A Long Time Coming
The lone Changeling scout hurried over the Equestrian plains, a large and wide expanse of nothing more than meadows and grass with isolated cottages spread across the prairies. It was a perfect place to hide the large hive of Changelings; no guards patrolling the mostly empty grasslands and remote enough from any settlement to remain undetected. Ever since the fiasco of a takeover in Canterlot, the Hive had been slowly been encroaching on the ponies’ territories and sending in scouts for signs of weakness or chances to feed the hungry Hive. But all the waiting had taken its toll on their Queen, who was growing more impatient by the day to have her revenge for being humiliated so.
A large mountain cave served as their makeshift home, having to get by with too little room for the copious number of subjects Chrysalis had under her control. As the Changeling scout landed and entered the cave, it was greeted by large number of lookalikes that served as the first line of defense for any intruder that was so unfortunate as to wander into the cave. A few exchanges of buzzes and hisses, and the scout was allowed to enter as it quickly flew through chamber after chamber lined with its brethren.
Eventually the Changeling reached deepest chamber of the cave and, unlike the other before it, this chamber was not filled with the shapeshifting bugs. This room was especially reserved for the Queen, covered completely with giant reflective crystals, not unlike those under Canterlot. Very few dared enter and, only if it were absolutely necessary. The Changeling hoped its information was worth an exception. It landed and cautiously approached the turn into the backmost room, sweating bullets with each step it took.
Much of the Hive stopped its buzzing and creeping around the cave walls to watch the lone Changeling enter the royal chamber. The deafening silence only served to unnerve the scout as he realized that all eyes were on it. With a final, hard gulp, the scout turned the corner and found its Queen sitting on her carved crystal throne, almost as if waiting for her subject.
Her narrowed, piercing stare sent shivers down the already nervous scout’s spine, chilling the blood coursing through its body. The defeat in Canterlot had made her very much bitter and quick tempered, and she would occasionally be quick to lash out at her subjects. For a minute, the scout considered retreating and running back to the safety of the rest of the Hive, to blend in to hopefully spare itself her wrath.
“Come…” the Queen Changeling addressed the scout in an eerily calm tone. The scout jumped at her sudden order, but not wanting to anger, it obeyed. “Now… Why is it that you have come to the royal chamber?”
The scout hissed and buzzed something only decipherable by another Changeling.
“Ah…” Chrysalis stood, scaring the scout. “It seems that we have finally got our chance to strike back! You have done well to bring this information, my subject. It was about time these ponies pay for their crimes against the Hive!”
The Changeling simply stared at its Queen. It was a strange, slightly disturbing, sight to see her so delighted. The devilish smile on her face frightened her subject and the evil look in her eye was just unnerving.
“I shall personally see to this task!” the Queen announced. “Spread word that I am not to be interrupted while on this mission! In addition, the rest of the Hive shall not undertake any action other than routine scouting… is that clear?”
The Changeling was a bit confused. It was merely a scout, not higher ranking in the Hive by any stretch of the imagination. The others would not obey commands from him, even if it were to announce them under the authority of the Queen.
“IS THAT CLEAR!?” Chrysalis repeated herself, getting the scout to cowardly nod its head. “Well… Go! I must be left alone to plan, if I am to set off as soon as possible!”
The scout immediately flew off to inform the rest of the Hive of their new orders, and to get as far away from the wrathful queen as possible.
“Ugh…” Spike groaned, tossing and turning in his sleep. He was breaking out into a cold sweat. A swipe from rag spooked the sleeping dragon awake with a gasp. “Twilight?! I had the craziest dream… that you, Applejack and even Rarity…”
Taking a quick look around the room, Spike found all three mares surrounding Twilight’s bed. How he got there he did not know; his last memory was the three mares and him at Rarity’s boutique. Everything beyond that point was hazy; or that might have been wishful thinking on his part.
“Sorry to tell ya, Spike, but that was no dream…” the work pony told him.
“Yes, darling, it was all very real,” Rarity said, stroking the dragon’s head to calm him.
“We had no idea you were going to react like that,” the purple unicorn said apologetically. “You were out the whole day!”
“So… you mean…” Spike said, beginning again to sweat profusely. He widened the gap between them and himself. Getting a quick glance out the window, he noticed the crescent moon high up in the night sky. Twilight was not lying to him; he had indeed slept through to sundown and then some. But, if that was true, he realized they were probably telling him the truth about his “dream.”
“Yes, Spike,” the white mare answered. “We all have feelings for you…”
A very deep blush had broke out across the dragon’s face from hearing his longtime crush admit this. It was not something he expected, he was so used to the situation being flipped, with him doing the crushing and chasing. In fact, to him, that was half the fun.
This new situation seemed so weird, so foreign to him; he truly thought it to be something out of a dream. Being irresistible and charming were characteristics only his daydreaming-self had; someone all the mares wants to be with. He had never thought of how he would deal with it if he ever did manage to win their hearts over. He always thought that he would cross that bridge when he got to it, but now here he was… and he was far from ready.
“Uh… umm…” Spike stuttered as he found himself at a loss for words.
“It must be a lot to take in, Spike…” Twilight told him, giving the dragon some breathing room, along with the two other mares.
“We should probably be leavin’ him alone for now, giv’em some time to think,” Applejack whispered to her friends, sans the dragon.
“I do believe you’re right, Applejack. The poor thing looks a bit shaken from our little confession,” Rarity added. “We were a bit blunt…”
“Ok… I’ll go tell him…” the purple unicorn said, heading up the stairs.
“Hold on there, Twilight…” the work pony stopped her as she reached the second step.
“Hmm?” Twilight hummed.
“I think we outta set some ground rules for… well, ya know,” Applejack told her, a bit nervously.
“What do you mean?” her unicorn friend asked.
“Well, I got to thinkin’. Spike does live wit’ ya and all, we can’t help that…” the apple farmer paused, trying not to sound to abrasive. “But I think it would only be fair if y’all don’t use magic to win ‘im over.”
There was a small silence that followed. At first this seemed very accusatory, but it did kind of make sense. Applejack was the only non-magic user in this contest and it put her very much at a disadvantage. Twilight and Rarity both could use magic to do many wondrous things that the lone Earth Pony could never manage with her limited abilities. And not to mention the spells that Twilight had under her belt to force Spike to fall in love with her, though it never came to her mind use them. Gaining his love in such an illegitimate way was not what she wanted nor what Spike would want. However, was it fair for them to be handicapped while Applejack has none placed on her? If things went into a free-for-all as it did before Rarity’s arrival, Applejack would clearly have the upper-hand when it came down to literally “stealing” Spike away.
“Ok… No magic,” Twilight agreed. “But no interrupting any dates with Spike. Whoever he chooses to spend time with, no stealing him away, ok?”
“A-alright…” Applejack said, blushing a bit as she remembered their immature pre-Rarity contest.
“How about you Rarity?” the unicorn turned to her white counterpart.
“Are these rules really necessary?” Rarity asked back. “I thought everypony could behave civilly without any rules.”
“Trust us, Rarity… It could get pretty rowdy out there wit’out ‘em…” the work pony answered.
“Alright, then… as long as everypony follows them, I’ll follow them too,” the fashionista conceded to the newly formed regulations.
“We outta be hittin’ the road now, Rarity,” Applejack said, heading towards the door. “It’s getting’ late, we should let ‘em get some rest.”
Taking their leave, Twilight continued up to her room where they left the dragon to his thoughts. Though it did not help him much. This sudden admittance of their own affections, a stop to the pursuit of the mares, was not something he could wrap his head around. The shock of each mare’s confession was huge, but none more than Rarity’s. He could not help but wonder how long she had harbored those feelings. Was it long before his crush on Applejack had developed or had she grown jealous of his spending time with her?
Twilight thought of interrupting him, but her worry might do more harm than good. By the expression on his face, it was clear that he was deeply troubled. The longer she stared at him, the stronger the urge became to comfort the confused dragon. It was not only due to her now confessed feelings for him, but also because their long-standing friendship almost demanded her help ease his worries.
“Spike…?” Twilight called him quietly. “Hey there…”
“Twilight, you guys weren’t lying… were you?” her reptilian friend asked.
“No, Spike. As far as I know, everyone was sincere about their feelings for you…” the purple unicorn said, inching closer to him.
“Even you?” Spike asked, still doubting this whole situation for a reason he could not quite understand.
“Yes, Spike… Even me…” she responded.
“And this isn’t some sort of dream… right?” the nervous-wreck of a dragon continued to question the unicorn.
“Why do you think it’s a dream?” Twilight queried him back.
“It seems a little too good to be true…” Spike answered. “I mean, it wasn’t too long ago that you told me I didn’t have a chance with Rarity. And now…”
“I’m sorry, Spike,” the unicorn interrupted. “For everything, I guess… I guess I was a little jealous of Rarity.”
“Why?” the dragon quickly asked; she was never one to be jealous of anypony.
“Well, she had you… Didn’t you ever wonder why I never wanted to go find a coltfriend?” Twilight questioned.
“I always thought it was because you were too busy studying all the time,” Spike naively responded.
“No, it’s because you were the only boy I really needed, Spike…” she corrected him. “You were always there for me, helping all the way from when we back in Canterlot to now in Ponyville. Everything from helping me with my studies to wrapping me in a blanket when I would fall asleep during late night research…”
“You remember that?” the dragon asked astonishedly.
“Of course, Spike,” Twilight answered. “I took a lot of what you did for granted, and I’m sorry. But from now on, I’ll never forget to thank you for all the little things you do for me, I promise, Spike.”
Pulling her assistant into a warm embrace, she rubbed her cheek against his. Though she could not see it, Twilight was able to tell he had a deep blush on his face from the heat radiating off his cheek. Although more intimate of a hug or conversation than they ever shared, it felt sweet. It was a large jump from friends to something more, but it did not feel too awkward. In fact, it almost felt like it was just another step in their ever-strengthening bond.
Maybe this little situation was not as dramatic and hurried as the young dragon thought. Perhaps it was called for, and maybe, just maybe, it came just on time.
“Hey, Twilight?” Spike called her.
“Yes?” Twilight asked.
“Thank you…” the dragon said, tightly wrapping his arms around the pony’s neck.
“I’m always here for you, Spike,” the purple unicorn replied “You know that…”
After holding the embrace for a few minutes, Twilight finally shook free.
“I think we should both get some rest now,” she told him. “You’ve had a pretty long day, even if you weren’t awake for half of it…”
“Yeah…” the dragon laughed a bit as he climbed into his basket-bed. “Good night, Twilight.”
“Good night,” Twilight echoed.
The dragon lingered awake for a while longer after he knew the pony next to him had fallen to sleep. The thoughts of his relationships with the three mares were still raced through his mind. Although they would definitely not be the same, possibly ever again, it did not necessarily mean it was all that bad. After his talk with Twilight, he was reassured about the whole situation and that he could look to her for support throughout. It helped put his worries to rest, even if only a little. It was enough. Giving one last, long yawn, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Come on . I'm putting 100 bits down for AppleSpike.
But seriously now, does Chrysalis really need to be here? Just feels stupid to me.
Short but sweet! I'm really looking forward to this arc.
"I got money on Apple-spike."
"Betting on Spilight."
".........."
.........."
"Well.......this just happened."
"Indeed it has."
Nice. I like AppleJack, very much. But, I'm Twilight team. Or... one Harem team too.
I'm rooting for AppleSpike. or
Harem. &
Damn, this is always a hard choice for me, Twilight or Applejack?
You know what, I'm with Spilight, those two together is just such a better look and feel.
But if this was a HiE story, I'm going after Applejack and her gold orange delicious apple-bottom!
What if he gets the 3 of them? Everyone happy
I did indeed enjoy this chapter; feelings are out in the open and are being addressed. Emotions are high right now. Although I would like to root for Team Harem so none of the mares get hurt and Spike doesn't miss out on anything, I temper this desire by wondering what a male harem would be like with Spike and two stallions pleasuring Rarity. The fellas would probably be a tad uncomfortable.
yaaaaaaay a new chap !!! it was awesome ,.... damn its very hard to choice ... but i prefer see AJ and Spike c: ,
awesome work !
Fucking thing didn't show the update. It's a good thing I randomly decided to look through my favorites since it's happened before. These rules are so getting broken at some point...
Spike: (looks at the three mares, looks at his wallet, mares, wallet. Quickly slips wallet into pocket and leaps out window.
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Perhaps even a mutation!
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Well, now competition builds! Not much love for Sparity, I guess...
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Don't worry, she'll get her very own chapter with him... soon enough...
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Bet you're excited for next chapter then. It's coming very soon. Almost done with it. Then it's off to my pre-reader for corrections.
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Didn't notice that you read most of the story in one hit. I appreciate the dedication. As for the Changelings' late entry: don't worry about it. It's just a little subplot to keep it a bit interesting, add a little spice, ya know.
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Thanks, I can't take all the credit though. My pre-readers have helped a lot... though I did kind of lose a pre-reader but it's ok. Knight of Cerebus is an awesome and dedicated pre-reader, and he's helped very much with the story.
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Again, no innuendo intended. Just bad choice of words.
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Uh... Thanks? I'm guessing that means you like the story...
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Nah, Chrysalis doesn't really need to be here but I thought I could use her to spice up the story a bit. Just trust when I say it won't be just something I decided to add randomly. I've planned out her involvement.
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Glad you're excited for it. It's coming soon.
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Don't worry, each mare will have their very own chapter with him. Twilight just gets first whack at it.
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Forgot about the Harem idea... it has received some support... but eh...
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lol Apparently there is support for the Harem pairing. But like I said, it's still in the works so wishful thinking is welcome.
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I have to remain an impartial party for now, but I see where you're coming from. The longer standing, stable relationship between does seem like it makes more sense for them to end up together. And since you're part of Team Twilight (Splight), you're in for a treat in this new chapter.
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I think this man right here 2612652 answered it pretty perfectly. I hope he has some massive bank to support them.
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Yup, I guess the Harem would solve most of the problems. Plus Rarity is the Element of Generosity... I'm sure she won't mind sharing. Now the only foreseeable problem is: Who gets him on Sundays? Maybe that will just be ruled to be a foursome day...
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And another for Team Applejack. Apparently there is no love for Sparity. *shrugs* Too obvious or overdone maybe.
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Rules were made to be broken. Also, appreciate the passion you have for the story. Look for the new chapter probably sometime during this weekend.
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Amazing, is all I can say. LMAO
2622116 Foursome day, hmm?
Spike: "Uh...c-can't I just have that day to myself?"
Mares: "NO!"
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2622116 Sorry, that part is just ridiculous and unneeded in my opinion
I hope this turns into Spilight. But I'm happy with whatever man, awesome story by the way!
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Just cheer your heart out, the ending pairing is still up for grabs.
Also, an announcement: Since my pre-reader is currently MIA, the new chapter will be delayed for a bit. I am working on a second chapter and hopefully I can post both at the same time to make up for the late update. Thank you for your patience guys and I ask kindly for you to hang in there for just a bit longer.
Shit just got real? Oh yes, shit just got real, you know I'm kind of wondering if you think as Celestia as his mother, if so, maybe she could give her son some tips on this....road hew is travelling alone, perhaps? Shit i'm excited for more
I'm rooting for applejack
yep i'm with team on this.
harem all the way!