I don't belong here

by Clawder

The search

Spike observed the familiar town from afar, still unsure where to begin his explanation.
After hiding the gifts he brought with him under a tree, Spike began to walk towards Ponyville smiling. He was happy for coming back; Nervous for what his friends would say and claim; Disappointed on himself for what he had done in the past few days; But overall, he was excited to let everyone know that he would never leave again.

Half a mile away from Ponyville, he stopped “Where should I go first?” he thought aloud “Rarity was in Canterlot, so the others might be out too…”
Spike hadn’t actually thought what to do next. Well, if they’re out, I could stay in the castle until Twilight gets back. He decided to surround Ponyville and keep the presents in the castle. It could even work as an apology.
When he turned around, he saw a silhouette standing still, staring blankly at Ponyville. It didn’t seem to notice Spike.
The figure looked just like Tirek: half pony and half human.
What were those called, again? Spike tried to remember the name of the specie Oh, right! Centaurs!
The mysterious man then turned his gaze at Canterlot, and then murmured something too vague to tell what it was.

Spike decided to make an approach and slowly walked towards the centaur “Hello there, mister!” he said.
As fast as lightning, the centaur drew a scimitar, looking down hill at the dragon who called.
“Whoa! Hold on a second! I’m not dangerous!” Well… sort of. Spike called as he raised an arm, to cover from the centaur.

“Wha-” The centaur examined Spike for about a minute still holding his weapon tight “A… Dragon…” he finally managed to say.

“Yup! And just as friendly as any other Ponyville folk!”

“You’ve come sooner than us…”

“Errr, sorry?”

“Listen carefully: you’re not ahead in any way! You dragons shall be prepared!”
With that, the centaur turned around and galloped away from Spike.

“Hey! Get back here!” Spike tried to follow him, but getting used to standing on four legs made it practically impossible for him to run.
After a chase that didn’t last long, Spike gave up. This would take him time. “Gah! How do they do this?!” he took a moment to catch his breath And… Who was that guy? What did he mean? As Spike made his way back to Ponyville, he kept wondering what was a centaur doing there. He had never seen one like him other than Tirek, and doubted any other Equestrian had. “Might as well tell Twilight when this whole thing is over.”
Once again, Spike stood in the outside of Ponyville. He unburied the presents and surrounded his hometown, heading directly to the palace and making sure nopony could notice him.
When he got to the gates, he noticed one problem: they were closed.

“Oh, really? Now?” Spike knocked to see if there was any servant or guard in charge while Twilight was out… And there wasn’t. Spike waited outside for a whole hour lying on the ground and expecting something interesting to happen.

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“You ready to go, dear?” asked Rarity, sitting expectantly in front the room’s door.

“I think so,” answered Fluttershy. After the last report, she was unsure how to justify the actions of Spike. She felt conflicted on how to accept it and it showed.

“Are you okay?”

“Just thinking about Spike…” Fluttershy said emotionless.

“Same here, darling, but remember: the sooner we leave, the sooner we can make amends for whatever we did to make him leave like that,” Rarity assured.

Fluttershy nodded and took her suitcases to leave.
At the entrance of Canterlot’s castle, the Princesses were waiting for the friends.

“Please, allow my servants to take your possessions to the train,” said Celestia when she saw them arrive.

Rarity wasn’t pleased with the results of the visit to Canterlot. Sure, she had spoken with Fancy Pants, stayed in the castle and got to know what Spike was doing; but she found out the Princesses knew something she didn’t, and without Twilight there, they wouldn’t say a word. “Thank you again Princess, for letting us stay.”

“Always a pleasure to have you come,” Celestia gave a quick nod and turned to escort the element’s bearers to the train station.
Rarity and Fluttershy followed and Luna watched as they left.

“Princess, I don't want to sound uncouth, but I think we know the way to the station from here,” Rarity really wanted to avoid any contact with Celestia, and this time, it showed.

Celestia sighed “Rarity, believe me, the last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable.”

Then why don't you leave? Rarity thought.

“But I intend to go to Ponyville myself.”

Fluttershy and Rarity raised an eyebrow and shared a glance “Why would you want to?” asked Fluttershy.

“Well, I'm beggining to think Twilight might've had trouble recieving the message I sent. If that's the case... She won't return until the month has passed.”

“What do you mean she 'might've had trouble recieving the message'?” Rarity asked a little too loud again.

“It's no secret Philomena isn't a perfect messenger,” Celestia tried not to make Rarity even more angry. Why? I shouldn't give any explanation, this isn't my fault and she's my subject! Why do I care about what she'll think of me? “I fear something could happen to my dear phoenix.”

“Oh! So you are concerned for your pet but not for Twilight? What if something happened to her?!” Rarity scowled.

“Rarity... you are doing it again...” Fluttershy whispered as she shrugged.

“I'm certain Princess Twilight is alright, she can come back at any time and she's perfectly capable to fend for herself,” answered Celestia.

“Right, whatever,” Rarity mumbled. “So, are you going to take the train with us? Doesn't seem too royal...”

“I was wondering if you two wanted to travel in my chariot, it would save us some time,” suggested the Princess.

Before Rarity could refuse, Fluttershy accepted “We'd love to!”

Celestia smiled at her comprehensive friend. The three of them kept going in an awkward silence until they arrived to the train station; where four pegasi guards were waiting for them.

“This way, please,” Indicated one of them.
When the group finally got to the chariot, Rarity tried to retain a gasp, but it eventually slipped through her lips. This chariot was bigger than the others she'd seen the Princess use. Sure, this time there were two passengers but this was just huge.

“P-Princess! This is... It's,” Rarity managed to say.

Celestia chuckled at this. She knew Rarity loved style and royalty, but forgetting her anger that way? Maybe there was always a way to get the mood back. “Big?” she guessed.

“MARVELOUS! The design, the color!” - Rarity surrounded the masterpiece as she spoke - “Oh my, what a work of art!”

“I'm glad you like it,” Celestia smiled “Shall we leave?” She directed a quick nod to the guards and the four of them hooked to the chariot.

Rarity leaped inside and fluttershy flew to her side.
Once the Princess entered too, the guards took off.
For the first minute of flight, no pony said anything, it was a relaxing trip with a calm breeze that most unicorns would enjoy and few had the chance to have. Being close to the Princess was certainly a great benefit.
After Rarity stopped getting amazed and her excitement lowered, she decided to break the silence.

“P-Princess?”

“Hmm?” Celestia turned to face Rarity.

“I was just wondering, while you're gone, I suppose Princess Luna will be in charge.”

“That would be correct,” Celestia nodded.

“Do you think she'll be fine?” Rarity asked.

“Are you concerned for her, or are you worried she's not up to the task, my little pony?”

“N-no! Nothing like that Princess! It's just that...”

“...That...”

“I just wanted to bring something up so we could talk,” she shrugged and looked down at the fields, lowering her head.

“Is that so? Why didn't you just tell me?” Celestia leaned to get closer to Rarity.

“I guess I just feel bad for blaming you for everything while you have given us your support and didn't actually cause Spike to leave,” Rarity looked up at Celestia “I'm sorry Princess, for everything,” she finished.

“Worry not, Rarity, I understand what you're going through. Also, I'm a little curious about why your initiative is matching Twilight's in this matter...” she raised an eyebrow to make her point known.

Rarity blushed at the suggestion and looked away “It's no-not like that, Princess. You see... I kind of owe Spike an apology,” before continuing, she remembered Fluttershy was still there. As silent as she was, it was easy to disregard her presence. She was sitting at the other end of the chariot but Rarity noticed her perked up ears “I'll let you know later, if it's the same for you” she asked with a pleading smile.

“It's quite alright,” Celestia winked at her.

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Spike was still waiting outside the crystal palace, he's boredom growing with each passing minute.

Maybe I should go visit Applejack or Pinkie... it would be better to have all of them present but by the looks of it, maybe this is going to take some days... Just as he got up, he saw the Princess' chariot heading towards Ponyville. “Are you back, Twilight?!” he exclaimed excitedly. He got up and took his 'gifts' to the back of the palace where no pony could bump into them and hid on a nearby bush. If Twilight was back, he could surprise her when she passed by.

Half an hour passed and Spike began to think it was only a casual visit from the other Princesses. The bush was getting uncomfortable and Spike hadn't stolen anything today; if he just kept hiding, he would eventually shrink again.
As he was thinking what he could possibly steal, he heard someone approaching. Between the twigs and leaves, Spike saw five ponies heading his way: Princess Celestia, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Applejack.
He decided not to question why Twilight wasn't with them and instead listened to the talk they were having.

“So if Twi' recieved the letter she should've returned already, right?” Applejack asked.

“Right,” Celestia answered “The problem is she hasn't reported with me yet,” she looked at her companions “Or visited any of you for that matter.”

“I just hope she's ok, just imagine how dangerous a place full of dragons can be,” Fluttershy mentioned.

What? As the group approched, he tapped his chin with a claw What does she mean by that? A place full of dragons?.

The ponies stopped at the portal. Pinkie took the initiative and knocked the door loudly multiple times. “Twilight!” she kept knocking “Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight!!!!”

“I-I think she's not home...” Fluttershy whispered.

“OR,” Pinkie's shout interrupted “Maybe she's asleep and we need more noise to wake her up!” she then vanished with a cloud of smoke behind her.
The others present looked at each other, Celestia with wide-open eyes, Applejack with an 'are you kidding me' expression, Rarity face-hoofing and Fluttershy sighing.

Rarity shook her head and focused on the task “So, what next? We need to get Twilight back here as soon as possible!”

“I agree, and since it seems a written letter won't do, I'll have to sent an escort to find her,” Celestia decided.

“Ummm, Princess?” Fluttershy poked the ruler's wing.

“Yes?”

“I'm very sorry about Philomena, I didn't get to know her well, but I'm sure she was a great pet,” she vowed to express her condolences.

“Thank you, it was wrong of me to send her in the first place. I should have known better than send her to dragon territory on her own.”

“And what about Spike?” Applejack brought up “He's supposed to be here, right?”

“According to the report, yes,” Celestia nodded “He must be somewhere around the town, since nopony has seen him.”

“Well then, let's go find him!” Rarity said aloud.

In that moment, Spike wanted to get out of that bush and question them about this 'report', had Celestia spied on him? Even if they did, he owed them an apology his friends as tightly as possible. To explain everything that happened and ask for their forgiveness. To thank them for caring for him as he did for them.
But he couldn't, he couldn't get out of there or even move. The only thing in his mind right now was Twilight. His sister and closest friend was in danger because she was looking for him; and she didn't even know he was in Ponyville. From what Spike heard, she could even be hurt and tired.
The ponies left, trotting fast on different directions. Spike didn't even hear what they had decided, or where they were going to look for him, instead, he sobbed silently still hidden.

Flying, Celestia surrounded Ponyville looking for any hint of Spike; Applejack and Rarity asked for him in every single housebof the town; Fluttershy returned to her cottage to ask Discord for help and check his work with the animals; and Pinkie was busy asking Vinyl Scratch for her DJ speakers and other similar stuff.

Rarity and Applejack ran out of houses and ponies to ask questions before an hour, so they went to the orchard to see if Spike was napping on a tree or just wandering around.
The two of them trotted silently for a couple of minutes, already doubting Spike was actually in Ponyville, or anywhere around for that matter.

“So... How was Canterlot?” Applejack began.

“The usual,” Rarity was getting tired, but she always welcomed short talks from her friends “Fancy Pants recieved me as expected and the city is as lovely as always,” Rarity outlined a smile “Sometimes I wish Ponyville was as stylish, but asking for a beautiful place with even more polite and amazing ponies is asking for too much.”

“What d'you mean Rarity? I mean, it's good to hear ya' think ponies here are 'polite and amazing' but Ponyville sure's beautiful.”

Rarity chuckled lightly before explaining “Well, of course! It was a mistake to imply a rustic place isn't beautiful.”

“Kinda did it before though,” Applejack muttered, loud enough for Rarity to listen.

“Hey! I never meant that for you! I just thought you were... Ummm... Messy?” Rarity smiled sheepishly.

Applejack glared at her arching an eyebrow, and then laughed. “No hard feelings, sugarcube, I guess I can be pretty messy at times.”

“Rarity sighed in relief that the conversation wouldn’t turn tense. “Say, dear, what have you been up to these days?”

“Hmm? Oh, well... Just workin' and buckin' as always. Selling some apples, making deliveries, shucks, even Applebloom's getting the hang of it!”

“That sounds wondrous!” Rarity paused to remember the great life her friends have been building over the past years “I only wish I knew what Spike's or Rainbow's time have been like.”

“Rainbow's doing fine,” said Applejack with a calm tone “She told me about her shows and the places she's gone to. I even remember this story she came up with about one of the wonderbolts messin' up. The crowd gasping and whispering to the point she had to...” just then, Applejack noticed the incredulous look on Rarity's face. “What? You don't believe it?”

“No, no it isn't that, it's just-”

“'Cause let me tell ya', I didn't believed it either when she first told me-” she interrupted.

“Applejack,”

“Huh? What is it then?”

“You said 'she told me about her shows', did you attend one of them or something?”

“Nope, she comes by in times...”

“Does she?” Rarity came to a halt “She never visited me.”

“It could be... Umm, I don't know... Because Ponyville's near?”

Rarity just blinked, still in her place.

“Okay! She's been coming to Sweet Apple Acres for chatting. Sometimes just for some cider, the nuisance... But enough about Rainbow, tell me more about what you heard of Spike,” Applejack tried to redirect the subject.

“Alright...” Rarity cleared her throat and began to move forward again “Turns out he stole some items from an antique's store and for some odd reason he grew above an average pony's height.”

“Really? I can't imagine Spike stealing or committing any crime at all.”

“Well, I couldn't believe it either. I guess we'll find out the story behind that after we find him.”

“And about the odd reason thing, it makes sense that he grows, right? Y'know, the greed n' stuff?”

“I don't think that's the case, Applejack, he would be a rampaging, gigantic, pony-eating beast right now,” Rarity looked down at the earth “I wish Twilight and Spike were here.”

Meanwhile, Spike was pondering about this mess, would he be able to just walk in and pretend nothing was wrong? This was certainly the most troublesome situation he had ever gotten himself into.
The hour the others had spent looking for him, Spike used to decide it was best for him to show himself and face whatever rage his friends would rain upon him. After all, everything would be back to normal. Or at least he expected.
Spike's head popped out of the bush. What he saw was not precisely expected... Or actually, it was plain strange: A mountain of speakers blocked the road, with Pinkie stacking even more in pile and Vinyl pressing buttons and moving amplification modifiers up and down in a booth sandwiched between the huge sound machines.

They were both too busy to notice Spike in the bush, who kept staring at the monstrous amount of speakers.

“Ready?!” Pinkie called at the top of the mountain.

Vinyl raised a hoof and nodded, noting Pinkie to put on some headphones.
Spike knew what was coming next. He sprinted to the back of the castle to minimize the noise about to assault his head and covered his ears.
After both crazy ponies had everything ready and their ears plugged, they turned on the thing.

The thunderous racket could be heard in Ponyville and everywhere around. Despite the crystal palace's remoteness, some ponies were extremely bothered by the noise. Some had to lock themselves inside their houses, shutting every window and door closed in order to get rid of it, but they failed even with those measures.

Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Celestia got there as soon as they could. They cringed more and more as they approached, until they were welcomed by Pinkie with cases containing ear plugs, which they were grateful for.
Their pink friend was saying some inaudible things not even understandable by lip reading. Rarity tried to communicate with her but it was no use; Fluttershy and Celestia faced a similar problem trying to make Pinkie turn the thing off.
Suddenly, it stopped.
All the presents turned to see Applejack and Vinyl arguing in front of a now smashed DJ booth.

“What's your problem!?” shouted Vinyl.

“My problem?! You were deafening half of Ponyville with this here machine!” Applejack replied.

Pinkie took a closer look at the booth and saw it had been kicked pretty hard.

“Hey! Applejack! That wasn't nice!” Pinkie backed Vinyl up.

Celestia stepped between Applejack and Vinyl, the latter immediately vowed. “P-Princess! What are you doing here?” she nervously said, fearing some kind of punishment.

“Stand up,” Celestia commanded.

Vinyl obeyed but kept her head down.

“Don't worry, I would prefer if what happened here was not repeated, but I know you meant no harm. So for now, you may leave.”

Vinyl vowed again and dragged her destroyed booth to Ponyville “Dude... My stuff...” she muttered as she left.

“Why did you do all of this?!” Applejack scolded Pinkie.

“Duh! To wake Twilight up in case she was asleep!”

“Pinkamena, we appreciate your effort to help but this just isn't the way,” Celestia tried to lecture her “It was well know that no pony was inside and yet, you set up an uncalled for show for no apparent reason.”

“B-but but what if she was there?” Pinkie asked with a puppy face.

“She would have answered the first time, don't you think?”

“Well... I guess... Sorry Princess.”

The group turned to return to Ponyville when a sound came from the castle: The gates.
At the entrance, there was Twilight. With a messy tail and mane which covered her eyes. “I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP!” she screamed.

Every pony else was astonished, mouths agape and staring at Twilight. Though no one was more surprised than Celestia.
At the back of the palace, Spike was trying to regain his sense of hearing, but that gig had been too much. He couldn't hear the discussion of Applejack and Vinyl nor the lecture of Celestia, but he did hear the voice of Twilight.
He perked up and smacked his head a couple of times with his fist Twilight?

“Keep it down or it's dungeon for you!” Twilight finished her threat and closed the gates again.

“S-she was actually there!” Rarity said with a startled tone.

“Gotta give you points for that, Pinkie,” Applejack commented.

“Nailed it!” Pinkie cheered.

Celestia still couldn't bring herself to say anything. Weren't for Pinkie's idea, they still would be worried for Twilight.

“It may seem like a bad time to ask but...” Fluttershy whispered to Applejack “Do we have a dungeon around? It didn't sound very nice,” she was trembling at the idea.

Applejack laughed.

“So... Is that a yes or a no?”

Comments

[Hillbe]

Only Pinkie ,

Knock Knock............Who's There?

[OmniFox]

Is it Twilight's time of the month?

[Clawder]

5605224

Don't know, too scared to find out.

[shadow0knight]

Something tells me that something's up. I mean Twilight's supposed to be in the Dragon Lands and here Twilight's here in the Crystal Castle. I bet it has to do with that centaur Spike ran into......

[Clawder]

5609459

I'm trying so hard right now to hold my tongue (fingers in this case) and not spoil the whole thing for you.
Don't tempt me.