The Trial
Sugarcube Corner was packed with ponies of various colors and sizes. The tables that usually decorated the dining room of the restaurant had been stored away for the night, if only to make room so that ponies would have more space to stand around in. The lights that normally brightened up the restaurant had been dimmed, with only a single disco ball being the only means of illumination in the room, allowing spots of light to dance across the walls and the bodies of the various ponies packed inside, making it rather difficult to make out any faces. Loud, deep-bass music was all that could be heard, to the point where nopony present could make out any of the lyrics to the song due to the bass being so loud.
And yet, despite the already tightly-packed crowd, even more ponies were entering. Among the latest batch of guests were none other than Spike and Starlight Glimmer.
“Finally, we’re here,” Starlight with a sigh of relief.
“We would’ve gotten here a lot earlier if you hadn’t spent so much time on your hair,” Spike said through gritted teeth as he glared at her.
Starlight merely smirked in response and offered up a quip of her own. “Well, if you hadn’t spent so much time in the shower we would have arrived here ages ago!”
“Starlight! You made it!”
Both parties jumped upon hearing Twilight’s voice. It was necessary for the pony to practically scream at the top of her lungs in order to be heard over the bass of the music. She approached the group, enveloping Starlight in a tight hug. “So, you decided to show up after all!” Smirking, she added, “Took you long enough.” Chuckling, she lifted a cup of punch to her lips and took a sip, using her magic to levitate over two other cups of punch for both Spike and Starlight.
Spike rolled his eyes and gestured at Starlight and muttered, “Girls.”
Starlight apparently didn’t take too kindly to his snide remark because she roughly jabbed the crook of her hoof into his ribs and replied, “Boys.”
Spike groaned in pain while Twilight laughed.
“Wow,” Starlight said, taking the chance to survey the room and observe the various ponies dancing around. “Pinkie pulled this together quick! Great party!”
“Thanks,” Pinkie Pie replied, suddenly popping up between Starlight and Spike, startling the both of them. She beamed at Starlight as she said, “It took a lot of effort, but it was so worth it!”
Spike crossed his arms and smirked. “You won’t be saying that when the Cakes bust you.”
Pinkie laughed. “They’re not gonna find out about this, silly.”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“They’re out of town,” Pinkie explained. “Besides, I cleared it with them before they left. They said it was okay as long as I made sure there wasn’t a huge mess for them to clean up after they got back.”
Spike joined Pinkie in laughing while Starlight rolled her eyes.
“Come on, Starlight,” Pinkie said. “Let’s go shake our pretty pony plots down on the dance floor!”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Spike agreed.
Pinkie took Starlight by the hoof and led her into the middle of the room. Even Twilight, after setting her drink aside, decided to get in on the dance act. Spike couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Twilight attempt to dance. The pony stood on her legs, flailing her forehooves around before setting all fours hooves back on the floor, only to deliver a powerful buck at the air. Several ponies backed away from her, if for no other reason than fear that she might injure one of them in the process. For his part, Spike remained with Pinkie and Starlight. The three of them bumped their hips together and took turns delivering playful swats on each other’s backsides, Starlight in particular seemed to really enjoy smacking Spike’s rump, getting a good deal out of laughter out of him for her efforts.
At long last, the song ended and Pinkie excused herself to get something to drink. A new song, one much slower and softer on the ears, began to play over the loudspeakers. Starlight gingerly tapped Spike on the shoulder. Once she had his attention, she reared up on her hooves. Getting the idea, he took hold of her hooves and the two of them began dancing together, slowly moving side to side on the spot. Sighing in content, Starlight rested her head delicately on Spike’s right shoulder, her mane falling down around her shoulders, a small smile plastered on her face. Spike held on to her tightly, a happy expression on his face. Around them, many other couples began to dance as well.
“Spike, we’re so close right now,” Starlight said softly. He tightened his grip on her waist. “Too bad we’re not like this all the time.”
“You know, I think you like me,” Spike replied. “Are you a big love ballad fan? I wouldn’t think this would be your thing.”
“I’ll answer that after I get something to drink.” She licked her lips.
“Please and thank you,” Spike said. “I am parched.” As Starlight started making her way over to the refreshments table, he playfully slapped her hindquarters. He watched her go and turned his head, jumping back in surprise when he noticed Applejack standing there giving him a concerned look.
“Hey,” she said gently, “listen, sugarcube, I know it’s a party and all, but you might want to chill and take it easy, okay?”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“It’s just . . .” She bit her lip. “She’s a little old for you, don’t you think?”
Spike chuckled. “And I think you’re a little jealous.” He waved her away just as Starlight returned with drinks for them.
“Spike?” she asked. “Everything okay?”
Spike smiled up at her. “Everything is perfect.” He clinked his bottle of soda with hers and took a swig. He figured that he must’ve drunk it too fast because he coughed some of it back up. He felt Starlight pat him on the back and he gave her a grateful smile. “Hey, it’s a little bit loud in here. You want to go outside, get some fresh air?”
Starlight shrugged. “Sure.” She led the way to the front door, opening it up for him and following him outside.
Spike took another drink of his soda and smiled at her. “The whole team was great, but you . . . just, wow . . . you really stood out.”
She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “I did?”
He blinked. “What are you looking at?”
“Your eyes.” She reached down and began lovingly petting his scales. “You have the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen. They’re very beautiful.”
Spike couldn’t help but blush in response. He jumped, feeling somepony suddenly tapping him on the shoulder. He turned and was taken aback to see Miss Applejack standing there. “Yes?”
“I think I’m gonna turn in for the night,” Applejack replied. “How about you, sugarcube? Come on, I’ll walk ya home.”
Spike shook his head. “No, thanks.” He turned to Starlight. “You know what, on second thought, it’s a little chilly out here.” He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. “Do you think we could somewhere a little more private?”
Starlight finished off the rest of her soda and tossed the empty bottle over her shoulder. It shattered against a tree. Smiling down at him, she opened the front door and gestured him inside. “After you.” She followed after him, her hoof wrapped around his waist. The two of them made their way through the crowd, politely excusing themselves along the way, until they reached the stairs. She once more reached down to lovingly stroke his scales. “You’re so cute.” She nodded towards the stairs. “I think Pinkie’s room should be quiet enough.”
He nodded in agreement and allowed her to take him by the hand and lead him up the stairs. When they finally reached Pinkie’s room, he felt around on the wall for the light switch and turned on the lights. Starlight, however, immediately turned them off.
“I like it better when it’s dark,” she said, closing and locking the door.
Spike giggled. “But I can’t see anything.”
“There’s the bed,” Starlight said, nodding towards it, “here’s the door, and downstairs is the party.”
Spike frowned. “Why are we whispering.”
“Well, we don’t our friends to know we’re up here, do we, so we don’t want them to hear us, right? Okay?”
Spike nodded. “O-okay.”
She leaned forward and puckered her lips. He stood on the tips of his toes, closing his eyes and puckering his lips, preparing for his first kiss. Their lips met and lingered for several seconds. For his part, Spike couldn’t believe it. They were both kissing. Both pony and dragon had their lips firmly pressed against each other. The pony was desperate for more while the dragon was visibly anxious and nervous. Starlight deepened the kiss, Spike holding onto her face with his gentle claws, keeping her in place if only just so he could reassure himself that it was actually happening, that it was really her in front of him and not some fake.
Oddly enough, Spike managed to notice that Starlight herself seemed rather nervous and anxious as well. This was probably because this was the very first time either one of them had shared an actual kiss with the other before. Even so, he held her so lovingly, so sincerely. At long last, both of them panting for breath, they, albeit reluctantly, pulled away from each other.
Silence filled the room. Spike looked anywhere but into Starlight’s eyes. He looked at the floor, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, looking lost and trapped. It sounded as if the party taking place downstairs was still at top-notch; the music was still at full blast; several ponies were screaming and having the time of their lives. Starlight bit her lip nervously. She rubbed at a hoof, silently hoping that Spike didn’t suddenly want to join them. Rather, she hoped that he wanted to stay in her embrace. So far, it looked that way. At long last, Spike looked up at her. Smiling down at him, she leaned down and gave him a small peck on the nose.
“You are so adorable,” Starlight whispered.
Spike blushed. “I am?”
Starlight nodded.
Both of their lips met yet again, but this kiss was completely different than the first they’d shared. They were both passionate, hungry, and loving. Starlight opened her mouth, forcing Spike’s mouth open with her tongue so she could explore the depths of his mouth. She felt his tongue trying to reciprocate. He wanted to explore her mouth too. He was no longer afraid. She could sense that. He was no longer trembling, his breath no longer shaky. He was strong, passionate, lustful. His body almost overpowered hers despite the differences in their height. Both of their bodies screamed for more and more.
“Come here,” she said. She suddenly levitated him in her magic and tossed him down on Pinkie’s bed before clambering up and towering over him. “Is this okay?”
Breathing heavily, Spike shook his head. “No. I-I mean . . . yes.” Smiling, Starlight bent down and began kissing his nose. “Just . . . take it slow, okay?”He pulled her down, both holding onto each other’s faces as they kissed passionately into each other’s mouths.
It was Pinkie’s bed they were lying on, but this bit of information didn’t register in their minds. If anything, the green comforter on the bed added to the romantic atmosphere that was created in the room. Adding to this effect was the moonlight that shone through the open window.
There were no thoughts in either one of their heads. There was no thinking on the part of either party whatsoever. The only thing their bodies were running on at the moment was pure emotion and feeling.
Spike had his arms tightly wrapped around Starlight’s neck even when she was lying on top of him and he was on the bottom, his legs wrapped tight around her waist, not wanting to let go as they continued to kiss.
Starlight moved down, now leaving wet kisses on his neck. Breathing heavily, she asked, “Do you want to?”
Spike, being of a particularly young age, didn’t fully comprehend what she meant. “Want to what?”
She didn’t answer him and instead moved downward and began peppering his chest and belly with kisses. He gasped and pressed his hands against her head, trying to force her off. “Starlight, I said slow!”
She suddenly sat up, removing a condom from her saddlebags. He stared up at her, bewildered. “W-what are you doing?” He watched as she unwrapped the condom and moved it towards his groin. His eyes widened in horror and he sat up. “I think I should go.” He turned, attempting to get off the bed and to the door, only to have himself violently shoved back down by Starlight’s magic. Now completely paralyzed by both Starlight’s magic and utter fear, he had no choice but to watch as Starlight wrapped the condom around his erection before beginning to lower herself onto it. “Starlight, I said no!” He gasped, feeling the confines of her vagina enveloping his penis. “Please . . . stop . . .”
Despite the animosity they’d previously had towards one another, Gabby and Rarity had managed to patch things up and become quite close. The two made plans to meet up at the local eatery. After getting seated and ordering their drinks, they struck up a friendly conversation.
“So, I was thinking,” Gabby said, “since me and Spike didn’t get to go out this Saturday, I figured we’d go out this weekend. I thought maybe we’d check out a Wonderbolts show.” She noticed Rarity’s worried look and asked, “What? Wonderbolts are lame?”
“What?” Rarity said. “Oh, no, darling, it’s just . . . If I were you, sweetness, I think I’d give Spikey-Wikey some space and let him ask you out instead. I mean, after all, he’s so busy these days, what, with helping Twilight, being the friendship ambassador of the Dragon Lands ––”
Gabby raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What are you saying?”
Rarity shook her head. “Nothing, nothing. Just forget about it.” She momentarily stopped talking when their drinks arrived. She lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip. “I just heard some . . . things.” When Gabby rotated her hand, gesturing for her to give more detail, she sighed and said, “The truth, Gabby, darling, is that . . . he hooked up somepony else.”
Gabby blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“That party we went to on Saturday night? He was there. I saw him dancing with Starlight.”
Gabby shook her head. “No, no, no, that can’t be. Twilight was sick. Spike wouldn’t lie to me. I got the . . . I got . . . I-I didn’t see him there. Or Twilight for that matter.” Her face fell.
“I’m terribly sorry, darling,” Rarity said, leaning forward and consolingly patting Gabby’s hand.
“I . . . I have to go. Really sorry about this, Rarity.”
“Oh, no, no offense taken, my dear. We can do this some other time. Please, go do what you have to do.”
Gabby slung her bag over her shoulder and took off with a flap of her wings. She soon spotted Spike walking down the street, headed towards the castle. She landed behind him. “Spike!”
Said dragon turned to look at her. “Oh, hey, Gabby.”
She began walking along beside him. “How’s Twilight?”
He stopped and turned to her, giving her a befuddled look. “What?”
“You know, the pony who’s practically your mom, the one that was sick on Saturday night?”
“Oh! She’s fine, thanks for asking.” He continued walking.
Gabby watched him go for a couple of seconds before asking, “Yeah? And Starlight? How’s she doing?” He stopped and turned to her. “I know what happened, okay?”
Stomping forward, Spike glared up at her and barked, “Yeah? Were you in the room with me, because I don’t think you were!” He turned to walk off, only for Gabby to grab his arm.
“You lied to me,” she growled.
“Don’t touch me,” he yelled. “Do you hear me!? Don’t you ever touch me!”
She sneered. “Why not!? Everypony else does!”
He gawked at her in shock before his expression hardened and he smacked her across the face before turning and running for the castle, while Gabby was left standing with a shocked look on her face. He ran through the castle doors and down the halls, not even bothering to say hello to Twilight on his way. He retreated to his bedroom, closing and slamming the door behind him before diving into his bed and hiding underneath the covers, breathing heavily. He wasn’t sure how long he spent lying there, but it must not have been for long because shortly after he covered himself up, he heard his bedroom door open and close.
“Spike?” Applejack’s voice called. “Spike? I just saw what happened, sugarcube. Gabby was completely out of line.” She spotted a lump in his basket and walked over. The lump quivered. “Spike? Honey?”
Spike inhaled shakily as he spoke. “It wasn’t what I thought, you know. My first time . . . I kind of hoped it’d be beautiful or something.” His voice cracked. “I’m so stupid.”
Not sure what else to do, Applejack gently began rubbing his back. “You ain’t stupid, sugarcube.”
He suddenly sat up, throwing off his blanket, wrapping his arms around his legs and rocking back and forth on his haunches. “I wanted it to work! I wanted her to want to be with me.”
“She did, Spike.”
He snorted indignantly. “Yeah, sure she did.”
She followed as he made his way to the adjacent bathroom. “You’ll see her again. There ain’t no reason to get so upset.”
Staring at his reflection in the bathroom, tightly clutching the sink, he finally broke down in tears. “I didn’t even want to do it, Applejack! I said no over and over again!”
Applejack’s expression became worried. “You said no?” She saw his reflection nod while tears streamed down his face. “And she didn’t listen to you?”
He shook his head. “She just pushed me down! She didn’t stop! She wouldn’t stop!”
Applejack came up behind him. “Oh, Spike, honey . . .” She gently put a hoof on his shoulder, only for him to gently brush it off. “If you said no and she didn’t listen to . . . that’s called rape.”
What little composure Spike had completely crumbled, the little dragon falling to the floor into a fetal position, rocking back and forth, whimpering, “No,” over and over again as he sobbed.
Surprisingly enough, Spike found himself to be in quite a good mood as he made his way back to the castle after he and Ember had said goodbye to each other. His spirits were lifted any higher when, upon entering the throne room, his eyes met those of both Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, both of whom were talking with Twilight. As he entered, their conversation came to a sudden halt and the couple walked over to him, bending down low to give him a warm, loving hug.
“Twilight told us about what happened,” Cadence said. She smiled and lovingly ran a hoof down his face. “Glad to see you’re holding up okay.”
“Well the better half of me is at least,’ Spike said.
Shining Armor laughed. “Nice to see that your sense of humor is still as good as ever.”
Spike suddenly became aware of the fact that Tempest was nowhere to be found. “Where’s Tempest?” he asked, looking around for her.
“She went out for lunch,” Twilight said. “I told her that you’d be fine with us.”
“Speaking of which, we were just about to grab some lunch. You in?” Shining Armor said.
“Like you have to ask,” Spike said.
“Good to see your appetite is still as strong as ever,” Cadence said. “Come on.”
The four of them made their way out of the castle and towards the local eatery, choosing to eat outside seeing as how pleasant the weather was. They grabbed a table, Shining Armor and Cadence taking a seat across from Spike and Twilight.
“We heard about what happened today,” Shining Armor said. When Spike gave him a puzzled look, he added, “You made quite a scene in town today with Ember.”
“She said she was sorry for anything she might’ve done that upset you,” Twilight added to the dragon. “She seemed really upset that you wouldn’t let her apologize.”
“So what, you’re on her side now?” Spike asked.
“No, I’m on your side,” Twilight replied.
Spike snorted. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“What was the big deal anyway?” Cadence asked. “I mean, it was just a little peck.”
Spike glared at her, balling his hand into a fist. “Oh, right, you’ll kiss any guy who offers to give you a smooch, won’t you?”
“No,” Cadence replied, “but I think it’s perfectly okay to kiss somepony you like goodnight.”
“Yeah, well, it’s easy to see why you got pregnant,” Spike said.
All three ponies gawked at Spike, then Cadence’s expression hardened. “What the hell kind of cheap shot was that?” She didn’t receive any answer from him.
“Spike, that was uncalled for,” Shining Armor said, glaring.
“Completely uncalled for,” Twilight agreed.
“What’s going inside your mind?” Cadence asked.
“Please, Spike, talk to us,” Twilight said. “We’re your family. You can talk to us about anything.”
“Why don’t you tell us what’s wrong?” Shining Armor asked. “We’ve known each other literally ever since you were an egg.”
Twilight nodded in agreement, then turned to Spike and added, “I tell you everything.” She put a comforting hoof on Spike’s fist. “Maybe we could help.” From across from her, both Shining Armor and Cadence nodded their heads.
Spike shook his head. “You can’t.”
Twilight sighed. “Alright, if that’s how you want it.” She turned to her menu and began perusing the items while the others did the same.
After lunch, Spike, despite Twilight being wary about him being out and about on his own, walked around Ponyville. During his walk, he happened to bump into Rainbow Dash. Grinning and giving her a friendly wave, he said, “Hiya, Rainbow.”
Rainbow, walking with her head lung low and her tail limp, simply muttered a silent, “Hi,” without so much as bothering to lift her head to look up at him.
Spike frowned. He grabbed Rainbow’s tail and pulled, jerking her back and preventing her from going any farther until she looked over her shoulder at him. Once he was convinced that she wasn’t going to make any attempts to run away, he crossed his arms and, with a questioning look, asked, “Okay, Rainbow Dash, what’s your problem?”
She blinked in confusion. “What are you talking about? I don’t have one.”
“You haven’t come up with a smartass comment for me for the past couple of days.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m coming up with some new material and I’m not ready to launch it.”
He laughed at that. “Oh, please, you and I both know that’s complete crap. As if you have a self-editing bone in your entire body. Besides, you never even had old material to begin with.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Okay, I’m going to talk about my feelings for a minute here, so bear with me if I’m not as articulate as usual. I’m not into the whole touchy-feely sappy thing.”
Spike grinned. “Now that’s more like it.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “It’s just . . . when I look at you and see all that pain and heartache in your eyes and I think about the pony who did this to you, I get so . . . mad. All I want to do is find the pony who did this to you and beat the living hell out of them!” Her expression hardened into a harsh glare as she said this, only to immediately transition to one of complete sadness as she went on, her voice cracking and eyes brimming with tears as she did so. “You’re my little brother, it’s my job to protect you,” she said, tears streaming down her face as she started to cry. “It’s one thing if I push you around, but nopony else can, not if I have anything to say about it. Does that make any sense to you?”
Spike’s face and heart completely fell. “Rainbow Dash . . .” he said, his own eyes beginning to brim with tears. He reached forward, only for Rainbow Dash to back away from him.
“Whoa, dude, not in public,” she said. Sniffling, she wiped her eyes.
“So, you’re doing okay?” Spike asked.
Rainbow nodded. “Couldn’t be better.” She turned and began trotting away.
“Hey,” he called after her. “Are you sure?”
Turning around and trotting backwards, Rainbow replied, “Yes, definitely sure!”
“Well, alright, then,” Spike replied, turning around and beginning to walk away himself.
It had been several days since the news regarding Starlight Glimmer had to come to light and in that time several ponies had frequently stopped by the castle solely to check in on Spike, only to be told by Twilight that he wished not to be disturbed and left it at that.
If there was anypony Twilight was worried about, it was definitely Trixie. The magician had been gone for almost a week and Twilight fretted that she may not ever return. While he wasn’t saying it, she knew for a fact that Spike missed Trixie terribly, as the two of them had been rather close despite their bouts of animosity towards each other that more than not frequently cropped up.
Tempest, for her part, despite Twilight telling her that she was relieved of her duties, insisted that she stay with Twilight and Spike, purely for Spike’s benefit as she seemed greatly concerned for him. She continued to go with him wherever he went, still insisting that she stand guard outside the bathroom while he did his business. She stayed with him in his bedroom as he slept, staying awake by drinking copious amounts of coffee and keeping herself busy, a feat she achieved by searching through each and every spellbook she could get her hooves on, trying to locate any spell that would help her restore her horn, only to come up short. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting; after all, she’d done this same thing back when she was a child, only to come up with the same results. By the time she’d met the Storm King, she’d gotten used to it, but she still couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get her horn restored to normal. She supposed that she was stuck this way; it wasn’t like it was a bad thing, either. After all, she was perfectly capable of defending herself if she found herself in a bind.
The only time Spike was able to get away from Tempest was when he told her that he would be going to somewhere such as Sweet Apple Acres or Rarity’s boutique and she felt fine with him going there as she knew that the ponies there could be trusted to look out for his best interest. Regardless, she insisted that she escort him there, if for no reason other than to make sure he got there safely. Thankfully, he didn’t resent her for this, as their journeys to his desired destinations led to many fascinating conversations between the pair. For one thing, he found her magic abilities utterly fascinating, as he had never seen anypony with the ability to shoot lightning out of their horn before, and she couldn’t help but grin smugly in response to this praise.
It was one day in particular that Rarity was fretting about needing somepony to watch over Sweetie Belle while she went off to Manehattan, and their parents unfortunately unavailable due to them being in Las Pegasus on vacation. Thus, Spike offered his services to watch her, and he arrived early in the morning to help her pack her things and see her off.
“I’m still not so sure about this,” Rarity said, looking anxious. “Are you sure it’s wise to leave for Manehattan right now?”
“Those ponies are expecting those orders,” Spike said. He shooed her away. “Go on. I’ll watch Sweetie Belle for you. If worse comes to worse, I’ll send her to Sweet Apple Acres.”
Rarity sighed. “Well, alright, if you’re sure.”
“I’ll have Twilight put protection spells around the boutique,” Spike said, pushing Rarity towards the door. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Well, if you’re sure, Spike,” Rarity said. She turned, giving him a grateful smile. “Thank you for doing this, Spike. You’re sure she’ll be all right?”
“She couldn’t be in any safer hands,” Spike assured her.
Rarity tilted her head, giving the dragon a concerned look. “And what about you, dear? How are you doing? Holding up well? Sleeping well? Appetite good?”
“For the hundredth time, Rarity, I’m doing fine.” He gave her a grateful smile in return. “But I thank you for your concern.”
She ran a hoof through his scales. “Alright. You know if you need anything, you just need to holler.”
He nodded and saw her off before closing the door and turning. “Okay, Sweetie Belle, how about some lunch?”
She nodded her head in agreement. “Mm-hmm! Sounds good to me!”
“Come on, then.” He led her into the kitchen. “I’m sure I could rustle something good up for you. I am a pretty good cook, after all.”
“So I’ve heard,” Sweetie said, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
“Okay, now, let’s see here . . . what have we got to work with?” he asked himself, opening up the cabinets to have a look around.
It was after lunch that Sweetie Belle left for Twilight’s castle, saying that she wanted to get a spellbook and try out some new spells. She requested that Twilight give her an advanced spellbook, but the alicorn declined, stating that a unicorn just starting out with learning magic should cover the basics first. Thus, Sweetie Belle soon found herself in the middle of the park, the spellbook opened up in front of her. The first couple of chapters talked about exactly what magic was and how unicorns used their magic. Being a little older yet still fairly young, Sweetie Belle already knew all of this, being raised around unicorns all her life, yet she still found it fascinating.
Two of the most basic spells a unicorn ever learns in their lifetime are levitation and teleportation. Teleportation requires a deal of skill and concentration, whereas levitation, while fairly simple, still requires a sharp mind. The amount of concentration required to levitate depends heavily on the mass of the object. It was for these reasons why, when Sweetie Belle first made an attempt at levitation, that she purposely chose something rather light, just to try it out for the first time. She chose a light stick – not skinny enough to be a twig but not thick enough to be a branch either. She set this on the ground and concentrated hard, squeezing her eyes shut. From within, she could feel the magic flowing towards her horn, coiling around it as if her horn was a spiral staircase, until, finally, the tip of her horn glowed a light green. She concentrated harder, putting even more power into her spell. Sparks of magic shot out of her horn and landed on the ground below. Her cheeks grew hot and her muscles ached from the physical strain that attempting the spell was putting on her. Desperately needing some fresh air in her lungs and to relieve of the physical strain she was under, she ceased trying to cast the spell and instead relaxed, taking a deep breath. She wiped some sweat from her brow. “Wow. This magic stuff is harder than it looks.”
“You can say that again,” a voice spoke up.
Sweetie Belle turned to see Starlight Glimmer smiling down at her. The older pony stepped forward, taking a seat beside Sweetie Belle, then, leaning forward, peered at the book that Sweetie Belle had opened on the ground. “Ah,” she said, leaning back. “You must be young, still undergoing the basics of spellcasting.” She looked down at Sweetie and tilted her head in confusion. “Didn’t your parents teach you anything about casting spells when you were younger?”
Sweetie shook her head. “No. My parents are wealthier than most, considering that we live in a two-story house. Most ponies can barely afford a two-bedroom apartment. Thanks to work, they get a lot of vacation time, so they’re away a lot.”
“What about your sister, Rarity?”
Sweetie looked up at Starlight in surprise. “You know my sister?”
“Pfft,” Starlight said, waving a hoof. “Who doesn’t? Your sister is only one of the biggest names in the fashion industry right now, not to mention all the times she’s helped save Equestria.”
Sweetie nodded at that. “I suppose that’s true. But, no, my sister hasn’t had the time to teach me anything regarding spellcasting.”
“I could tutor you if you want. I know a thing or two about casting spells.” She offered her hoof. “You wouldn’t be the first pony I’ve tutored in the magical arts. Forgive me, where are my manners? I’m Starlight Glimmer. And you are?”
“Sweetie Belle,” the littlest of the two unicorns said, shaking Starlight’s hoof.
“Well, Sweetie Belle, what spell were you working on?” She once more leaned forward to peer at the book. “It looked like you were attempting a basic levitation spell, is that correct?”
“Mm-hmm,” Sweetie replied, nodding her head.
“It’s actually fairly simple.” She straightened up again. “You needn’t strain yourself so much, otherwise you’ll end up popping a blood vessel or busting an artery.” She gave Sweetie an encouraging pat on the back. “Give it another try.”
Sweetie breathed in, then breathed out slowly. “Okay, here it goes.”
“In your mind’s eye,” Starlight said, “picture the object leaving the ground and floating up towards you.”
Sweetie closed her eyes and concentrated hard, doing as instructed, picturing the stick levitating off the ground. Unlike before, where she’d been physically straining herself, she relaxed her muscles and mind. As before, she felt her magic aura flowing throughout her body, ending in the tip of her horn glowing a faint green. Sure enough, the stick itself began to glow a faint green as well and, with the more power that Sweetie put into her spell, the stick began to rise off the ground. Despite having her eyes closed, she could still sense something happening. She peeked open one eye, then her eyes shot open in amazement as she saw the stick floating about a foot away from her face, and she broke out into a big smile. “I did it,” she cheered, pumping her hooves up into the air in triumph.
Starlight chuckled and wrapped the small filly into a warm hug. “Well done! I knew you could do it!”
Sweetie smiled up at Starlight. “Thanks! Could you teach me more!”
Starlight nodded. “Of course! I could become your permanent tutor if you really wanted me to.”
Sweetie’s entire face lit up. “Really?”
“Mm-hmm. Like I said, you wouldn’t be the first pony I’ve tutored in magic.”
Hearing this, Sweetie looked down. “Twilight Sparkle used to tutor me in magic, but it’s been so long since we’ve had a session. I guess she’s just too busy these days.”
“Well, it can’t really be helped, I suppose,” Starlight replied. “I mean, after all, she’s a princess now and princesses have a lot of responsibilities. It isn’t all fun and games, you know.”
“Could you teach me more right now?”
Starlight shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no. I’m supposed to be somewhere in a couple of minutes. I’ll let you know when I’m available, though, okay?” She lovingly ruffled Sweetie’s mane.
Sweetie giggled. “Okay. So, I guess I’ll be seeing you around town, then, huh?”
Starlight nodded. “Yes, you never can tell. It was lovely meeting you. Keep at that magic stuff. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll rival even Twilight Sparkle in terms of power.” She lenaed down and pecked Sweetie on the cheek. “See you around, kiddo.” Saying this, she straightened up and began trotting out of the park.
Upon exiting the park, she briefly stopped and looked around in order to get her sense of direction, to make sure that she was headed in the right direction. She took a left, knowing that her destination was on the outskirts of Ponyville. She was keen on visiting a certain pink filly that day, as the little filly had been on her mind as of late. Along the way, she spotted Sweetie Belle’s parents, her mother out doing her gardening while her father was busy fishing. Right next to the childhood home of Sweetie Belle just so happened to be her destination – Diamond Tiara’s home. She walked up to the front porch and knocked.
Randolph, the butler to the family whom Diamond Tiara was born into, answered the door almost immediately. “Yes,” he said. “How may I help you?”
“Is Diamond Tiara home?” Starlight asked, looking past Randolph inside. “I need to speak to her.”
Randolph nodded. “Yes, Miss Tiara is home, but I’m afraid she’s in no position to be seeing visitors right now. She is in the middle of piano practice, you see, and ––”
“Is surely in need of a break,” Starlight finished for him. “Could I just borrow a few minutes of her time?”
“I suppose, if Miss Tiara is willing, I could let you speak with her, however, it must be brief. No longer than ten, fifteen minutes.”
“That’ll do.” So saying, she made her way inside, making herself comfortable in the living room while Randolph called for Diamond Tiara.
The little filly sprinted into the room, seeming eager to get a break from piano practice, only for her face to fall when she beheld who her guest happened to be. “Oh, it’s you,” she said.
“We got off on the wrong hoof,” Starlight said, hopping off the couch and stepping forward. “Please let me make it up to you. Let’s start over with a clean slate. Hello, my name is Starlight Glimmer.” She extended a hoof in greeting.
Though reluctantly, Diamond shook Starlight’s hoof. “Diamond Tiara,” she replied.
“So, Diamond Tiara,” Starlight said, “what are you doing inside on a beautiful day like this? Shouldn’t you be out having fun with your friends.” She thanked Randolph as the butler set a tray containing snacks and a pot of tea and two teacups on the table that sat before them. She seized a snack and popped it into her mouth.
“My friends and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms right now,” Diamond Tiara replied, “which suits Mother just fine seeing as how she doesn’t much care for them. It’s nothing against them exactly, it’s just that they’re too immature.”
“Really, now?” Starlight asked, stroking her chin and raising an eyebrow.
Diamond nodded. “I want older friends, friends who are more mature and understand the inner workings of economics and business.”
“I see.” Starlight popped another snack itno her mouth. “I could probably help you out with that.”
Diamond looked up at Starlight in surprise. “You could? How?”
“I know this is quite sudden, given that we just met and all, but how would you like to come to a little get-together I’m having? All of the big business tycoons will be there. It’s kind of like a business convention of sorts. Who knows? If you bring your friends along, it might teach them a thing or two.”
“Hmm . . .” Diamond gave it some thought. “Well, I have been trying to make older friends, but I haven’t had much success lately. Where would this little get-together be? What time would it be? How long would it last?”
“I haven’t worked out all of the details yet. But, basically, it’ll be a meeting where we can discuss business and economics. Just the sort of thing a young upcoming business tycoon needs, am I right?”
Diamond Tiara couldn’t help but nod in agreement. “It would be a big help, yes, especially since I’ll be majoring in business and marketing after I graduate and go on to college.”
“It’s settled, then.” Starlight hopped off the couch and, turning and grinning at Diamond Tiara said, “Expect a letter from me in the next couple of days.”
Diamond Tiara blinked in surprise. “You can get it all together that quickly?”
Starlight nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
“Uh . . . okay, great. I . . . guess I’ll see you in a couple of days, then.”
“And now,” Randolph said, “if you please, Miss Tiara needs to get back to her piano practice.”
“Of course.” Starlight headed to the front door. Before leaving, she turned her head and told Diamond Tiara, “There aren’t going to be very many of there. After all, my village is quite small, so I advise you to bring a few of your friends, as many as you want.”
“Like I said, I haven’t had very much to do with my friends since they’re so immature,” Diamond Tiara said, “but I’ll see if I can’t convince them to tag along. One of them happens to be Applejack’s little sister. I’m sure I can persuade her to tag along.”
Starlight raised an eyebrow. “You don’t say. We’ll have to get together some other time when you’re not so busy. I’d love to hear more about your friends.”
“You got it. I’m free tomorrow. How about then?”
“Yes, that would work out very well for me. Feel free to stop by my village. We’ll have lunch and talk.”
“Sounds good.”
“I look forward to it.” With that, she opened up the door and stepped out.
One of the things that Starlight Glimmer prided herself on was her memory. Though, in this instance, she didn’t require her memory to get to her next destination – the mirror pool. It was just a good thing that Maud’s residence just so happened to be literally right next door to the mirror pool. Even so, she could’ve easily found the place without even trying, thanks to a helpful rhyme she’d found in a book, a rhyme that most children in Ponyville knew.
Oddly enough, Maud was not home at the moment. This Starlight found peculiar since Maud spent almost all of her time in the gem caves, as Maud liked to be by her lonesome most of her time. Starlight merely figured that Maud must’ve been hanging out with Pinkie. There was no way that Maud could’ve been hanging out with Trixie since nopony had seen or heard from Trixie in over a week. Thus, Starlight kept going, walking down a narrow passageway that led directly to the Mirror Pool. Soon enough, she found herself staring at her reflection, standing on the bank of the pool. “Hmm,” she said to herself, “now how did that poem go again?” After giving it a moment’s thought, it came to her instantly. “Ah, yes, yes, I remember.” She cleared her throat and began reciting the poem:
”And into her own reflection she stared
Yearning for one’s reflection she shared
And solemnly sweared
Not to be scared
At the prospect of being doubly mared”
So saying, she stepped into the water and came out on the other side. Stepping out, she turned, reaching out a hoof to help her double out. She grinned in satisfaction. “Worked like a charm. Now, then . . .” Her horn flared and her double did the same. She closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Momentarily, she felt a chill run throughout her body, and felt as if part of her own being had been drained from her. Opening up her eyes, she saw two more copies of her, standing by her double and the other standing by her. She grinned. “Excellent. Come along.” She turned and began leading the group out.
Despite his reservations about it, Spike and the others agreed that meeting with a counselor was their next best course of action for the time being. Rather than have Spike alone, Twilight, her friends, family, Tempest Shadow, and Ember all agreed to go together for emotional support. All of them were taken when, after getting seated in the office, a very small blue-eyed dalmatian puppy entered the room. She entered the room and took her seat behind her desk. Clearing her throat she said, “Good afternoon. My name is Cadpig and I shall be your counselor today. To start, I want to applaud Spike for being brave enough to share his story. The healing process isn’t easy, but with all of you” – she smiled as she observed the group of ponies collected together in the room – “working together as a family, this is an important first step.”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight said.
“I thought you were ashamed of me,” Spike said.
Twilight shook her head. “I wanted to believe my best of my student.” She shook her head. “I didn’t protect you.”
Spike shook his head. “I just a little kid.”
“Still . . .”
He leaned forward and squeezed her hoof, giving her an encouraging smile. “You’re here now.”
“So,” Cadpig said, clicking open her pen, “shall we get started?”
Spike took in a breath of air before glancing down at his notebook and reading from it. “‘What you did changed my life. I still can’t sleep without the light on. Sometimes I look under the bed, worried that you might be there. I made a mistake going upstairs with you, but, Starlight, you made more than a mistake. You made a choice.’”
Cadpig, sitting across from him, smiled approvingly. “An important distinction.”
Spike snorted indignantly. “Well, this whole thing” – he tapped his notebook – “belongs on her conscience.”
“And what about your conscience?” Cadpig lifted her mug of coffee to her lips and took a drink.
“I said no, so how could I be responsible?”
Setting her mug back down on the table beside her, Cadpig’s smile widened. “You’ve stopped blaming yourself. Very good. Excellent progress, Spike. And we’ll keep working on it.” She got up from her chair and walked over to her desk, grabbing a pen and beginning to write something down. “Same time next week?”
“Um, Cadpig, therapy is great and all, but ––”
“I strongly recommend we continue. I’ll pencil you in anyway.”
Getting up from his chair, Spike walked over to the office door. “Pencil away all you want, Cadpig, but it’s a waste of an appointment. I’m over this.” He started to turn the handle to walk out of the room, but suddenly stopped. Walking back over to Cadpig’s desk, he said, “Before I leave, I wanted to ask you about pressing charges against Starlight.”
She nodded. “Alright. We’ll have to set up a meeting with your folks.”
He shook his head. “No, I know that, but . . . what actually happens?”
“Well, the police will get involved. You’ll probably be asked to testify.”
He gave her a hopeful smile. “And then we can send her to jail?”
“If there’s enough evidence, yes.”
“Well, I did have all of those doctors exams.”
“And they reassured us that you were free of injury and that you hadn’t developed any STDs.”
He sighed dejectedly. “Which means we have no evidence.”
“Unfortunately, Spike, the longer you wait to report it, the less physical evidence there is.”
He frowned. “So, what, I could go to court, tell the truth, and I could still lose?”
“Possibly.”
“But that’s not fair.”
“Don’t get discouraged. If this is what you really want, then we’ll make the best case we can.”
“Forget it. I just thought I’d ask.” He turned and walked out of the office.
Spike wasn’t expecting to see Starlight waiting for him as he exited the building. They made eye contact, but he continued walking, pretending to not notice her. She called out to him, but he kept going.
“Hold on,” she called, trotting to catch up to him. Walking alongside him, she asked, “So, what’s in today’s plans? Some gem hunting with Rarity or helping Gabby with her rounds?”
“This is my town and I don’t want to see or talk to you again.” He quicked his steps, only to be surprised when she was more than able to keep up with him.
“Lighten up, alright. We had fun.”
“Fun!?” he shouted, turning around and glaring at her. “You think what you did to me was fun!?”
Starlight, noticing Applejack walking up to them, said, “Hey, hayseed, you were there at the party. Who was Spike dancing and flirting with that night? Me, right.”
“I said no,” Spike replied.
Applejack took Spike’s arm in her hoof and led him away before Starlight could get a word in edgewise. “I told Big Mac about what happened,” she said.
He looked at her in surprise. “You told Big Mac.”
“I wanted him to understand.”
“Well, what did he say?”
Applejack shook her head. “He didn’t believe me.”
“So, what, he thinks I wanted it, right?” He shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this. I’m going home.” He began walking faster.
“Spike,” Applejack called.
“Look, you were right, okay. I should have just gone home like you said.”
“Spike! Hey, wait up! Spike! What if I scheduled an appointment with the doctor for you?”
“Why should I go to the doctor?”
Applejack shrugged. “Oh, gee, I don’t know, maybe to check for STDs?”
“She made sure I wore a condom when we did it. Safe sex, all the way. I’m fine.”
Applejack suddenly turned Spike so that they were facing each other. “Now you listen here, sugarcube. What she did was illegal. You understand that, right?”
“And what about what I did?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong!”
“So I didn’t come on to her in front of everypony at that party?”
“Spike ––”
“I guess I didn’t ask her to go upstairs either.”
“You said no!”
“It doesn’t matter!” Turning, he began walking once again.
“It does matter,” Applejack replied, trotting along beside him. “Spike, you gotta report this to somepony.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t! I can deal with it!”
“Spike, you were sexually abused!”
He spun around, getting in her face and scowling. “Look! My business! My problem! Alright? I’m fine! Just leave me alone!” Turning, he spotted Pipsqueak speaking with Starlight. Pipsqueak’s eyes met his and the little colt ran up to Spike. “What were you doing talking to Starlight?”
“As if,” Pipsqueak replied. “She started talking to me!”
“No problem, just, uh, don’t be alone with her, okay? Somepony tried to warn me about her once and I didn’t listen. I know she seems nice, but ––”
“She is nice,” Pipsqueak said.
“How would you know? You talked to her for, like, five minutes!”
“Oh, get over yourself! Look, I know you guys had a thing for each other, and I know she never spoke to you again after that failed date you guys had. You’re just jealous. Get over yourself.” Turning, he stormed off.
“What in Celestia’s name was all that about?”
Spike turned to see Maud standing there with a bewildered look on her face. He walked past, mumbling, “It’s nothing, forget about it.”
“It was about some mare, right?” Maud asked, turning and chasing after Spike. She came to an abrupt halt, however, when Spike suddenly turned on his heel, facing her.
“You mean Starlight Glimmer?” he asked. “Equestira’s latest hero, savior of the Changelings? And ––” He choked back some sobs. “And Ponyville’s very own child molester.”
“What?” Maud asked breathlessly.
Spike nodded. “Yeah, she sexually abused me, and nopony in all of Equestria seems to be able to do anything about it.”
Maud stared down at Spike for several seconds before turning her head and glancing back at Starlight, who was now chatting it up with Rumble. She looked back down at Spike before turning and making her way towards Starlight.
“Maud?” Spike asked, running after her.
Maud completely ignored Spike, her hoofsteps heavy as she stomped over to Starlight, lifted a hoof, and struck her square in the jaw. Spike could only watch silently as a crowd quickly gathered around to watch the fight. Maud proceeded to kick Starlight in the stomach as the injured doubled over from the blow. Gasping in pain, Starlight rolled over onto her back, staring wide-eyed at the sky above. Maud stomped down on Starlight’s stomach, and Starlight groaned in pain.
“What’s the matter?” Maud asked. “Too much for you, Miss Pedophile?”
Starlight glared up at her. Her horn glowed, getting ready to attack Maud back, only for Twilight to completely envelope Starlight in her magic.
“Alright, break it up, everypony,” Twilight shouted. “There’s nothing to see here! What are you all standing around for? Get lost!”
“Spike, what is going on?”
Spike jumped, having been so enraptured in what was happening between Maud and Starlight that he hadn’t noticed Big Mac standing there. He looked up at the stallion and replied, “It’s nothing.”
“Maud attacking Starlight is not nothing.” As Spike turned to walk off, he grabbed the dragon’s arm. “Spike . . .”
“Big Mac, could you please ––”
“Something happened to you, didn’t it?”
Sobbing, Spike replied, “I just got what I asked for, right?”
“Nope,” Big Mac replied. “She was the one who took it too far, like Applejack said, right? Didn’t she?” He looked ahead of Spike to see Starlight. As the mare started to walk off, he started walking towards her. “Hey! Stop!” When Starlight kept walking, he picked up his speed catching up to her. “I said stop!” He grabbed her by the hoof and slammed her up against the side of Twilight’s castle. “You’re not going anywhere!”
Starlight sneered at him. “Hey, your sister came at me, dude. “
“You think that’s what this is about!?” Big Mac shouted.
“Big Mac, stop,” Spike said gently.
Big Mac glared down at the little dragon. “Stop?! How could you say stop?! She deserves it!”
Spike lifted a hand and gently pried Big Mac off Starlight. “Big Mac, please.”
Starlight smirked. “Big lug your boyfriend, Spike?”
Spike glared up at her. “I have only one thing to say to you, Starlight. Get ready because I’m coming after you this time! Not like Big Mac or Maud! For real!”
Starlight chuckled. “Is that a threat? Are you threatening me?”
“No, that’s a promise . . . bitch.”
“Alright, dragon. You want a fight, you got one.” With a flare of her horn, she was gone.
Spike looked up at Big Mac. “I think it’s time I repaid a visit to my therapist.”
“You’re sure?” Cadpig asked.
Spike nodded. “Twilight and I talked. I want to press charges.”
She grinned. “Good. So now it’s a legal matter. So no more conversations with Starlight.”
He smiled. “Fine by me.”
“So, is Tuesday okay with you?”
The jail was cool, in complete contrast to the early heat of summer outside. Twilight was relieved for the cool air as she sat at the visiting table and waited. She almost laughed when she recognized Starlight filing through the prisoner's door. She was wearing an orange jumpsuit. Twilight remembered reading about her arrest in the newspaper. She was currently awaiting trial. She hoped that she was locked away for a good, long while.
Starlight stopped when she saw Twilight at the table. She recognized her. She knew why she was here. Her eyes moved from side to side, as if looking for an escape route. Eventually, she smiled and sat down at the table. "Twilight," she said, "this is a big surprise."
"Not really," Twilight said. She took a moment to study her. She seemed unsure of how to act as she watched her warily. Her eyes traveled across a swollen nose and black eye (she discerned that these injuries were fairly recent), the dirty orange jumpsuit, the battered, bandaged hoof resting on the table top. "They don't like you much in here."
Starlight attempted a smile, but Twilight was anything but completely ignorant. She knew what the other jailers did to her kind.
"You know why I'm here," she said, her voice low.
Starlight nodded. "Your assistant."
She closed her eyes. "Spike," she said quietly.
"What?"
"His name is Spike." Her eyes snapped open. "You know that, and he is not a zero. He is not a nothing or a nopony. He is worth more than you'll ever be, you piece of shit." She realized she was trembling and forced herself to breathe. "You're lucky I can't touch you." Her voice was low and gruff. So unlike her. "Otherwise, I would have killed you by now."
Starlight swallowed.
She felt a glimmer of satisfaction. "I'm glad you're in here," she hissed. "I hope they lock you up for a very long time, and I hope the other jailers show you just how much they don't like you every single fucking night. Then you might know how it feels."
She suddenly felt very tired. She didn't want to be looking at the unicorn who had cast a dark shadow over Spike's life for so long.
She stood up. "I think we're done here."
"Twilight, wait." She put a hoof on top of Twilight’s.
Twilight stared coldly at it. Starlight pulled back and Twilight leaned down until their faces were very close. "If you actually get out of here, by some miracle, and you come anywhere near Spike or anypony in my family ever again, I will personally make sure you are physically unable to carry out your filthy misdeeds ever again. Do you understand me?"
Starlight nodded, her eyes wide.
"As I said, we're done here." She signaled to the guard and walked through the door.
She didn't even look back.
Spike was sleeping in his basket when she got home. She smiled slightly before going to the kitchen to fix herself some coffee, a habit she had picked up ever since she lived in Canterlot, and one she had been unable to kick since.
She stared out the window, the tiny espresso cup clutched in her magic. She wondered if she should tell Spike where she'd been.
"Hey."
Spike's voice was sleepy. Twilight turned to see him standing in the doorway, rubbing at his eyes. She smiled. "Hey."
"Where were you?" he asked through a yawn. "I got back from Rarity's and you were gone."
She hesitated, unsure of what to say as she watched him. "I went to see Starlight."
His reaction was immediate. He suddenly didn't look as sleepy.
They never talked about Starlight.
"Why?" His voice was scratchy.
She felt her heart clench a little. "Because we never talk about it." She put her still full espresso cup on the counter and started to approach him. "Because as much as you like to pretend it didn't happen, it did." She knew Spike knew where Starlight was. She'd made it a point to leave the article about his arrest on the coffee table. "And because if she does get out, I wanted to make sure she would never come near you ever again,"
Spike stood very still.
For a moment, Twilight was afraid he would bolt like a frightened animal. "Spike," she said softly, and closed the gap between them.
He stared into her eyes, pleading silently with her to make it all okay. She placed a shaking hoof on his cheek. He closed his eyes as she embraced him in a hug. The hug was soft and undemanding. All too soon it was over, and he rested his head on her chest as she ran a hoof up and down his spine. "It's okay," she said.
If Starlight was scared when she saw Twilight at the table, she looked positively terrified to see Spike sitting there as well. For a full minute, Twilight thought Starlight was going to run, but the unicorn squared her shoulders and walked over to sit with them. She had a scar on his face that Twilight hadn't noticed before, a fine silvery line that cut diagonally across her nose and left cheek.
Under the table, Spike gripped Twilight's hoof.
"I sure am getting a lot of visitors this week," Starlight said weakly.
Twilight only regarded her coldly.
"Twilight," Starlight said, "it's nice to see you again. And –" She broke off suddenly under Twilight's glare. She coughed. "Spike," he added, "you too."
For a long moment, no one spoke. Finally, Spike spoke very quietly. "I'm here because I'm not afraid of you anymore."
Twilight brushed her hoof across the back of Spike's hand, encouraging him to continue.
"I know I'm going to be able to walk away from this place and never have to think of you again, but I have no doubt that you've thought of me every night for the past year, and will think of me every night for the next year, and the next year after that, and after that." His grip on Twilight's hoof was so tight it was painful, but Twilight's face was impassive. "I'll forget you and what you did to me, but you will never be able to forget me. And that just kills you."
Spike didn't let Starlight speak. Twilight knew that Starlight had never heard Spike talk this much before.
"I'm also here to say that if, by some huge miscarriage of justice, you aren't found guilty, I'm willing to stand up and reveal everything you did to me to get you behind bars."
Twilight stared at him, unable to hide her surprise. Had Spike just decided that on the spot? Or was that the reason he had wanted to come here in the first place?
"I have friends, Starlight," Spike said. "Twilight is one of them. The rest of our friends. Hell, practically the whole town of Ponyville knows what you did." He was unable to completely conceal the bitterness in his voice.
Twilight squeezed his hand.
"For a child molester, you aren't very smart."
Twilight saw the way Starlight flinched at the word.
Spike's lips twist into an unpleasant smile. "Don't like to hear the truth about yourself?" he asked. "Well then, let me lay it out for you. You raped and molested me every night for over a year. You abused your position of authority over me, and told me I was so unimportant that nopony would care even if I did tell them. But you were wrong." He stared at Starlight for a moment, then turned to Twilight, his eyes sad and tired. "Can we go home?"
Twilight was already standing, pulling Spike up with her.
"This is over," Spike said. His voice didn't shake.
Outside the jail, Spike stopped suddenly. For a moment, Twilight thought he might collapse. She held him close and whispered into his ear, "It really is over now. It really is okay."
Gilda was standing outside the castle when the two of them arrived home. Hearing their footsteps, she turned and, gesturing between the two of them, said, “I’m looking for Spike the dragon, said to be living at this address. Which one of you is Spike?”
Twilight and Spike glanced at each other awkwardly before Spike stepped forward. Pointing to himself, he said, “Uh . . . I’m Spike.” He took the letter that Gilda handed him. He looked up at her. “Notice to appear?”
Gilda nodded. “You pressed charges in a sexual abuse case last week.”
Spike’s eyes widened. “Um . . wow! Really, now? Do I really have to appear in court? I mean ––”
Gilda shook her head. “You don’t get a choice. That’s a court order you’re holding in your hands right there. Look at the signature.”
Spike did so. “Majesty herself!?”
Gilda nodded. “Yes.”
“Will she be presiding over the trial?”
“She fought tooth and nail to get this case, but certain circumstances maintain that Celestia will be presiding over the trial. If Majesty wasn’t needed in Yakyakistan that day, she would be taking Celestia’s place as judge. She even tried to talk Celestia into taking her place so she could preside over the trial, but Celestia wouldn’t budge. So, I probably shouldn’t have to tell either one of you this, but if I were you I’d avoid Majesty for the next couple of days. She’s in one hell of a pissy mood.”
“I can well imagine. You will come to the trial, won’t you?”
Gilda shook her head. “I can’t make any promises, as I’m needed back at the Dragon Lands, but I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.”
“I advise you to get plenty of rest tonight. You’re going to need your strength for tomorrow.”
Spike nodded. “I hear you. So, is that all you needed?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You want to come in?”
Gilda shook her head. “Can’t. I’m supposed to be meeting Dash for lunch. You want to come with?”
“I think we’ll just order in,” Twilight said.
Gilda shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She turned and with a flap of her wings she was gone.
“Spike, why don’t you go get us something to eat?” Twilight suggested. She handed him a few bits.
“Okay.”
It was while he was walking back to the castle with a fresh pizza that Spike happened to bump into Starlight.
“Hey, Spike,” she called, walking up to him.
He stopped, taken aback that she was present in town. “What are you doing here?”
She smirked. “Did you forget that I can be in two places at once?”
“Oh, yeah. Look, don’t talk to me, alright.” He walked ahead of her, only for her to continue walking alongside him.
“Wait, Spike! I’m not stalking you, alright. I mean, for crying out loud, we’re in public! There are ponies everywhere! Can we talk? Please? Just for one minute?” When he gave no objections but rather kept walking, she resumed. “So, court, huh?”
“I’m not supposed to talk to you.”
“It’s going to be really horrible going through it all. Your family and friends hearing all the details. My family, your family. It was a really long time ago. I’m sorry. I should have listened to you. It was a huge mistake. If I could go back ––”
“Do you have a point?” he snapped.
She sighed. “Why are you doing this? Why go through all this? You could tell them you don’t want to testify. It’d be that easy. They’d have to drop the case.”
“If you don’t mind, my dinner is getting cold, now get out of my way!” He hurried along the dirt path.
“Alright,” Starlight called after him. “But you’ll think about it, right? I mean, maybe we never see each other again and you can forget all about it!”
“This isn’t good,” Twilight said, looking over the court order with her friends. “We’re going to need a really good lawyer.”
“I know just the one,” Rainbow Dash said. “Nix!”
“Who?” Twilight asked, blinking in confusion along with her friends.
“Come on, you know! About a year and a half ago, I was accused of murdering that pony Ace Swift with a storm cloud and that awesome lawyer guy you summoned, Twilight, he defended me and got me off the hook. His name was Phoenix Wright. Anyway, it turned out Ace Swift’s girlfriend ended up going to jail for a while.” She tapped her chin. “Come to think of it, she should be getting out fairly soon.”
“Oh, brother, not this again,” Applejack groaned. “Look, Rainbow Dash, for the last time, we told ya that was just a really bad dream.”
“But I remember it so well,” Rainbow Dash said.
“It was a dream,” her friends cried in unison.
“Hmph!” Rainbow Dash pouted, crossing her hooves and grumbling underneath her breath.
Pinkie Pie giggled. “You know, Rainbow, you’re kinda cute when you’re angry.”
“Ah, shut up, Pinkie,” Rainbow growled.
“So what are we going to do, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight sighed. “We’ll come up with something, we always do.” She suddenly looked up, noticing Rainbow Dash flying away. “Hey, Rainbow, where are you going? Come on, we didn’t mean anything by it, did we, girls?”
“Shoot, no,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, sugarcube.”
Rainbow Dash turned. “Oh, no, it’s nothing, you guys. I just got a lot to think about, that’s all.” She flew down the corridor and out the front door, mumbling to herself, “Maybe Gilda remembers. I mean, she was a witness in that trial, after all . . .”
Diamond Tiara was feeling more than a little excited as she walked down the dirt trails of Sweet Apple Acres leading to the Cutie Mark Clubhouse. “You guys!” she called. “You guys!” She ran up to the front door, bursting into the room. “You guys!”
“What?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I’ve got big news,” Diamond Tiara said, looking as if she was about ready to explode with excitement. “I got invited to this high-class party. All of the big wigs of Equestria will be there, talking business and economics. You know, all that jazz. It’s only for the most mature of us ponies. And the best part is . . . you can’t come.”
Apple Bloom laughed. “Like we’d want to come anyway.”
Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I’d figure you’d be all for it, Apple Bloom, considering the fact that your family is one of the primary providers of apples here in Ponyville. After all, your big sister pretty much runs this apple business all by herself.”
“Hardly,” Apple Bloom replied. “Me and Big Mac have helped out plenty of times. Heck, there’s been multiple times where Applejack’s let me run the market by myself. And she may be old, but even Granny Smith has been known to help out.”
“We’ve even helped out a time or two,” Scootaloo said.
“Sure have,” Sweetie Belle agreed.
“I figured you’d want to come too, Sweetie Belle,” Diamond Tiara said. “After all, your sister is one of the biggest names in the fashion industry at the moment. I come across her name all the time in the most well-known and highly-acclaimed fashion magazines in all of Equestria. Your sister has quite the track record, doesn’t she? She’s been known to design clothes for some of the big wigs of Equestria: Sapphire Shores, Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, even Sapphire Shores’ rival, Countess Coloratura, among countless others. Honestly, I’m surprised she and Applejack weren’t invited to this little shindig. I’m sure they could teach these ponies a thing or two about business and marketing.”
“Now who’s putting this party together?” Apple Bloom asked.
Diamond Tiara shrugged. “Somepony named Starlight Glimmer.”
“Did you say Starlight Glimmer?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yeah,” Diamond said. “You know her?”
“Of course,” Sweetie continued. “She used to be Twilight’s pupil. We were at her graduation party, remember, girls?”
“Oh, that’s right,” Scootaloo said. “It was the same day that she, Trixie, Thorax, and Discord all got their Equestira Pink Hearts of Courage.” She tapped her chin in thought, saying, “I wonder if they still have those.”
“I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” Apple Bloom said. “I mean, the Equestrian Pink Heart of Courage is one of the highest honors a pony can get.”
“So you three know her, do you?” Diamond said. “Well, in that case, you guys can come, but you have to promise not to embarrass me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Oh, please, I’ve seen the way you eat sweets, Sweetie Belle,” Diamond said.
Sweetie blushed while Apple Bloom nodded her head and said, “She does have a point.”
“Okay, we’ll come,” Scootaloo said. “When is it?”
“Tomorrow,” Diamond replied.
“Is Silver Spoon coming too?” Sweetie asked.
“Oh, that’s right,” Diamond said. “Starlight said I could invite as many friends as I wanted. I’d better go to tell Dinky, Peach Fuzz, Silver Spoon ––”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Apple Bloom said, putting a hoof to Diamond’s mouth. She spun the pony around and began pushing her towards the door. “Why don’t you go and do that?”
Diamond was still rattling off names as she made her way out of Sweet Apple Acres.
While the grown-ups were busy planning out their next move, Spike and Gabby were staring up at the night sky on the hilltop overlooking the local schoolhouse.
“Aren’t you supposed to go to court tomorrow?” Gabby asked, looking over at her dragon friend.
Spike sighed. “It was supposed to be tomorrow.”
“Wait. ‘Supposed to?’”
He shook his head. “I’m not going. I don’t really see the point.”
“Well, I do!”
Spike shrugged. “Well, okay, then, you can go!”
“Really? You’re not going?”
He shook his head, folded his claws behind his head, and crossed his legs. “Nope. I don’t need the trial. All that stuff happened well over a year ago. I’ve moved on. You know I have. Look, could we just not talk about it? Let’s just focus on us for right now.”
Gabby couldn’t help but smile. “I guess I’d be setting a pretty bad example if I turned that down.”
Giggling, Spike leaned over and gave her a peck. She cupped his face and kissed him. She pulled away. “Is this okay?” He nodded and she resumed.
“Mm,” he moaned. “Crickets sound like ––”
“Shh . . .” She leaned forward and began kissing his neck. Noticing him beginning to pull away from her, she gave him a concerned look and asked, “What? Did I do something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No. Sorry.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder and once again kissed his neck. “No,” he cried. “Stop!”
“What?”
“Stop! No!” He thrashed around on the ground, kicking and clawing at her.
She tightly gripped his arms, attempting to get him still. “Hey, Spike, come on.”
“I said no!”
“You’re okay.”
“I’m not!” He sat up, gripping his head, breathing heavily. “I’m not okay!”
She soothingly rubbed his back. “Spike . . .”
Still panting, he said, “I have to do it. I have to go.”
She smiled. “I’ll go with you.”
Spike found it next to impossible to sleep the night of the trial. He found himself constantly tossing and turning. His brain simply wouldn’t shut up. Sighing in frustration, he kicked his blankets off himself, hopped down from his bed, and made his way to the kitchen. Perhaps a midnight snack would put his mind at ease enough to where he could get some sleep. As he was bent over looking into the fridge for something sweet to eat, he heard a voice say, “Spike, what are you doing up?” He jumped, bumping his head on the shelf above him. Groaning in pain and rubbing the sore lump on his head, he turned to see Tempest standing there looking at him. “Oh, hi, Tempest.”
“You should be resting,” Tempest said. “It’s nearly four in the morning. What in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you doing up at this hour?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” Spike replied, retrieving a slice of strawberry cheesecake from the fridge and putting it on a plate. He turned, bending his leg and resting one foot on the cabinet door behind him as he cut off a slice. “What about you?” He popped the forkful of cheesecake into his mouth.
“That is of none of your concern,” she said. “Your concern should be putting together the best defense you can for the trial, which, if I’m not mistaken, is set to begin in only a few hours. You will need your rest. More importantly, you should be in bed. You’ll need to get up early in order to get ready.” She seemed to know exactly what he was going to say next because she shook her head and said, “You needn’t worry about trivial things like cooking breakfast or doing the dishes. Twilight and I can easily manage. You just worry about winning.” She went about fixing him a glass of warm milk and set it down on the counter he was leaning against.
“Thank you,” he said.
She smiled. “My pleasure. Have you heard from Trixie lately?”
He sadly shook his head, taking another bite of his treat. “Not a word. I still can’t believe she would just up and leave Twilight and me like that.”
“From my understanding, she felt as if she had not only failed you as a big sister, but failed Twilight as a daughter as well. It seems to me she felt that she was no longer needed here. She felt that you and Twilight didn’t deserve a pony like her in your lives.”
“Sure, she could be a little hard to get along with, but, still, I really did like her. She was like family, like a bigger sister.”
“And I’m sure she was very fond of you as well. Give her time. Maybe in time she’ll come to her senses and return. In the meantime, you have me.” She stepped forward and began lovingly stroking his scales. “I may not know what foods you like, what stories you like, or what your favorite songs, but I do know that I do love about you and care about you a great deal. I hope that’s enough until I can get the other things sorted out.”
“Thank you, Tempest. It really means a lot to me hearing you say that.” He turned, picking up the glass of milk and taking a drink.
“Well, I’ll be on my rounds. You be sure to get back to bed as soon as you’re finished. I want you well-rested for the trial. You hear me?”
He nodded. “I hear you.”
“I mean it, Spike.”
“I got you.”
“Alright, then. If you need anything, let me know.”
“Alright.” Smiling, he quickly finished off his slice of cheesecake, then quickly chugged the remaining milk in his glass, then, after putting both in the sink, made his way down the hall back to his bedroom, where he clambered into bed, feeling a dull warmth come from his blankets, the cheesecake and milk having made him feel cold.
Alas, sleep never came. Every little noise made the little dragon jump, making him quite restless. He began breathing hard, sitting bolt upright in his bed, his heart hammering against his chest. Sweat ran down his brow. Tightly clutching his blankets, he muttered to himself, “She’s coming . . . she’s coming . . .” He was sure he heard Starlight’s footsteps right outside his door. It soon became unable to bear it anymore, and he sprang to his feet, rushing over to his desk, grabbed his quill, dunked it repeatedly into its inkwell, splattering ink all over his desk, to which he paid no mind, and immediately began hastily scribbling a note, which, after he’d finished writing, he breathed on, and the note evaporated into a puff of smoke afterward. Now all he had to do was wait.
Within minutes, his request was met by the likes of not only Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts, but also Shining Armor, as well as a couple of royal guards, all of whom burst into the bedroom, looking around wildly.
“Alright, where is she?” Shining Armor bellowed. To his comrades, he barked, “Do a complete search! I want this castle searched from top to bottom!”
“You heard him, Wonderbolts,” Spitfire said. “Get moving!”
Alas, their search produced no results and Spike was left looking down at the floor in embarrassment, twisting his tail in his hands all the while. He sheepishly looked up at the group assembled in his room and said, “Oh, Celestia, I am so sorry! I am the biggest idiot in the world! I hate that you all had to come down here this late!”
“No,” Soarin corrected him loudly, placing a comforting hoof on his chest and giving him a warm smile. “You did the right thing! You were right to summon us!”
“Soarin’s right,” Spitfire agreed.
Spike glanced at the clock. “Jeez, look at that, it’s half past five in the morning. I might as well just stay up. I’m going to have to get up in just a couple of hours anyway.”
“No, you go ahead and get some sleep,” Tempest suggested. “You’ll get maybe two or three hours of sleep at most, but I’d rather you at least get a little sleep than no sleep at all. You needn’t worry. I’ll stand guard.”
“Same here,” Shining Armor said.
“If Shining’s staying, then I’m staying,” Rainbow Dash said.
“And if Rainbow Dash is staying, then I’m definitely staying,” Soarin said.
“Same,” Spitfire said.
Spike shook his head. “Really, you guys, you don’t have to do that. I just let my nerves get the best of me, that’s all.”
“Hey,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, “as Twilight taught us, it’s better to trust your instincts. Better safe than sorry, right?”
“Absolutely,” Spitfire said. “You go ahead and go back to sleep, Spike.” To the group she added, “We’ll work in shifts. Me and my group will work the first hour. When our hour is up, Shining, I want you and your gorup to pick up where we left off.”
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” Shining said, giving her a salute.
Smiling, Spitfire and the entire Wonderbolts group gave him a salute, then, turning, began trotting down the hallway.
Shining seemed to suddenly become aware of Tempest’s presence as he coughed into a hoof and said, “So, you must be Tempest, hmm?”
Tempest nodded. “That’s right. And you are . . .?”
Shining Armor puffed out his chest proudly. “Shining Armor, Spike’s big brother.”
“Ah, yes. You’re related to Twilight Sparkle, correct?”
“Mm-hmm, but Twilight hatched Spike when he was an egg. He came to live with me and my family, so he’s pretty much family. Besides, we all think of him as something akin to a little brother. What about you? What’s your relation to him?”
“Me? Oh, I’m here on bodyguard duty thanks to Twilight Sparkle. I follow Spike wherever he goes.”
“Even when he’s . . . well, you know.”
Tempest’s cheeks turned red. “Yes, though I am not in the room when he’s, well, doing that. So, you’re captain of the royal guard, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“Interesting. Tell me, where were you when I was busy laying siege to Canterlot back when I was working for the Storm King?”
Shining Armor grinned sheepishly, nervously rubbing his neck as he said, “Well, you see, I was on vacation with my wife and daughter during that time, so . . . there’s really not a whole lot I could’ve done to stop you.” He laughed. “I’m not very good at magic, you see. That’s more Twilight’s area of expertise.”
Tempest smirked. “That is the understatement of the century.”
“Tell me about it. My little sister’s always been great when it comes to magic. It’s not everypony whose magic impresses the Princess so much that the Princess decides to take them under her wing and have them be their protege.”
“Fat chance of Starlight getting a guilty verdict. I don’t understand how the Higher Council doesn’t see the flaw in this plan. Surely Celestia’s verdict is going to be biased.”
“That’s why they didn’t let Celestia preside over that trial a year and a half ago; they were afraid that Celestia’s ruling would be biased.”
“Understandable as that is, it doesn’t change the fact that we have little to no defense at all. We haven’t even begun to prepare for today’s trial.”
“Hmm?” Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “But aren’t you staying behind to look after the place? That’s what Twilight told me.”
Tempest nodded her head. “Yes, that’s right. Somepony needs to stay behind and clean house. Look at this place.” She swept a hoof across the floor, the entirety of her hoof coming covered in dirt, grime, and dust. “These floors look like they haven’t been mopped or swept in over a week.”
“Twilight did say that Spike had been slacking on his chores. Given what the poor little guy has been through over these past several days, I can’t really say I blame him. That’s probably why Twilight’s been so lenient with him lately.”
“Most likely, yes.”
“Ah, look the sun’s starting to come up.”
Tempest looked out the window to see that the sky was at least somewhat visible, the sun’s rays just barely making their presence known, lighting up the room they were in. “Twilight will be getting up soon. Perhaps Spike was right; maybe it would’ve been better for him had he just stayed up instead of going to bed at this hour.”
Shining Armor shook his head. “No, the little guy’s going to need his strength today. It’s just a good thing I got in bed by ten last night, otherwise I’d be exhausted by now. The others should be finishing up their shift soon.”
“Mm-hmm,” Tempest agreed, nodding her head.
A couple of hours later, Spike awoke, feeling weary given how little sleep he’d gotten, but still feeling better than he would have had he not gotten any sleep at all. The little dragon made his way downstairs to the kitchen to find that, true to her word, Tempest was stationed at the stove busily making flapjacks.
“Good morning, Spike,” she said, turning upon hearing him enter the room. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll make your plate just as soon as I’m making your breakfast.”
“Thanks,” Spike replied, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.
Just as Twilight was entering the kitchen and making herself a mug of coffee, an orange mare with a yellow mane and tail wearing a dark purple suit, a light pink scarf, and earrings entered the kitchen, setting down a file, a notebook, a pen, and a tape recorder down on the table, taking a seat across from Spike. “Alright, let’s get started,” she said. She removed a pair of reading glasses from an inner pocket in her jacket, flipped them open, and put them on. “We have no time to waste. We need to get started immediately.”
Spike blinked. “Ms. Harshwhinny?” he asked. “You’re a lawyer?”
“I was able to get in touch with her thanks to Rainbow Dash,” Twilight explained.
The pony indicated as Ms. Harshwhinny pressed the record button on the tape recorder, loudly clearing her throat as she flipped open the file in front of her. “Now, Mr. the Dragon, it’s my understanding that you have been repeatedly sexually abused by this pony known as Starlight Glimmer. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Spike said as Tempest set his food and drink in front of him. He immediately grabbed his fork, cut off a chunk of pancake, and popped it in his mouth.
“Now, according to the transcript from Miss Starlight’s deposition,” Ms. Harshwhinny said, reading from a paper, “you supposedly enticed her into sleeping with you. Is that correct?”
“No. When did she say I did that?”
“She claims that it was at her graduation party,” Ms. Harshwhinny stated, continuing to glance at her paper. “Several witnesses attest to the fact that you were gone for a considerably long amount of time.”
“Yes,” Spike said, nodding his head. “But I was with her the whole time.” He pointed to Twilight.
“Celestia can confirm this,” Twilight spoke up.
“As she has,” Ms. Harshwhinny said. “Several witnesses account for Starlight’s being present within the room throughout the entire duration of the party while you were off with Twilight and Celestia. Tell me” – she removed her glasses – “what exactly were the three of you up to during this time where you were alone?”
“We ––” Twilight began.
“Please, Ms. Sparkle, let Spike answer,” Ms. Harshwhinny said. She looked over at Spike. “Well?”
“We discussed what to do with Starlight now that she’d graduated from being Twilight’s pupil,” Spike said.
“I see,” Ms. Harshwhinny said, writing it down. “Is that all?”
“Basically, yes,” Spike replied.
“Mm-hmm,” Ms. Harshwhinny mumbled. “Spike, you are very close with Ms. Glimmer, are you not?”
“Very, yes,” Spike said.
“You were alone with her quite often, were you not?”
“Frequently, yes.”
“What would the two of you get up to during these periods in which you were alone with each other?”
“We talked.”
“About what?”
“Lots of things.”
“What do you mean by ‘lots of things?’”
Spike began counting on his fingers. “Magic, her past, my past, uh . . .” He stopped to think for a moment, taking the opportunity to take another bite of his pancakes while Tempest set Twilight’s food and drink in front of her. “Hmm . . .”
“If you can’t remember, that’s fine,” Ms. Harshwhinny said, once again writing something down. “Now . . .”
The questioning didn’t stop after Spike finished breakfast, nor when he left the castle. Ms. Harshwhinny also questioned him throughout the entirety of the trip to Canterlot. She knew, as well as Twilight, that the constant barrage of questions was straining on Spike, both mentally and emotionally, but she insisted that the more questions he truthfully answered, the better a defense they would have. The questioning continued on as the group made their way into the lobby and took a seat. It finally came to a halt when a gray mare with a dark brown mane and tail and an eye for a cutie mark walked up to them and, with a chuckle, said, “Enough, Ms. Harshwhinny. You’re going to wear the poor boy out to the point where he won’t have any energy to answer any questions that may come up during the trial.”
Ms. Harshwhinny nodded her head at the mare. “Understood. I’m just trying to be thorough, that’s all.”
“Naturally,” the pony said.
“Wait, I know you,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing at the mare, looking shocked. “You were Ace Swift’s girlfriend, weren’t you? Sonata Tarot, right?”
It seemed this inquiry struck a nerve with the newcomer because she glared at Rainbow Dash harshly and said in a cold tone, “Ms. Rainbow Dash, I suggest you understand this quickly. Allow me to make this as plain and as clear as possible for you: I was not, in any sense of the word, Ace Swift’s girlfriend. I was his manager and business partner, nothing more. Although, he did try to rape me on the night he died . . .”
“Sorry,” Rainbow Dash replied, looking down in shame.
“You have nothing to worry about, Spike,” Twilight said, wrapping a hoof around the dragon and pulling him close for a warm hug. “You have us to defend you. That’s why we’re here.”
“Why we’re all here,” a country-sounding voice suddenly spoke up.
Turning, Spike was left aghast at the group from which this voice had spoken up from, for not only did he see Applejack and the rest of Twilight’s friends there, but also Ember, Thorax, Discord, and, to his utter delight and surprise, the Great and Powerful Trixie. He ran up to her, giving her a warm hug. Pulling away, he suddenly drew back his hand and smacked her hard across the face. “Where have you been all this time? I’ve been worried sick about you!”
Sheepishly grinning and rubbing the back of her head, Trixie nervously replied, “I was on the rock farm, trying to make some extra money.”
“I can attest to the fact that Trixie has indeed been on the rock farm,” Maud said.
“Besides,” Trixie went on, “like I’m going to miss getting to see my little brother kick Starlight’s ass in court.”
“With Ms. Harshwhinny and I serving as the prosecution,” Sonata said, “we can’t lose.” She smirked. “I’m a little surprised to see you here, Trixie. After your humiliating defeat in court almost two years ago, I was thinking you wouldn’t want to be seen in a courtroom ever again.”
“Shove it, Sonata,” Trixie snapped through gritted teeth, sneering.
Sonata chuckled. “Still as hotheaded and ego-driven as ever, I see. At least Rainbow Dash has taken to humbling herself, unlike you.”
Trixie began to walk towards Sonata, her nostrils flaring as she bent low and angrily pawed at the ground.
Sonata laughed. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Surely you’re not thinking it a good idea to attack an employee of the Equestrian government. You thought your life was bad before? Go ahead and try it, Trixie. I dare you. I could make your life such a living hell more than it is now that you would be praying for death.”
Twilight got in between the pair, giving Trixie a harsh glare. “Don’t,” she advised. “It could look bad for us.”
“Hmph!” Trixie said, turning her head and glaring at Sonata out of the corner of her eye. “It’s just a good thing that I’ll be observing the trial through the gallery this time around rather than the prosecutor’s box. You should count yourself lucky for that, Sonata. But, it’s a shame, really. Had I known you would be involved in this case, I would’ve gladly stepped in to serve as prosecutor just so I’d have another crack at you. I would’ve wiped the floor with you.”
Sonata smirked. “Is that so? Well, looks like you missed your chance.”
“Sure,” Trixie agreed, “this time again. I’ll get my chance soon enough.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Trixie,” Sonata said.
Spike was surprised to see Night Light and Twilight Velvet present within the crowd. He ran up to them and gave them a hug. “Thanks for being her today, you guys.”
Twilight Velvet smiled and ran a hoof through Spike’s scales. “Oh, of course, honey, where else would we be? You’re going to do great in there.”
Spike sighed. “I just want all of this to end.”
Twilight Velvet nodded. “I know, and it will.”
“When she’s in jail,” Spike said, glaring daggers at Starlight as she entered the lobby.
“You seem optimistic,” she said, walking up to the dragon. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up if I were you. Let me tell you how this trial is going to go down. I’m going to be declared innocent and I’m going to walk through these doors a free pony.”
“Oh, you think so, huh?” Spike asked, sneering.
Starlight chuckled. “I know so. My father just so happens to be one of the most respected lawyers in all of Equestria.” With a smug smirk, she sauntered off to the other side of the room.
“I hate her, I hate her, I hate her,” Spike mumbled under his breath as smoke blew out of his flared nostrils.
“Ignore her,” Twilight Velvet whispered. “She can’t hurt as long as you’re in here.”
“Remember what we talked about in counseling, Spike,” Night Light said, “about why we’re doing this, so you can get some closure, so you can feel heard.”
“Spike,” Thorax said, bending down to shake the dragon’s hand. “Hey, Spike.” He waved at Twilight and Trixie. “Hey, Twilight. Hey, Trixie.”
“Hello, Thorax,” Twilight said, waving back.
“Morning, all,” Miss Harshwhinny said. She turned to Twilight. “Twilight, could I just have a quick word with you, please?”
Twilight nodded. “Sure.” She gave Spike a concerned look. “Are you going to be okay?” When Spike gave her a nod, she walked off with Miss Harshwhinny.
“Look,” Spike said to the group at large, “I appreciate all of you coming out, but none of you have to be here if you don’t want to. I think it’s all best if you guys just went home.”
Applejack sputtered her lips and limped her hoof. “No can do, sugarcube. We’re stickin’ to you like caramel on a candy apple.” She reached down and gave him a noogie.
“I don’t want any of you hearing all this,” Spike said.
“We all know what happened,” Trixie spoke up.
“Not the details,” Spike said. “When you hear them, you’ll have no choice but to picture it, and it’ll keep playing over and over in the record player in your head. Over and over and over again. You can’t stop it. You’ll all dump me as your friend and I’ll be all alone with nothing but my comic books to bring me comfort.”
“Parish the thought, darling,” Rarity said. “We’ll never dump you.” She wrapped him in her hooves, squeezing him.
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “We could never dump a dragon as cool as you and you just being here, doing this, is amazingly cool.”
“You said it, Dash,” Gilda agreed.
“I am to instruct the plaintiff and their co-counsel to make their way to courtroom number three,” one of the royal guard spoke up.
“That’s us,” Twilight said. “We’d better get in there.”
“Same as us,” Applejack said. To the rest of her group, she said, “Come on, y’all. We’d better get a good seat before all the good ones are taken.”
Spike sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
The trial started promptly at ten o’ clock as scheduled. It turned out that Starlight’s father, Firelight, worked as a defense lawyer from the small town of Sire’s Hollow. To Rarity’s dismay (“Good grief,” she groaned), Prince Blueblood was serving as Firelight’s co-counsel. The trial was quickly underway. Spike was immediately called to the stand and, after taking the oath, Firelight and Prince Blueblood began asking Spike many of the same questions that Ms. Harshwhinny had asked him just an hour or so prior. He answered them as truthfully as possible.
“So, Mr. Spike,” Firelight said, “would you describe your relationship with Ms. Glimmer as completely platonic?”
“Yes,” Spike said.
“Interesting,” Firelight said. “You seem to have a thing for older ponies, don’t you, Mr. Spike?”
“I don’t understand the question,” Spike said.
“You’ve been known to have a sexual infatuation with one pony known as Rarity,” Firelight said.
“Objection, Your Honor,” Ms. Harshwhinny said. “The defense is leading the witness.”
“Overruled,” Celestia said. She looked down at Spike. “Answer the question.”
“No,” Spike said to Firelight.
“You don’t have a plushie of Ms. Rarity in your bedroom?” Firelight asked, raising an eyebrow. These comment was met with a few bouts of laughter from various ponies in the room.
Spike’s face went red. “Well, yes, but ––”
“So would you therefore say that you have a sexual infatuation with Ms. Rarity?”
“No. Our relationship is completely platonic.”
“And yet despite that you have been known to ask Ms. Rarity out on several occasions, have you not?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Ms. Harshwhinny spoke up. “This question is irrelevant and has nothing to do with this case.”
“Overruled,” Celestia said yet again. “Witness, please answer the question.”
Spike’s face, if possible turned even redder. “Yes, I’ve been known to ask Rarity out on several occasions.”
“And she has rejected each time, hasn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“So would you say you are attracted to older ponies, then?”
“Not all, just one.”
“I see. You were alone with my client quite a bit, weren’t you, Spike?”
“Yes.”
“How often were you alone with her?”
“Quite frequently, usually whenever Twilight and her friends were out on a friendship mission or when Twilight was busy at night.”
“Did you ever force yourself on my client?”
“No.”
“Did you ever kiss her, say anything inappropriate to her, touch somewhere she might not have wanted you to?”
“No.”
“You never fantasized about making love to her?”
“No.”
“But you are guilty of fantasizing about making love to Ms. Rarity, correct?”
“I . . . I . . .” Spike began to sweat.
“Objection, Your Honor,” Sonata spoke up. “Your Honor, this question is inappropriate and has no relevance to this case.”
“Your Honor,” Firelight said, “I’m merely ––”
“Objection sustained,” Celestia said. “Mr. Firelight, please keep your questions appropriate and relevant to the case at hand.”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Firelight said. He turned back to Spike. “You do indeed have a crush on the pony in question, do you not, Spike?”
“Yes,” Spike replied.
“Did you ever find yourself having similar feelings towards my client?”
“No.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, I’m absolutely sure.”
“I see. Going back to what you said earlier, what would you two get up to during these periods in which you were alone with my client?”
“Usually, we talked.”
“Did you do anything else?”
“Nothing, aside from cooking together.”
“What things would you talk to my client about?”
“Several things.”
“Could you be more elaborate, please?”
Spike took a moment to think and listed off as many things as he could.
“Thank you,” Firelight said. “Are you a virgin, Spike?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Ms. Harshwhinny said. “Your Honor, I fail to see what this question has to do with this case. Besides which, it’s highly inappropriate.”
“Objection overruled,” Celestia said. “Witness, answer the question.”
“No, I’m not,” Spike said.
“You are quoted as saying, just before my client’s graduation party, that you intended on having a good time at said party. What did you mean by that?”
“Well, doesn’t everypony?” Spike asked.
“You bet,” Pinkie cried.
“Order,” Celestia barked. “Ms. Pie, another outburst like that and I’ll have you removed from this courtroom. Is that clear?”
“Right, sorry,” Pinkie said.
“Ms. Spike,” Firelight continued, “what did you mean when you said that you intended to have a good time at this party?” Firelight asked. “Was it perhaps that you intended on getting my client drunk and having your way with her afterwards? Were you perhaps intending on drugging her and forcing yourself on her, hoping that she wouldn’t notice? Did you go upstairs willingly with my client? Did you not in fact suggest it?”
Spike nodded. “Yeah.”
“Why did you do that?”
Spike swallowed hard. “I just thought that ––”
“Thought what?” Firelight asked. “Play cards? Crazy eights?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Miss Harshwhinny barked.
“Rephrase the question,” Celestia ordered.
“Mr. Spike, what was your intentions in going up to that room?”
“I just thought that we’d be alone together,” Spike said.
Firelight raised an eyebrow as he asked, “And you find my client attractive?”
“Yes, I did. Before.”
“When my client kissed you for the first time, did you immediately reject her? Stop her? For the record, please.”
Spike shook his head. “No.”
Firelight nodded. “This is very difficult for you, I know, but when my client touched you, how did you respond? Did you enjoy it?”
“No. Well, at first, yes, I did.”
“You’re telling us, for the record, Mr. Spike, that you did. Did my client ever threaten your life? Did she put a knife to your threat? Threaten you in any way, shape, or form?”
“No.”
“Did she not in fact make sure that you wore protection?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t make her ––”
Firelight held up a condom. “You could show me how he maanged to open up one of these and roll it onto your penis without offering you a chance to get away, if you wanted to, could you not?”
Spike sneered. “I said no! She’s bigger than I am! Stronger, even. I . . . I was afraid. I . . . I’m not sure.”
Firelight smirked. “Oh, so you don’t know? How many ponies have you had sex with, Mr. Spike?”
“Objection,” Sonata bellowed.
Spike began to sweat.
“Spike!” Ember suddenly called out, standing up and giving him a piercing glare. “A dragon never yields. Even when wounded, a dragon bites down hard and never lets go until its dying breath! It glares, it roars, and it latches its jaws firmly onto its prey until the bitter end!”
“Order in the court,” Celestia bellowed, pounding her gavel. “One more pony speaks out of turn and I’ll have them held in contempt of court! Is that understood!?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Ember said, taking her seat. “Understood.”
Ember’s encouraging comment seemed to have given Spike some resolve. “Actually, I’d like to answer that question.” He sat up straighter and sneered at Firelight. “That was my only experience and I certainly would not have chosen to lose my virginity upstairs at a house party with a pony I’d known for only a couple of months!”
“You make it sound as if you were completely defenseless,” Firelight said, “which couldn’t possibly be the case given that you are a dragon and therefore, are much stronger than the accused, are you not?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Sonata spoke up. “Your Honor, may I remind the court that the plaintiff is, in every sense of the word, a baby dragon and therefore physically unable to defend himself.”
“Yet he still has the ability to breathe fire,” Firelight said. “He could’ve easily defended himself.”
“Not if she was using magic,” Spike spoke up. “She physically restrained me with her magic, to where I couldn’t move at all.”
“That hardly matters, given that you could still breathe fire,” Firelight stated.
“She used her magic to cut off my windpipe. I have witnesses who can attest that she has this ability, given that they’ve seen her do it themselves to another one of my friends.”
“Is that so? Then kindly point them out.” Once Spike had done so, he added, “That hardly matters, given that there were no witnesses available at the time, doesn’t it?”
“But it’s still a possibility,” Ms. Harshwhinny said.
“That, it is,” Firelight agreed, nodding his head. To Celestia, he added, “No further questions, Your Honor.”
Celestia looked over at Ms. Harshwinny and Sonata. “Would the prosecution like to cross-examine the witness?”
“No, Your Honor,” Sonata said.
“Very well, then,” Celestia replied. She turned to Spike. “You may step down.”
The trial lasted for quite a while, culminating in Starlight being questioned by the plaintiff, followed by her being cross-examined by the defense.
After a short recess, the bailiff bellowed, “All rise!”
“It’s good that she’s ready with the verdict already, right?” Spike asked Miss Harshwhinny and Sonata.
“Sure,” Miss Harshwhinny replied, lifting her glass of water to her lips and taking a sip.
“Yeah, sure it is,” Sonata agreed.
“First and foremost,” she said, “I would like to say that Spike’s testimony was extremely compelling and I want to applaud him for having the courage and the strength for doing what he did here today. It’s the kind of case that keeps me awake at night because it’s not the kind a justice in my position wants to hear. However, it pains me to say that, given that there are no eyewitnesses and no physical evidence, I have no choice but to find the defendant not guilty. Miss Starlight Glimmer, you are are hereby cleared of all charges and are free to go. Court is adjourned.”
The sound of Celestia pounding her gavel was drowned out by every single pony in the courtroom letting out an expletive at the same time.
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Most of this flies in the face of your existing timeline. Before this you heavily implied that Starlight had been molesting Spike for a good chunk of her time as Twilights student. Applejack was not aware of any of Spike’s problems with Starlight. Why would Spike accept that Starlight was out of prison to ask him about his plans before the trial. She should have been locked up. If she could get out on bail she would have done so long before she was physically scarred.
As for the trial examination is done in the order of the lawyer who called the witness first. The prosecution would have called Spike as he would likely be their only witness unless they called someone up as a character witness. As well Firelight both leads and badgers Spike, both of which would be shut down by an impartial judge. Also if Starlight gave a deposition for the court record they would want Spike to as well. Deposition is done with both sides lawyers or councils present as well as a stenographer. Harshwhinny talks about Spikes defense when that doesn’t apply, she might instead refer to it as his testimony. Also cross examination is only waived when a lawyer would think it wouldn’t help their case. The prosecution would want to get Spike to testify to the effect of what happened because it would add credibility to his accusations. Starlight would almost certainly be called to the witness stand either by the defense if they wanted to add to her credibility or by the prosecution to try to pick apart her testimony or character. Also Celestia would not be forced to do something because of a lack of evidence or witnesses. Spike is an eye witness. If Celestia is acting a both judge and jury she would no doubt award the verdict based on what she believes by the end of it. Unless all of this is based on Phoenix Wright court proceedings in which case Starlight would almost certainly be found guilty just because she has no proof she didn’t do it. The Phoenix Wright games are heavily based on Japanese courts which literally have over a 99% conviction rate.
10516602 Thank you for your comment.
This is true, as we saw in The Social Network.
Someone kick her ass!
10528932
10529091
Exactly.
The inconsistencies in the character development is going to kill me
10538634 Care to elaborate?
Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! 
Congratulations you just trashed Starlight’s character, I hope your happy. She’d never do what she did to Spike in this story. Look I respect your opinion and I do find this story interesting but did it have to be Starlight who raped Spike, you could’ve just used an OC, sorry if I was mean.
10550526 No, I understand.
Except, Cadence was in Canterlot at the time.
Why did you take the chapter down? Was it just because it happened to have similarities to a South Park episode?
10538703
Angry Ramen is probably referring to Spike's mindset switching between "It's not my fault and ponies support me" and "It's my fault and nopony cares" at each line break.
10561328 That's right.
10563166 Yes.
10563176 Interesting. I never got that impression.
10585568 As I you, but I personally don't count the IDW comics as canon.
10585837
I don't use OCs. This takes place in an alternate universe. And it's not like I'm the first person to do something like this with her character.
No.
Huh?
I'm confused. Where did you get that idea from?
You'll find out in the next chapter.
10585885
He told Gabby not to touch him.
10585885
About the Starlight thing, yeah I know you’re not the first one to make her an OOC hate-sink, that doesn’t mean I like it though, like I said I’m not mad at you.
10585910 That wasn't in the flashback, though.
10585914 Considering all he progress she made throughout seasons 6-9, that's more than understandable. But her actions in episodes such as "Every Little Thing She Does" and "Marks for Effort" make it easy to write a story set in an alternate universe where she was only faking her reformation as a means of getting out of any severe punishment for what she did.
10586331
Starlight faking reformation, how absolutely hilarious, she appreciates deviousness that is true, but Discord talks about his old villain days with a smug smile on his face and he´s clearly still reformed so I can buy Starlight being reformed but not completely losing her villainous side, which is realistic for somepony like her, all Starlight did was just make one comment. Okay if Starlight is faking reformation then why stop there? maybe Discord´s faking, Trixie´s faking, Tempest is faking, maybe even Luna´s faking oh but wait they are not, they are all genuine and the guilt Starlight carries is actually genuine, but it is interesting to think about.
10586416 I hate Discord.
10586518
(Spittakes)But he is portrayed somewhat positively here, I understand why you hate him though.
The part where Starlight starts to rape Spike should probably be toned down a little, it's pretty explicit for a T rating.
Also as far as her writing overall...she's cartoonishly evil. She really shouldn't just go from 0 to 100 like that, particularly unemotionally towards Spike. If she's lambasting him for failing, it should be shown as out of anger, not just...cold callousness.
11542790 Thanks for the constructive criticism! Really appreciate the feedback!