You and I, Me and You

by thewaffler

Way of the Dragon

Within the cozy lounge of one of Sea Saddle’s grandest nightclubs an entire packed club sat in tense anticipation as the stage was lit up for the that night’s musical guest. The stage itself was set with a myriad of musical instruments including key small piano, few tambourines and an acoustic guitar.

A lone dragon walked on stage and gave a nod to the audience and sat down before the piano with a grin on his face, a few whistles pierced the silence as the dragon winked toward the crowd and his claws descended upon the keys before him. The crowd respectably held back their sudden urge to cheer, and applause as the purple drake filled the room with the soothing sounds of an artist at work. While most dragons would probably find such a specialty baffling and lacking in true draconic charm; Spike was very much unlike other dragons. Whereas other dragons at his age would be roaming the land searching for treasure to add to their small hordes, Spike actually found wealth to just be just a simple bonus to a career that suited his taste. While other dragons would be setting obstacles in their way aflame with their dragon fire, Spike preferred to smooth talk his way around problems and let things be. Other young dragons would be challenging one another to battles for dominance, and attempting to woo dragonesses, Spike......

This musical interlude was brief and used to get the crowd riled up and ready for the show.

Scaled ears perked slightly as the sound of hooves stepping onto the stage joined the piano’s soft folk melodies, from the corner of his eye Spike caught sight of a pink and purple maned white unicorn passing him and stopping at the edge of the stage in a simple sundress.

A female voice beautiful enough to nearly outshine the piano’s tunes sang to the entirety of the large room, casting an alluring spell that probably caused a few stallions to see hearts, and mares to glare at their dates.

Spike had chosen to give his heart to a young mare, whose long sought out talent was singing and together they formed the folk duo of Purple Serendipity.

As her voice flowed into his ears, fueled his soul, and drove him to play at 110%, Spike couldn’t help but think back to how this wonderful decade together had started.

---

(Totally a Flashback)

Though it would be quite some time before Spike, and Sweetie Bell tie the knot, or even fall in love the two had become good friends after the events of Twilight’s brother’s wedding and would stay so for quite a while.

It had all started with a simple bumping into one another while busting a move on the dance floor, and things just kind of clicked. Neither had any qualms with cutting the rug alongside a dance partner and once the filly and baby dragon had tired themselves out they found that their friends had scattered. Applebloom was attempting to learn more about the salespony trade from her older sister, Rarity was fawning over Fancy Pants, and Scootaloo was at Rainbow Dash’s beck and call hoping to catch her attention.

With no one else to hang out with Spike offered to stay by the lonesome filly and they started to talk. Spike learned that Sweetie Bell shared his interest in music, Sweetie learned that Spike might be one of the few creatures that actually enjoyed her cooking (as hardened burnt food had the same texture as the coal from which gems are born from) and both decided that for now on they should be good friends.

Though Spike never intruded on any official Cutie Mark Crusader business, it wasn’t unheard of to see the purple drake lending the fillies a hand with their hi-jinks or to see the young unicorn frequent the library from time to time. It was actually during one of Sweetie Bell’s visits to the library that the two became truly bound together.

It had been a slow day at the boutique, so with nothing better to do with herself Sweetie Bell made her way to the large tree that her scaled friend resided in with his adoptive older sibling Twilight Sparkle. Since the tree home was still considered a library, it wasn’t rare for ponies searching for literature to just walk right into the abode and wait by the desk, being the friend of the librarian’s assistant meant Sweetie had full privilege to prance right in.

“Hello?....Anypony home?” Strange enough the young unicorn’s entrance and call had gone unanswered leaving a rather confused filly standing alone in the middle of the waiting room.

It was unusual to not see Spike sitting behind the checkout counter or with a book cart. ‘Come to think about it, he was more the town’s librarian than his caretaker.’ Sweetie shrugged. It would seem that Twilight was out, and had taken Spike with her. With sigh the young filly was ready to head back out the door when she noticed a muffled sound entering her ears. If not for the silence that dominated the empty library Sweetie Bell might not heard the noise that as she concentrated sounded like some sort of instrument.

With her curiosity piqued the filly walked past the desk, and made her way past the kitchen the deeper she moved into the living section of the tree the easier to pick up the noise became. Sweetie Bell’s wandering came to end once her path was blocked by an oak door, the sound now identifiable as the melodies from some sort of piano seemed to have originated from behind it.

With as much stealth as the little filly could muster, Sweetie Bell gently opened the door, and was greeted by a descending staircase the led to the library's basement. The now clearly identifiable piano keys being played sounded off even louder, and Sweetie Bell couldn’t help but slowly take step after step downward until she reached the bottom. All around the surprisingly well kept basement laid stacks of old books, boxes filled items that Twilight must have found useful to some degree, and a familiar looking dragon hunched over a keyboard as he sat upon a stack of old encyclopedias.

So caught up in playing the keyboard before him, the baby dragon was completely oblivious to the purple and pink maned filly now standing next him as she tried to figure out why the tune seemed so familiar. As Sweetie Bell gazed at the drake continuing to play, she began to hum along with the song slowly revealing itself in her head. An image of a linen white album cover materialized within her mind and suddenly she knew the song’s name.

♪♫ “...All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise...” ♪♫

Within the hazy bliss Spike had lost himself as he played the keyboard, a oddly familiar voice suddenly began to accompany his little solo.

♪♫ “Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly. Into the light of the dark black night.” ♪♫

Tearing his daydreaming gaze away from the instrument as he continued to play, Spike took in the sight of a certain unicorn sitting next to him as she sang away completely synched with him. A stray thought entered the dragons mind, and for a moment Spike considered stopping so that he could ask Sweetie Bell what she was doing down in his basement. The thought was quickly dismissed as Spike watched a smile grow on the filly’s face and his heart skipped a beat for the slightest of moments.

♪♫ “Take these broken wings and learn to fly all your life” ♪♫

For a few more minutes Spike continued to play as Sweetie Bell sang the lyrics the two in perfect harmony. As the light purple maned filly spoke the last verse Spike finished the song with a flourish, and rose to finally question his guest on her unexpected visit, or at least that was the plan.

“Can we play a little longer?”

Many songs later

Now that both parties were thoroughly satisfied Spike turned toward Sweetie Bell as he rose from his seat, a question had been nagging him for a little bit now and this was the perfect time to ask it. “You know Sweetie Bell you never told me that you took singing lessons, who’d you learn from?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, the young filly shrugged and drew invisible circles on the basement floor. “No pony ever taught me really....I just kinda like to sing from time to time.”

Spike’s eyes widened at his friend’s statement, sure he was decent with a piano but that was because Celestia had him practice a lot back when he still resided in the castle. To think that Sweetie was this good and that she was self-taught was incredible. “Lessons or not you really do have a great voice, you ever think of trying that as a talent, or something?”

Spike’s compliment caused the filly to blush, and she suddenly found the surrounding books quite interesting as she replied. “W-well not really...I’ve always just considered it as a kind of hobby of mine.”

“You should try showing off that voice to some of the others Sweetie Bell, I’m sure a lot of ponies would really enjoy hearing you sing.”

In a fashion that reminded the drake of a certain yellow pegasus he knew, the filly before him seemed to be attempting to hide behind her mane as she looked in every direction but his. “I don’t think I’d do that great Spike, singing with you or the Crusaders is one thing, but in front of a crowd...”

“Hey, I played in front of a disgruntled mob of pony settlers, and buffalos, AND that was with Pinkie Pie as the singer. Green eyes narrowed, and taking a suspicious glance to his left and right Spike quickly moved next to a surprised Sweetie Bell and put his arm around her shoulders. “And between you and me, Pinkie can’t carry a tune to save her love of parties.”

Sweetie Bell giggled at the mental image, though her face heated up from the sudden close contact something that luckily ended as quickly as it started when a second later Spike strode back to his original position. “Well maybe I’ll give it a try...but I don’t think I can handle a crowd without Applebloom and Scootaloo to back me up.”

“Well that’s no problem, I’ll help you out.” Spike grinned ear to ear as he began tidying up the area he had using to play the keyboard.

“Y-you will? But how are you going to do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’ll play my keyboard that way you have someone to make you look good.” Spike turned back towards the filly, and extended his right hand, the grin on his face still present. “So what do ya say, deal?”

Confidence boosted thanks to the dragon’s words Sweetie Bell allowed a similar grin to show on her face as she extended her own hoof, and shook Spike’s hand. “Alright, deal!”

Within a few days the duo performed for the first time in front of a incredibly impressed crowd, and as the icing on the cake Sweetie Bell earned her cutie mark. Right on stage as her lungs filled with air from her last intake a sudden ice cold feeling on her flank caused the filly to go lightheaded and nearly lose her footing. The crowd gasped alongside Sweetie Bell as she turned to view the three bright gold treble clefs that sat over a deep red heart all tattooed onto her flank similar to her sister and her friends. Words could not express the amounts of joy that filled the young unicorn as she glowed with pride at having found her talent, a few feet away a certain dragon smiled happily at seeing his friend so happy.

“Congratulations Sweetie Bell! See I told you, y--” The rest of Spike’s sentence went unfinished as the enthralled filly screamed with glee and in a moment of excitement latched onto the talking drake so she could silence him with an appreciating kiss.

The awkward moment that followed after would set the groundwork for something much bigger, as that one little kiss sparked something deep between them. In the following years Spike and Sweetie Bell continued to play together professionally eventually forming a band called Purple Serendipity, and happily enough even getting married. The decade that followed was possibly the happiest of the duo’s lives so far, never tiring of one another’s company, and the love between them growing stronger and stronger.

---

Spike’s moment of retrospection ended as Sweetie Belle sung their closing ballad.

♪♫ “...Goodnight my dear. Sleep tight I'll see you, in my dreams. Please don't cry. The time will fly. It's hard to believe, that it's time to go. I know but baby, I'll be right back here in a week!”♪♫

The club erupted into heavy cheering, as the duo on stage took a brief bow.

“You’ve all been an amazing crowd! Thank you so much Sea Saddle!!!”

Spike and Sweetie Bell shared a love filled look with each other and exited the stage just as the club owner took center stage to announce that they would be signing autographs and that t-shirts and copies of their latest album were available.

With their gig at the Four Winds Music Hall ending with a hearty round of applause, the couple went out for the night before returning to their room at the Varvaner Hotel, happy that their tour had come to a successful end and they could finally relax.

“You know what the best thing about doing a gig in this city is Spike?” As the purple dragon opened the door to their suite, and his wife danced past him, Spike couldn’t resist the toothy grin that spread on his face.

“Getting paid to do something we love? Seeing the hundreds of adoring fans that enjoy our music?” The unicorn’s giggle in reply filled the luxurious room with its enchanting tone, causing Spike’s eyelids to droop lazily.

“No silly!” With a delighted cry akin to a filly finally getting her cutie mark, Sweetie Bell flung herself onto the plush king sized bed that sat in the middle of the room. “It’s getting to fall asleep in the comfiest beds in all of Equestria!”

Spike rolled his emerald eyes sarcastically as he shut the door behind him, and made his way toward his smiling wife, and admittedly a very alluring bed in more ways than one, but the show had taken too much out of them for any other activities. “Of course, what was I thinking?”

Spike had everything that a guy could want, he had a career he loved, produced music that ponies actually enjoyed, and beautiful mare that adored him as much as he adored her. Yet every night as the dragon laid in bed with his precious special somepony cuddling him in her sleep, a dark fear would gnaw at the edge of his thoughts. Spike was a dragon and no matter how much he loved Sweetie Bell, no matter how many unhealthy habits he could force himself to pick up...he would live long past the dreadful day when the ravages of time took a hold of his loved ones.

One day every non-alicorn pony that Spike knew would pass away; all he would have is his memories of the friends he made, the family that loved him, and the unicorn that his heart belonged too.

“For Celestia’s sake I must be the only dragon struck with self-loathing, this is depressing.” Making sure to be as gentle as he possibly could, Spike moved himself from under his still snoozing wife, and quietly left the bed. His scaled feet making a near inaudible clacking as he left the bedroom and prowled into the kitchen, Spike decided that now was a great time for a nightcap. Digging through the generously stocked cupboards, and a looking through the refrigerator Spike considered himself lucky to have stumbled upon a bottle of coffee flavored rum: Latte’s After Hours Blend, to be exact.

As he crafted himself a drink strong enough, yet pleasing enough in flavor to suit his taste Spike couldn’t help but dwell on the dark thoughts that caused him to rise from his rest. Now in her early thirties Sweetie Bell was at her prime, but unlike Spike who would continue to look the way he did for perhaps another 50 years she would eventually begin to age. The thought of his beloved graying with age while he continued to keep his dragon gifted youth tugged at Spike’s heartstring, in an attempt to ease his woe the dragon gulped down the glass of alcohol he had set before him.

Spike had brought up his worries to his wife before, and she had tried her best to comfort him in his times of grief. “We’ll just have to make the time we have together more special.” It was times like these that Sweetie Bell’s wisdom far exceeded Spike’s, the young unicorn was aware that her mortality was miniscule in comparison to her husband's, but instead of expressing any sorrow she told him to enjoy their time together that much more. As the alcohol’s taste bit into Spike’s tongue the dragon continued to dwell on how his loves sagely words did little to ease his aching heart.

After a second drink Spike decided to give sleep another try, and placed the porcelain cup down on the counter. Making his way toward the still welcoming bed, Spike gently got back into bed and snuggled against his wife. Even in her unconscious state Sweetie Bell smiled happily once her husband’s scales began to touch her fur and buried herself within Spike’s arms. Within a few minutes the combination of the bed’s softness, his own exhaustion and the mare’s gentle breathing lulled Spike to sleep.

A dark grey sky loomed overhead, the smell dirt and dead leaves filled his nostrils, and a bitter wind cold enough to even cause Spike to shiver blew threw the area. The last place Spike the dragon would ever want to be, and sadly enough perhaps the place he visited the most these days. An old cemetery was no place for a still young and healthy dragon to spend his days, but there wasn’t much else in the world as far as he was concerned. He lumbered towards an ancient sycamore tree.

“Here lies Sweetie Bell, gone but never forgotten. Cherished friend, adored sibling, and of course beloved wife.”

Just as all things in his life had before, the mare Spike cared about more than anything else had eventually stepped into the next stage, and the immortal dragon was left behind. Now Spike was all alone, a solitary figure left to wallow in his sadness..or so he thought.

The sound of dead leaves being crunched underneath something pierced the dead silence dominated the cemetery. An icy chill crept down Spike’s spine as he felt like something was watching him, tearing his eyes away from the tombstone before him, Spike could just barely make out a silhouette disappearing into the pine trees that loomed behind him.

“H-Hey!” Spike had spent hours, days, even years visiting this place and as far as he could remember he was the only one that came here. The idea that another breathing entity could be nearby was baffling, out of place, stupefying and before the dragon knew it Spike was scampering after it.

With a few bounds Spike was surrounded by the great looming pines, his scaled feet crunching on multiple pinecones as he sped after the distant shape that managed to stay on the edge of his vision. As he continued to give chase Spike noticed that the trees around him seemed to contort disturbingly, and the sky above had changed from a depressing grey to an intimidating black.

“What the hell is going on?!” Spike inwardly cursed as a low hanging pine branch seemed to twitch and make an attempt at clotheslining the speeding dragon, with barely a second to react he ducked low avoiding one danger only to leave himself open to another. The exposed roots of one of the menacing trees writhed like a menacing snake, and the distracted dragon couldn’t help but trip over it in his haste.

The unexpected shift to his momentum caused Spike to tumble over himself and roll across the forest floor like a ball of spines and limbs. His body bounced off the ground a few times before Spike finally came to a painful halt as he fell flat on his scaled face. Biting back a string of curses that he had welling up inside him, Spike instead attempted to shake his head and blink away the dots in his eyes.

As he picked himself up Spike noticed that instead of a forest floor his form had somehow ended up on a cold crack stones, and patches of dirt. “Where am....” Spike’s question went unfinished as his emerald eyes glanced around the sight before him. Tall crooked pillars of marble reached into the sky, disfigured statues made of obsidian glared at the stunned dragon, and a menacing structure loomed ahead unmistakable words imprinted on it’s walls: Tomb Of The Elements.

An overwhelming sense of dread fell over Spike as he read the same four words again, and again. The building seemed to stare him into the ground as the vines, and various overgrowth that had claimed the structure since it’s construction seemed to writhe and contort angrily like a nest full of vipers. This was the one place Spike had refused to visit in all his years, the place he pushed to the back of his mind as far as he could, the last place he wanted to be. This was the resting place of his dearest friends, and the unicorn that had raised him since the day he was born.

“What kind of cruel sick joke is this?” With his spines drooping slightly Spike suddenly felt limbs were made of lead, and he felt nearly unable to move. Trying with all his might Spike begged his muscles to respond as he sat rooted in place; his mind began to wander toward the subject revolving exactly what was waiting for him inside the building. “.......Why’d you have to leave me behind you guys?” His sadness coming to a peak, the purple drake could do little to stop the tears that burned his eyes. “Why did I have to be a damned dragon and get to live while Twilight...and Sweetie Bell had to...”

“…Because that is our gift and our curse young fire conjurer.”

The nightmarish world that swirled around Spike suddenly froze in place as a familiar dialect answered the dragon’s words. His body finally listening to his orders Spike spun around to see that same figure he had been chasing walk from behind the intimidating pine trees, and reveal itself to be none other than the goddess of the moon herself.

“L-Luna?!”

With a few graceful steps the alicorn in question was next to the surprised dragon a sad smile on her face as she helped Spike to his feet. “Indeed young fire wyvern it is I, my dream walking had unexpectedly voyaged me to the realm within your subconscious.”

A confused look crossed Spike’s face as he took in Luna’s words, sure her old school way of speaking often enough threw the drake for loop but this time she was making next to no sense at all. “Dream walking? Realm within my subconscious? No offense your highness, but you kind of lost me here.”

In reply to Spike’s questions the princess of the night merely rolled her eyes before turning toward the building that had earlier frozen Spike in place. “Everything that stands before thou and myself is merely a product of the fears that grip thy heart.”

“You mean…”

“You are dreaming young Spike and from the sights before me, you are having quite the nightmare.”

“It feels so real.” The drake said as he poked the air above him causing it to ripple slightly.

“I just can’t take it anymore Princess, I know I have to put on a brave face for Sweetie...but sometimes it just gets so hard. I mean how many years till I’m all alone? Forty? Eighty?! Then all I’ll have left is myself and a bunch of aging memories.” Spike slumped down to the cold, hard floor with his head in buried in his scaled arms. “It’s starting to make sense why dragons have such a cold and bitter attitude toward other creatures.”

As Luna watched the dreaming dragon continue to berate his longevity and species a pang of sadness swept through her. The only thing she could do was place a hoof on his shoulder and wait for his anguish to subside, as Spike’s depressed murmurs waned slightly the alicorn decided to share her two-bits. “Believe my words when I tell thee that I too know that feeling. Perhaps even more so as my sister and I are only two immortal ponies that tread this world. At least you may take some comfort knowing that you are one of a still thriving species. As much as you may believe that you are alone in the world young Spike, you still have me and Celestia.”

Spike’s ears twitched as he detected the shaky tone that began to creep into Luna’s soothing voice. Raising his head from the shelter of his limbs, the young drake looked up to share a glance with the mistress of the night. Her deep blue eyes seemed to emit their own feelings of uncertainty, and he couldn’t help but feel that maybe the second princess of Equestria herself needed a little reassurance. Doubting that he could come up with inspiring words like Luna, Spike went with the best that he could. Spike’s left hand rose to softly pat the hoof that had just moments ago been trying to calm him down, at least the action kept the alicorn’s eyes from trembling.

Silently thanking her companion’s act of compassion Luna steeled her mind and continued to speak. “I know how you feel about your wife. You wish you could spend either your life or her life with her. To either live for eternity with that special pony that has committed the act of grand larceny of your heart or grow old with that same pony. You never want to see the one you love whether away as you continue to live forever without them.” Luna gulped as she tried to maintain her professional facade, and act that didn’t go unnoticed by Spike as his sense of humor began to rear it’s head.

“So, who is the lucky colt?” The purple dragon asked as he gave a gentle smile to his subconscious guest.

“Pardon?”

“Your mortal pony, that’s causing you grief.”

“His name is Pipsqueak, though his name is actually quite misleading.” At that Luna let out a dreamy sigh as she imagined the tall, muscular stallion that adored her so. “He’s a bit of an adventurer, though some may think of him as more of an eccentric.” Remembering the story that the pinto had actually shared with her, Luna’s eyes widened suddenly. “By the nights embrace, I nearly forgot that he told me of a way that might rectify both our dilemmas. Th--”

Spike didn’t even let the princess finish her statement. “I’ll be on the first train to Canterlot in the morning!”

A grin surfaced on Luna’s face as she fixed the dragon with an amused look. “Well then perhaps you should get started on waking up then?”

“How am I supposed to do that?!”

“Like this.”

“Wha?”

“Spike! Honey it’s time to wake up.” Spike’s eyes widened to the size of plates as his beloved wife’s voice escaped from the dark furred alicorn’s mouth.

“How’d you do that Luna?!”

“Luna?”

And just like that Spike’s emerald green eyes suddenly opened, and his vision took in the sight of a lit suite, and a confused looking unicorn.

“By Luna you better have meant to say, ‘good morning my lovely and irreplaceable wife’ or someone’s sleeping on the couch for a bit mister.” The leer that the purple and pink maned mare gave her spouse could have stopped the master of chaos himself in his tracks, so, it’s understandable that Spike tumbled out of bed while blabbering as many ‘I’m sorries,' and 'let me explains’ as he could.

After watching her husband collide with the mahogany floor in a tangle of blankets and pillows, Sweetie Bell dropped her agitated scowl and started to giggle.

His ears picking up the sound of his wife’s enchanting laughter set Spike’s world at ease even as he looked up at her from the floor, and felt the growing sensation of looking ridiculous in the back of his head.

“Apology accepted Spikey....well only if you do that thing...” She smiled deviously at her drake.

Spike knew that it meant a day of sore wrists, crackled knuckles and lotiony palms. As a dexterous creature like so many griffins and minotaurs, he had the gift of hands which to a pony were extremely valuable.

Spike’s response came in the form of a diminutive “yes, dear...” Luna’s message was still fresh in his ears and Spike figured that time was of the essence. For everything to go smoothly the drake would have to handle this situation carefully and really keep it close to the vest.

“I NEED TO GO TO CANTERLOT NOW!!!”

“...Why?”

Spike began to scramble from his place on the floor, and start to gather a few things he needed. “DON’T HAVE TIME DEAR, I’LL TELL YOU LATER!”

Feeling a little confused by her husband’s odd behavior, Sweetie Bell calmly tried to slow the fire-breather down. “Uhhhh Spikey.”

“WHERE’S MY TOOTHBRUSH?!”

“Honey, just slow down for a moment please.”

“NO TIME!! CANTERLOT HERE I CO...*Oof*!” And just like that a magical wall clotheslined the frantic dragon, and as he attempted to catch his breath Sweetie Bell stood over him with a slightly irritated look on her face. Calm would have to take a timeout for this one, now assertive would be taking the wheel.

“Well now we’re going to make time, aren’t we?”

“....yes Sweetie.” Now that he was once again laying on the floor feeling silly, Spike remembered that his wife didn’t like being left out of any loops. At this point the stunned dragon was currently pondering the odds of his wife letting him chase after a rather lucid dream.

“Now can you please let me know what the hay you’re freaking out about honey?”

“I had a dream Sweetie Bell.”

“Uhh huhhh, please go on.”

“Well in it I ran into Princess Luna, and she told me about this thing that could help me out with a problem of mine...so I kind of have to run to Canterlot and fetch it.” Hoping that he had supplied a worthy explanation Spike attempted to pick himself from the floor only to feel a slight pressure holding him in still.

“Well I certainly hope that you don’t plan on going that way without me.” Noticing the sheepish look on her husband’s face, Sweetie Bell rolled her eyes before gesturing to the gold ring wrapped around her horn. “Spike I love you, but you must be out of your mind if you think that your wife is going to sit here quietly while you run off to Canterlot.”

“....But I..”

“End of discussion mister!”

“..ok.”

And just like that Spike and Sweetie Bell gathered their things, devoured a well-balanced breakfast (albeit at a speedy pace), and were on the first train headed toward the capital of Equestria.

---

A few hours later

“Ahhh Canterlot castle...brings back some really good memories.”

“Oh really? Like that time my big sis and her friends crashed the gala, or the time the whole city was invaded by changelings? Or, how about th--”

“How about our first dance?”

Blushing at Spike’s meaningful interruption, Sweetie Bell continued up the marble stairs toward the castle’s main doors until the couple’s path was blocked by two burly looking stallions dressed in royal armor.

“Halt! Only those with official business with the royal sovereign may pass.” The first guard narrowed his eyes at the pair, his tone completely serious despite the somewhat lax demeanor that his fellow possessed.

“Easy there bro, don’t you know who these two are?” The second guard pony rubbed his eyes frantically as he took in the sight of a duo that managed to sell him every single song that they come up with. “It’s the Sweetie Bell and Spike! These two are like superstars!”

“Ah c'mon man I doubt we’re superstars, just a married couple that like to make music together.” Humble as ever Spike rubbed the back of his head as the second guard’s complementing made him uneasy.

“Nonsense mister Spike, I watched you two play in Trottingham a few years back. It was the first time since I joined the royal guard that I allowed myself to cry.” Looking over himself the white pegasus pulled out a copy of their first album out of seemingly nowhere and pointed it toward Sweetie Bell. “Is there any chance I can get an autograph?”

Before the couple managed to work up a reply, another voice worked its way into the conversation. “Alas my stalwart knights, my guest here have prior business that must be dealt with great haste.” Looking as if she had stepped out of Spike’s dream, and into reality Princess Luna loomed over the guard ponies and smiled softly to the dragon.

“Hey there Luna, how are things going? Now then where is this close friend I’m supposed to be meeting?” Sweetie Bell gasped in surprise at her husband’s lack of respect as did the two guards, though even more surprising was the amused expression on the alicorn’s face.

“Last time I saw my beloved he was scouring the ancient archives for further clues, just take a left at the second corridor, and a right at the third door.” Quick as lightning the dragon had bolted past the princess, and was quickly making his way down the stone hallways though a second later he dashed back and pecked his surprised wife on the cheek before leaving again.. Casting her gaze from the departing drake and towards the wide-eyed unicorn beside her Luna couldn’t help but snicker out loud.

After a moment of stunned silence the pink, and purple maned unicorn finally found her voice. “Uhhh, your majesty...where’s my husband going?”

The snicker grew into a small bout of laughter, and Luna gestured down the hallway for her guest to follow. “Let’s just say our close ones have a goal in common young Sweetie Bell, allow me to escort you to the lounge and in the meantime I’ll shall attempt to clear things up.” Without another word the princess began to slowly walk down the corridor, and after a taking a second to process everything that had happened so far Sweetie Bell was galloping after her princess. Now that their princess was leaving, and there was nothing left for them to do the two guards resumed their royal jobs, thought the second had to be consoled a bit for missing a chance at getting his sought after autograph.

---

Within the Canterlot Castle’s archives

Pipsqueak grunted in frustration as the book in front of him held nothing of value so he tossed it over his head without a second thought. “Nuthin’ but rubbish.”

“Ow! Hey man mind looking out before you brain someone with this thing?”

Nearly jumping at the sudden voice behind him Pipsqueak whirled around to come face to face with a green spined, purple dragon. “Bloody ‘ell!”

Still rubbing his smarting skull from the book-shaped projectile Spike offered a friendly smile to the surprised pinto. “Sorry for that, I figured Luna had told you that I’d be stopping by.”

Catching his breath, and offering a smirk of his own the stallion held up a hoof toward Spike. Even in his line of work Pip hadn’t seen very many dragons, and he had no problem remembering Ponyville’s one resident purple dragon. “No worries Spike, name’s Pipsqueak, now what can I do for you?”

Spike grasped the hoof with his left hand and gave it a good firm shake, while his emerald eyes glinted merrily. “Well word on the grapevine is you and I share a similar problem, and I’m here hoping that we can help each other out.”

Author's Note:

Music used:
Black Bird by The Beatles
The Goodbye Song by Pomplamoose

A/N: Special thanks to my excellent co-writer Giant Mako.

Sorry for the wait, but if you’ve been following my work, then you know I’m not too good with keeping up with deadlines.

To make amends for the wait, here are a couple of sketches I did, that might make up for it.

Comments

[Taliesin of the Forest]

Pip looks like Ponified Dirk Pitt From Clive Cussler's novels.

i like it

[Riz]

Sweetie Belle and Pip looks awesome !

[Paladin Redflare]

A Dragon with a beard? Wtf? Adult Spike looks like an anthro? Why did Spike call Pinkie a bad singer? That's a load of crap, she sang in tune with his piano playing!
Sweetie Belle probably won't approve of this... good chapter.

[Draco Dei]

Try reading your chapters out loud, being careful to read what it SAYS rather than what it SHOULD SAY. It might help with the grammar.

I'd say get a pre-reader/editor, but sometimes that is easier said than done.

[Pony Jack]

I love the

“Bloody ‘ell!”

Bit!