to claim her part in the vision that Spike had shown her… that allowed her to feel a simple happiness flowing from an act of affection.

Tangles of her mane fell across Spike's face, tickling him as the soft, warm feel of Dash’s kiss drifted through him. His eyes were neither open nor shut, but instead hung somewhere between, drifting in and out of visions of a cloudscape as Dash’s scent filled his nostrils.

Twilight, for her part, simply stood there with her face pressed to the flat of her hoof, making small, happy sounds.

Dash pushed against him, not breaking their contact until he rested gently against her outstretched foreleg. Her mane shared its hues with the last flicking tongues of twilight that drifted across the porch… and then it was done.

“Now that,” she said, letting him slide slowly to the deck, “was worth every little bit you paid, right, Sport?”

“Yeah,” Spike said, exhaling deeply. “Yeah… wow, yeah.”

Dash giggled an uncharacteristic giggle, and then quickly stammered “Bye, Spike!” before lifting into the air on her wings.

Bye, Spike, she thought as she let the air grasp her, thanks for being a great guy… and a little hero.

“Bye…” he answered in a distant, happy tone.

“Hey Twi thanks for having me over but I’ve gotta go home and feed the houseplants and water the tortoise thanks for everything bye!” Dash yelled, streaking past the alicorn. As she breezed by, Twilight could already see the great shock of crimson that stood out on Dash’s face, the blush too great to be hidden even at the speed the pegasus had departed at.

High above the treehouse, decidedly “girly” noises filled the air before escaping into the distance. Twilight pondered them for a moment, smiling widely, before turning towards the distant figure of Spike, still laying on the porch in a stupor.

“Wow,” he said, looking up to Twilight as she appeared over him. “Wow.”

“Okay, big guy,” she said with a chuckle, “it’s getting late. Let’s take our bath and get ready for bed.”

“Yeah,” he answered as her magic draped itself over him. “Yeah…”

With her baby dragon, her great little guy, gathered close to herself, the alicorn turned through the doors, closing them behind her. The porch became quiet, a mute witness to the little scene that had played out upon its timbers.

As lights went out in the library windows, the first fireflies of a young summer gathered in the branches of the vast, living oak. Their colors erupted in long bobbling trails, the insects dancing their ancient dance as happy dreams found those within and those above.



End

Comments ( 703 )
Vexy #1 · Sep 8th, 2013 · · 15 ·

Interesting...

Commence Reading!

fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/034/b/a/sweetie_bot_by_ponyrake-d4okla5.png

Edit: Will write full review as soon as I arrive home!

You know, I'm having trouble coming up with words that truly describe my feelings. It was an amazing read, and you captured the emotions exceptionally well, like you always do, so I'm just sitting here feeling a wide range of emotions. Anger at the colts, shared confusion at the middle, and having a dopey smile on my face towards the end. All in all a very good and enjoyable read.

I love the conversations between Dash and Twilight and between Dash and Spike (and Twilight), very nice look at Dash's and Spike's feelings.

Excellent ending!

My only criticism would have to be the bit about Twilight's new cutie mark. Based on what we see of her in EQG, Twilight's mark as an alicorn is the same it's always been.

This is the third time I've almost shouted, "YES! THIS IS HOW A GUY IS SUPPOSED TO ACT!" while reading your fics, TD. The other two times being "Tangled Up in Blues" and "A Cup of Joe".

Well done, good sir, extremely well done.

Also, yay for Caboose-isms!

Oh, I found a typo somewhere but I'm too lazy to look up exactly where it was but i belive it was where Spike is explaining how a stallion should act that he says something like "..,isn't?" when I belive it should be "..,isn't it?".

Also, great story. Loved it.


// Sphex

Glad to see people are thinking about and enjoying the story as much as I did. Happy to have played my part in making that happen!

3175938
Darn it all! Looks like my editing skills weren't flawless! Argh.

wow total worth the stupid password thingy ... why did we had to use it again ?

3175026
Yeah, I saw that you were looking for more stories for your group, but I had promised myself that I would never enter a contest again, so I only sent this to my fan club when I knew it had been scrubbed by my editors. Even though it isn't "real shipping", if you'd like to add it to your group when it goes up, that would be great, and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts!:twilightsmile:

3175079
Ah, yes... if I've managed to take my readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride, then I've done my best!:pinkiesmile:

3175116
Then I have done my job!:twilightsheepish:

3175132
Heh, I would say so, but that's a different fic entirely.:raritywink:

3175215
That's a good point about the cutie mark with six stars. It was just in the "fireworks" above Ponyvill and in her eyes, huh. Yeah, I just went back and looked at her in EqG again (that scene with... him. Gah!) and she still only has the five stars. Makes me wonder what it's all about. I'll fix it in the story.

Part of me is still gagging at the thought of "Flash Sentry... the Element of Love", though, in all honesty.:pinkiesick:

3175221
What can I say, Zap... I'm an old-fashioned kinda guy. I was wondering how long until RvB started to subconsciously make its way into my stuff!:pinkiehappy:

3175347
Thanks!:twilightsmile:

3175583
I'm glad that you feel comfortable approaching me with these issues, John.

I can answer your first concern by saying that I feel that I don't think I portray Dash s trying to emulate males, but that she didn't ever really see the "girly stuff" as part of herself. I'm in full agreement with the show's premise, as you pointed out, that being a girl means many things. It is entirely natural, though, to wonder how others view us. As I've said before, I worry constantly about how my fellow gun-owning, Republican-leaning male associates would view me if they knew I watched a show for nine year old girls. Are my concerns about wondering about how others might view my masculinity, and how Spike thinks others view his, any different from Dash wondering how others view her femininity? Isn't it a double-standard to say that it isn't?

For the second concern, I can only say that it was not my intent. Spike views himself as a protector because that's what he wants to be, and therefore it's how he views his "imaginary dad". I'd like to think that Rarity and Twilight's action's in the first chapter showed that they could be protective as well.

As always, thanks for your input. Now that I've gotten this out of the way, back to Zenith!:twilightblush:

3175709
Yeah, it would have gone to some very dark places if that had happened, places I'm not willing to go in my fics.

3175938
Glad you enjoyed the story, but now I have to spend the rest of the night I would have spent writing Zenith to find that one error!:raritydespair:

3176168
Jut to view an unpublished work!:twilightsheepish:

3175979
Thanks for your help, Argon!:pinkiesmile:

3177484
Any time! In regards to that error, by the way, just open up Chapter 2, hit Ctrl+F, and search for "isn't?". You should find it right away!

Every Spike story you write I love more than the last, yet they all are my favorite in some way shape or form :)

3177540 also at one point uses "woory" rather then "worry"

Amazing story Descendant. Your portrayal of Spike has always been a favorite of mine and you did a great job with Dash too.
Plus the double middle finger. That was a great touch.:rainbowlaugh:

The only downside is that I can't add this to my favorites.

3177540
I'm sure that would work on a PC. On a Mac? Not so much!:pinkiesad2:

3177593
That's quite the conundrum! Or is it a paradox? It's something... and I'm glad it is.:raritywink:

3177928
I guess it is just a difference between our head canons, in the end. I also view Dash as the strongest of the female leads, and driven, but I don't view her as infallible. I understand your point of view, though, and I thank you for sharing your insight as always, John.:pinkiesmile:

3178763
I'm glad you are finding these things before I submit it!:twilightsmile:

3178965
Just wait until tomorrow! If it passes moderation, you can Fave it then!:pinkiehappy:

3177484
hey TD are you going to add a chapter with the date with Rarity ?
because the story is pretty deep for just 2 chapters and i'm a bit curious what part Rarity plays in Spikes made up little familie ...
soo pretty please !! ooone more chapter
edit: do i sound like an addicted ???

You know, this story made me realize (once more) that while women did their whole emancipation thing, male role models are pretty much the same as they were a hundred years ago. Be a soldier, or be the breadwinner for your family.
Not that I begrudge Spike his decision, for a dragon whelp boy thingy guy he did pretty well with his imaginary dad, I just wonder how much real choices he actually had.
Also I missed Carrot Cake in the list of names, his commitment for his kids makes him a pretty decent dad, I think.

3179863
You sound pretty needy, but I totally get that. A little third chapter about Rarity rewarding Spike for his propriety would be very welcome.

3178763
My self-esteem as an editor/proofreader is falling apart at the seams! Oh well. No one's perfect, I suppose!

3179498
Oops. Guess I was being too presumptuous. I'm sure you'll figure it out regardless!

3179498 command F on macs!

3179863
It would be a whole story by itself! I don't remember off the top of my head if you've read it or not, but my story On Pin and Needles deals with the same issues, except from Rarity's perspective.

3180884
That is an excellent point... and I'm horribly upset at myself that I didn't include Carrot Cake. That's why I sent this to my fans first!:twilightsmile:

3181302
I learned something!:twilightsmile:

From Chapter 1:

She looked upon the baby dragon as he held his hands in front of him, his hearts beating forcibly as he lingered over the form of the madly bashing unicorn.

I'm a little confused about whether or not these are errors or not. Does Spike have multiple hearts? Is "bashing" a typo, or just fancy archaic english? The whole sentence seems a bit confusing to me. Anyway, this story was awesome, just like all the rest of yours. Especially the part with the "Hyper-Rude Gesture of Maximum Offensiveness," that was great. I'll favorite this as soon as you officially release it.

3182623
If I remember right from some of his other stories, T.D. does envision Spike to have multiple hearts. As for the "bashing" thing, it's referring to Rarity bashing her gavel to try and calm the room. It's a bit awkward, but I didn't mark it as an error in editing because the I found the term to have a sort of pseudo double-entendre that added a bit of authenticity to the story.

In layman's terms, it sounded good to me!

3183341 Ah, cool sentence bro, thanks for the clarification.

Beautiful story!! I can’t add anything to it, it’s just perfect the way it is. Spike is the best! Thank you for this exclusive read T.D.!

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Argon did a good job of explaining but, yes, I've always written Spike with two hearts, just to remind myself that he's a mythical creature. I'm glad you liked this one!:twilightsmile:

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I thought I'd do something nice for my Fans!:pinkiesmile:

How do you manage to write so much?

Glorious as always, my friend.

I actually thought he was gonna call Dash his 'dad', being his role model and all that. Eh, can't get every guess right.

Amazing story.

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“… dragon, boy, whelp… thingy, guy…

I see what you did there :rainbowlaugh:

You can never have too many spike fics. Excellent story dude.

:yay: now without password but with favorit !

Dammit Descendant! You have to let me finish your other story BEFORE you put out another one.

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That's where I thought it was going too!

Spike is very complex here. Nice job. He has so much untapped potential.

whoaaaaa..........simply.........whoa............I mean..........whoaaaaa..............AWESOME!!!

Huh, so Soike's mental was questionable even before Zenith. Or maybe that's just a dragon thing.

I thought he was actually shouting at himself to act in the first chapter. Nah, just at a figment of his imagination, totally different.

Another lovely little story:heart:. Do you plan to make this a thing with every one of the Mane 6?

Hit upvote - 83 changes to 94

This is not enough upvoting. I must hit the button more.

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Descy, bro, I have to agree with John here. It's a sweet story but I can't see Dash being insecure about her femininity. If ponies have a human correlation than the athletic body type for both sexes is by far the most desirable possible. If ponies are more equine in mindset then this is doubly true. Dash even boosts her own confidence during MDW by reaffirming she has an awesome body.
It could also be argued that tomboys in general are more secure in their femininity since they do not feel the need to focus on and artificially enhance it.

But like I said, forgiving the slightly off (not OOC just "off") characterization of Dash, it's a really sweet story.

This is why I love Spike. He may not be the most coolest character, but this little guy will go to hell and back for his friends. Some people hate the little guy calling him just a sidekick but he has earned the title of knight more then anyone.

Awesome story! So deep~

A thing made up of ponies that I love and care about.”

It's amazing how thick the dictionary is... And it's still so small.

I'm sad that this is a topic that I never had the time to tackle in my own stories before they fell, that of what it really means to be a man (or in this case, stallion). I suppose I sort of touched on it, but still. The "emancipation" movement gave us equal rights, but it also brought along some pretty stupid ideals. Men and women aren't perfectly alike: we're made to be different and to relate to each other differently. That's a beautiful thing, not a handicap, and I feel like you've really captured that essence here. As men and women, we should cherish and take pride in our respective masculinity/femininity, whatever that means to us, because it's part of what makes us unique.

Anyway, enough rambling and philosophizing. Suffice to say, you've done it again, and I wish I could have had the chance to work with you at some point.

Twilight being a giggly older sister is the best part of this. And also the part where this is one of the best takes on Spike ever.

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Mine went from 96 to 115.

“… dragon, boy, whelp… thingy, guy… does that sort of thing?” she concluded.

Dragon, boy, whelp, thingy? Is that a reference to another fic?:trixieshiftleft:

As I said on other amazing stories.
Who would dislike this amazing story!

THEY MUST BE PUNISHED!:flutterrage:

Words cannots express the awesomeness

The feels.
THE FEELS!
:rainbowkiss:

Dude, that was fucking UNREAL. Please, have all my faves and likes.

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