Spike is pushed too far and runs away, and learns of the raw power behind heavy metal.
Spike is tired of how the Mane Six are treating him, and after learning some devastating news, he finally snaps and runs away. Unbeknownst to him, his leaving home will start a chain of events that will forever change his life. And it all starts . . . with heavy metal.
Plot inspired by Brutal Legend. Title inspired by Manowar song "Die For Metal". Special thanks to DiabloGuapo, whose "Legend of Spike" series inspired me to start my own.
I have two emissaries from a foreign nation coming to stay with me for the next few weeks, and I require the assistance of you and the other Elements of Harmony to prepare for their arrival. I'm sending a carriage to take you and your friends from Ponyville to my home in Canterlot tomorrow, where you will be staying as guests for the next few days.
Your Teacher,
Princess Celestia
Twilight looked up from the letter after she finished reading it to her five friends. After her assistant Spike had burped up the letter, she immediately called her friends over to the castle so she could share what little information Celestia had given her. Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all looked at each other, and then back to her.
Rainbow Dash spoke first: "Who could be important enough that the Princess would need US to help her get ready for when they finally get here?"
Twilight responded,"I don't know. It doesn't specify whose coming, or even where they're from in the letter."
Applejack chimed in, "As far as I'm concerned, there ain't no use fussin' about it now. We'll just have to wait until tomorrow." the rest nodded in agreement with the orange farm mare.
Rarity stood up from her seat and made her way towards the front door. "Well," she said," If we're leaving tomorrow then I have a lot of packing to do".
Applejack responded, "Just don't take half the Boutique with you." Rarity paid no attention to Applejack's comment and left the castle.
"Um...is that actually possible? Fluttershy asked Applejack.
Applejack responded to the butter yellow pegasus' question, "Knowing Rarity, she'll find a way to make it possible."
Soon enough, the rest of the Mane Six left as well (Pinkie Pie bouncing up in down in her usual fashion as she left), with the exception of Twilight. After they left, Twilight turned to the purple-scaled dragon who was sweeping the floor.
Spike had grown significantly over the years. When Twilight first became a Princess four years ago, he was only fifteen and was still technically a baby dragon. But now, he had grown nearly two feet, his fangs had grown longer and sharper, and he finally sprouted wings. Since the growth pattern of dragons was different than that of ponies, instead of a steady growth rate, Spike had matured almost overnight. This sudden growth spurt had taken place about a year after Twilight had become Princess. It had been a painful process, for his body wasn't used to that kind of stress at that age. Apparently, his species of dragon were known for maturing sporadically. In Spike's case, it had turned him from a scrawny sixteen-year old that was three years younger than Twilight and her friends into a fully matured nineteen-year old dragon.
"Spike..." she called his name. His head immediately snapped up at the sound of his surrogate sister's voice.
"What is it, Twi?" he asked her.
"Me and the girls will be going to Canterlot for a few days, and I'll need you to take care of the library while we're gone. Think you can handle it?" Twilight asked him.
Spike replied halfheartedly,"Yeah, whatever. I'll be fine." Twilight noticed the lack of energy behind his response, but figured that he was just tired. "Alright, then," she said, "I'm gonna go and start packing. You should probably go to bed after you've finished cleaning the floor".Spike nodded and continued sweeping the floor while the purple alicorn left the room where her and her friends met so often to discuss whatever friendship problems needed solving.
As soon as he heard the door close, his face contorted into a mixed expression of sadness and agitation. He may have changed both physically and emotionally over the past three years, one thing that hadn't changed was the resentment that he held towards the Elements of Harmony. Especially the anger and frustration that he felt towards Twilight. They were always running off to go hang out and have fun or to go on some adventure together. And where was he most of the time? He was back at the castle, cleaning up some mess that Twilight made while she was studying. He wanted to say something to all of them, but he couldn't muster up the courage to do it.
He sighed as he continued his sweeping, his facial expression changing from one of frustration to one of exhaustion. He finished his sweeping and put the broom back in the closet with the rest of the cleaning supplies. He shuffled through the many hallways of the castle to his bedroom. He flopped down on the king-sized bed and turned over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling until he felt a stirring in his intestines. He burped up a scroll marked with the same emblem Celestia put on every scroll she sent to Twilight. Spike, puzzled by why Celestia would send another scroll, opened it up.
It read:
Dear Spike,
I also require your attendance at my castle as well. I believe that you would rather enjoy meeting these foreign emissaries that I will be having to stay with me. I hope to see you soon.
Your loving mother,
Celestia
Even though Spike was confused as to why Celestia believed that he would "enjoy" meeting a couple of emissaries from a foreign nation, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that for once, he wasn't going to be left behind by Twilight and the others. He put the letter on the end table that stood at the side of his bed and closed his eyes, hoping that the Mane Six would finally treat him like he actually mattered to them.
Spike groaned at the sound of Twilight's voice, and tried to go back to sleep and return to his dream. Even if it had only been about the previous night's events.
"Leave me alone, Twilight. I'm trying to sleep."he mumbled to her. Turning away from her, he began to fall back asleep until something pushed him off the king sized bed and onto the exquisitely designed carpet below, landing right on his face.
"You've been sleeping since we got here this morning. It's time for dinner." she informed him. Spike lifted himself to his feet, using the bed for support. "I've been sleeping since we got here because you woke me up at 5:00 this morning to quadruple-check everything that was supposed to be taken care of." he shot back at her. Twilight ignored his comment and left the room, not bothering to close the door behind her.
Spike took a minute to look around the enormous guest room that he would be staying in while they were in Canterlot. The wallpaper, carpet, curtains, bed sheets,and pillows were all the same shade of deep purple. An armistice stood across from the bathroom door, right next to the doorway that led to the balcony. There was a fully stocked mini bar that sat next to a large bookshelf full of many different kinds of reading material. A large, 32-inch plasma screen TV was mounted on the wall across from the bed, and with it a DVD-player and a PlayStation 4. Spike always slept here whenever he came by to visit. Celestia had the room decorated specially for him two years ago. It was his home away from home. Spike took a minute longer to admire what his mother had done for him before walking out the door, making sure to close it behind him, and proceeding down the castle corridors to the dining hall.
Spike looked at the various suits of armor that were placed against the wall. They had always given him the creeps when he was younger. He had always felt like something was peering back at him through those empty helmets, and was waiting until the right moment to attack him. Spike felt a smile creep on his face as he remembered one time when he had accidentally knocked one of them over when he had been up in the middle of the night to go get some water. It scared him so bad that he had run back to his and Twilight's bedroom and hid under the covers until dawn. As he reminisced about his early childhood, he bumped into something large and heavy. It took him a second to realize that he had reached the entrance to the dining hall and walked right into the door wihtout even trying to open it. Thank Luna no one was around to see that. he thought, before opening up the doors to be met with the sight of his friends and the Princesses seated at the large dining table, which was already adorned with a number of exquisite looking platters of food that Spike never had unless he was either eating at a fancy restaurant or here at his mother's home.
"Hello, Spike." Celestia greeted him. A smile immediately grew on Spike's face at the sight of his mother. He took a seat at the table between Twilight and Celestia. He noticed the empty seat across from him and wondered who could possibly be missing when the doors opened once more to reveal Prince Blueblood, Celestia's nephew and Spike's cousin. His usual snobbish attitude was nowhere to be seen.
"Sorry I'm late." he said, and took a seat next to Princess Luna. He looked disheveled, his usually well-kept hair was a complete mess. The tuxedo that he usually wore was missing the jacket and the bow tie was untied and hung around his neck. the others took notice of this as he stared down at his plate, not saying a word to anybody.
Princess Luna turned to Blueblood."So how'd it go?" she asked him. The others, with the exception of Princess Celestia, were confused as to what she could be asking about.
"I don't want to talk about it, Aunt Luna." Blueblood deadpanned.
Luna looked at him questioningly. She asked him again, "What happened? didn't she say yes?"
Blueblood continued to look down at the table."I said I don't wanna talk about it" he replied, his voice growing more agitated.
"So she said no?"
Blueblood suddenly snapped. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK HAPPENED!!!!!????" he yelled at her before he stood up, gave a curt nod to the other occupants of the table, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut as he exited. Everyine was stunned by the events that had just transpired.
Celestia sighed. "Oh dear." she sad, "It didn't go well" she said forlornly. Twilight spoke up, "What didn't go well?" she asked. Celestia answered her, "I'll tell you another time. But for now, let's eat."
The eight of them ate in silence and proceeded to their own separate rooms at the end of the meal. Except for Celestia, who went to go check on her nephew. Later that night, Spike sat on his bed, watching an episode of some sitcom that he didn't even normally watch. He didn't care though, the situation with Blueblood at dinner had reminded Spike of his own situation with Rarity.
He had been in love with her ever since he first met her. And ever since then, he had been trying to prove himself as worthy of her affection. He had always been afraid that she would reject him because he's a dragon and she's a pony, but he still hadn't given up hope yet. Between how Twilight and her friends treated him and his situation with Rarity, he felt like he was going to have an aneurysm from all the stress.
You know what? Spike thought, I can't keep doing this. I need to talk about this to Twilight now. He turned off his TV, and left to go find Twilight. He figured that she would be in her room, so that was the first place that he looked for her. When he approached her door, he hesitated for a second, and then knocked. "Twilight?" he called, "You in there?" There was no reply, bu Spike wasn't surprised, because the doors were enchanted to be sound proof. He knocked again, and still no reply. He opened the door, and what he found shattered his mind as well as his heart.
Twilight and Rarity were on her bed, making out, completely nude.(A/N: No there isn't going to be any smut you sickos. Perhaps I should've given this a Mature tag instead of Teen)
Spike stared at the two mares on his sister's bed for what seemed like an eternity. He tried to form words, but he appeared to have lost the ability to speak. He just stood there, speechless. After a few moments of silencs, something in his mind finally clicked, and he said only five words.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Twilight and Rarity looked up at Spike, both looking as if they had been caught committing an unspeakable crime. The room was filled with a disturbing silence. "S-S-Spike..." Twilight stammered, "W-W-What are you doing here?"
Spike didn't answer her." What the fuck is wrong with you?" Spike snarled, "You know how I feel about Rarity, and yet you still took her for your own."
Twilight tried to respond, "Spike, please calm down..." she said.
Spike retorted, "Shut up, Sparkle." the way that he responded to her sent a shiver down her spine. "How long has this been going on?"
Twilight had to force herself to speak again. "T-T-Three months..." she whispered quietly, almost sounding like Fluttershy because of the mixture of nervousness and fear in her voice. She had never seen her little brother look so hurt and so angry at the same time. It scared her immensely.
Smoke started to emit from Spike's mouth and nostrils. "I see..." he began, "And did you plan on telling me eventually, or were you just going to keep leading me on so that you could still get free labor out of me?"
Rarity spoke for the first time since Spike had walked in on them. "Spike..." she started, " I'm sorry, but, Twilight and I are marefriends. I know we should have told you earlier, but we were afraid of how you would react. It has nothing to do with every thing you've done for us. And we're both still learning to cope with the fact that we like mar-
Spike exploded. "THAT'S BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT! YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE FOR KEEPING THIS FROM ME!" he screamed. flames shooting from his mouth. "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE EVEN GOTTEN TOGETHER IN THE FIRST PLACE! YOU TWO DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT HOW THIS WOULD MAKE ME FEEL, BECAUSE YOU ONLY THINK ABOUT YOURSELVES! SO DON'T TRY TO FEED ME ANY MORE OF YOUR BULLSHIT, BECAUSE I'M DONE!!!" A gout of flame shot from his mouth and narrowly missed Twilight and Rarity by just inches, scorching the bedpost and wall behind them.
Spike stormed out of the room, and proceeded to make his way down the hall, his tail would occasionally swing and destroy a set of armor, but he couldn't have cared less. He couldn't believe it. His sister had just proven what he had believed all along: None of them cared about him. The only people who ever even gave him a second's though was Celestia and Luna. He couldn't do it anymore. He had to get far away from Canterlot, from Ponyville, from Equestria itself. As far as he was concerned, it wasn't his home anymore.
"What's with all the yelling!? I'm trying to sleep here!"
He recognized Rainbow Dash's voice as he reached the entrance to the throne room. He turned around to find a disgruntled Rainbow Dash being followed closely by Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, each in their pajamas and looking as if they had been woken up violently. "What the hay is going on out here?" Applejack asked, rubbing her eyes as she did so.
The sight of Twilight and Rarity's friends only further reminded him of everything they had put him through, making him even more angry than before.
"Get away from me. All of you. I'm done dealing with you guys treating me like crap." Spike deadpanned. he walked through the entrance to the throne room, startling Princess Luna, who had been holding Night Court with members of her Lunar Guard. Twilight and Rarity had already caught up with Spike and the rest of the Mane Six, both with robes haphazardly thrown on in the process of trying to get to Spike before he could do something he'd regret. Nobody paid any attention to the two marefriends as they stood behind the rest of the group
"What are you talking about, Spike? Ya'll aren't making any sense." Applejack questioned him. Spike turned around to face the orange farm mare. Something was wrong though, his scales were turning slightly darker, his pupils turned into slits, and the whites of his eyes were turning gray.
Spike began to speak, "I'm making no sense?" he said, no emotion could be heard in his voice, "I"m talking about how you six have always treated me like crap. Everything that I've ever done has never mattered to any of you. Instead, you guys used me like a slave. Whenever you guys are off doing something cool or going on some adventure, I'm the one who gets left behind. And whenever you DO let me tag along, it's just so I can carry around all of your shit for you. And if that's not enough, how about the fact that you've never cared how your actions affect me. Remember how you guys left me sleeping on a chunk of ice during Winter Wrap Up around the time that Twilight first moved to Ponyville? I fell into the water and nearly froze to death. Did it ever even occur to you six that dragons, which are cold-blooded creatures, and freezing temperatures don't mix?"
Each recount of what the Mane Six did to Spike left the six mares looking guiltier and guiltier by the second, while Luna sat on her throne in the background, growing more and more furious at the Elements of Harmony for how they treated Spike. She already had ONE moody and depressed nephew, and now she had another furious, fire-breathing one to deal with.
Spike continued his rant. "How about when you all left to Canterlot to celebrate Twilight's birthday without inviting me? Or when you all forgot about MY birthday and went to go see a Wonderbolts show in Cloudsdale? Or how about the fact that you all completely neglected the fact that I SAVED THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE AND INSTEAD BROKE OUT INTO A SONG ABOUT TWILIGHT PASSING HER TEST!!!??? OR HOW ABOUT THE MOST RECENT EXAMPLE, WHERE TWILIGHT HAS BEEN FUCKING RARITY BEHIND MY BACK FOR THREE MONTHS!!!!????" The others looked back at Twilight and Rarity, who hung their heads in shame.
"I'M DONE BEING TREATED LIKE SHIT BY YOU STUPID, INCONSIDERATE CUNTS!!! YOU CAN ALL BURN IN HELL!!!!!!!"
The whites of Spike's eyes had gone completely black, and his fangs had grown considerably longer and sharper. The Mane Six took in Spike's new, frightening appearance before he sprinted out the castle exit. He spread his wings and flew away as fast as he could.
The Mane Six stood in the throne room, completely speechless, but all sharing the same thought:
The Mane Six stood in the throne room, not saying a word as Spike's rant continued to run through their minds. He said that they never cared about how what they did affected him, and they truly believed that he was wrong, but they knew that he had every right to be mad. They had never felt more horrible or more worthless in their entire lives.
Suddenly, Celestia burst through the door, dressed in a long, white nightgown. "What's going on?" she asked Luna, "I heard yelling and someone destroyed a number of suits of armor throughout the hallways." Luna looked at her sister, and then back at the Elements of Harmony. "Guards... " she motioned towards her Lunar Guards,"Leave us." they bowed respectfully to the princess of the night and then left to continue their patrol elsewhere. Luna turned back towards her sister. "It was Spike, Tia. He destroyed the suits of armor and then he flew away from the castle." she said.
Celestia looked confused as to why her son would do such a thing. "What?" Celestia asked, "I don't understand. Why did he leave?
Luna sighed. "He ran away--
"--He ran away because of those six right over there." another voice spoke from behind them. The eight mares turned around too see Blueblood standing in the doorway that Spike had flown through only minutes ago. He was still dressed as he had been during his outburst at dinner, but the accent that he and so many of Canterlot's residents usually spoke with was gone. (A/N: I don't know how to describe his voice, so I'm just going to say that he sounds like Edward Kenway from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag)
"I went outside to grab a smoke, and I heard everything." he continued, "You want to know why he ran off, Aunt Celestia? Your prized student and her friends finally pushed him over the edge. He was screaming about how he's always getting screwed over by them, and how they always leave him behind whenever they go off and do something together."
Celestia turned towards Twilight. "Is this true?" she asked. Twilight didn't answer, and continued to stare down at the floor.
"He even went on to list everything they had done to him since he and the slave driver over there first got to Ponyville." A list appeared in front of Blueblood and floated in front of him for a second before he grabbed it out of the air. "I added a few other transgressions that he told me about but left out himself when he was having a meltdown". Blueblood looked closely at the list before reading.
"Okay, let's see...
1. They left him sleeping on a piece of ice in the middle of a freezing cold lake during Winter Wrap-Up. And when he woke up, he fell into the water and nearly froze to death while they stood back and laughed.
2. They abandoned him at the Grand Galloping Gala when all he wanted to do was spend time with his so-called friends.
3. They left him alone on his birthday to go see a Wonderbolts show in Canterlot.
4. They held Twilight's birthday in Canterlot and didn't invite him.
5. When Twilight was first learning to fly, she had been heading straight for the library with Spike on her back. And before she crashed, she teleported herself into the library, but she left Spike to crash headfirst into the side of the building.
6. The Mane Six rarely let him come with them when they are either going out to hang out or when they're completing a task given to them by Celestia. And when they do let him come, they have him cart around all their stuff(This is mainly true of Rarity).
7. Twilight forces him to complete an absurd number of chores while she sits on her ass and reads all day. She has also neglected to check to see if he needs medical attention a number of times when he has fallen off a ladder trying to get her a book. Even though she is fully capable of using her magic to get it herself.
8. Whenever Twilight leaves the library for an extended period of time, she usually leaves a huge mess for Spike to clean up.
9.Rarity has repeatedly used Spike's feelings towards her to get free labor out of him instead of telling him that she does not share the same feelings for him.
10. The Mane Six completely neglected the fact that Spike saved the Crystal Empire from the wrath of King Sombra, and instead broke out into a song about Twilight passing her test.
11. --And I want to add that this was the straw that broke the camel's back-- Twilight and Rarity have been engaging in a sexual relationship behind Spike's back for the last three months. And the only reason he found out was because he walked in on them when they were in the middle of doing it earlier tonight."
The list disappeared with a pop as Blueblood looked at the Mane Six and his two aunts. Princess Luna was looking at the Elements of Harmony with utter contempt, while Princess Celestia stared off into space, her eyes unfocused and her face unreadable. The Mane Six had been left speechless. Did they really treat Spike that horribly?
Blueblood looked at them with a mix of disgust and anger. "You six have fucked with my family for the last time. I'm going to look for Spike. And if I come back tomorrow and you're still here, I will throw all of you into the dungeon to rot for the rest of your natural lives." And with that, Blueblood's horn glowed, and his shirt that went with his tuxedo was replaced with a leather jacket over a black muscle shirt. And his dress pants and loafers were replaced with a pair of black jeans and black motorcycle boots. He walked out to the front yard of the castle. His horn glowed once more, and a motorcycle appeared in front of him. He climbed onto the bike and started it up. He looked back at the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses one last time before driving off, giving them the finger as he drove out of sight.
As the Mane Six watched Blueblood disappear, they were all surrounded by a golden aura. They were suddenly pulled up into the air and were turned around to see an extremely angry Celestia. Her eyes were glowing, and her pupils had turned into slits. Her white nightgown was replaced with a set of golden armor, and she almost looked like she was surrounded by fire.
"BECAUSE OF YOU SIX, MY SON IS OUT THERE. ALL BECAUSE NONE OF YOU GAVE EVEN A SHRED OF A SHIT ABOUT HIM. IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HIM, I WILL ROAST EACH OF YOU AND FEED YOUR CORPSES TO THE DIAMOND DOGS."
Celestia dropped the Mane Six roughly on the ground. The six mares looked back at Celestia to see that her appearance had returned to normal. But the anger was still in her eyes. She turned back around and walked back to her chambers.
The Elements of Harmony felt crushed. Half of the wanted to go help look for Spike, but the other half was morbidly afraid of making the situation worse. They made their way back to their respective bedrooms. Rarity, instead of accompanying Twilight back to her room, made her way to her own room instead. When she made it to her own bedchambers, she closed the door behind her, and made her way over to one of the over-sized trunks that she had taken with her. she opened it up and grabbed the necklace sitting on top of the many clothes packed inside the trunk.
It was the Fire Ruby that Spike had given to her nearly five years ago. She looked at the gem to see that the stone had turned almost completely black. A giant crack ran diagonally across the ruby.
She sat on her bed and held the necklace close to her chest, as tears began to fall from her face.
Spike had already left Canterlot and Ponyville miles behind him as he flew towards his unknown destination. He didn't know where he would go, but anywhere was fine as long as it was far away from his former home. Tears poured from his eyes, and he could feel something painful in his chest, aching and burning at the same time. He tried to ignore the pain as he left Ponyville far behind him and flew onward.
How could they do this to me? he thought, Everything that I did for them--cooking, cleaning, pet sitting, organizing books, fetching fabrics, going gem-hunting, carting all their stuff around, letting myself be used as a pincushion, sending letters back and forth-- none of it ever mattered.
"What a waste." he said aloud.
As Spike continued flying, the pain in his chest began to spread across his entire body. His vision went blurry. He tried to maintain a steady course, but the pain became too much and overwhelmed his mind. His vision began to turn grey as he hurtled towards the ground.
He felt himself hit the ground as he began losing consciousness. As his vision went black, one coherent thought crossed his mind.
Fuckers...
And then the world went dark.
One hour later...
Blueblood drove down the empty road that cut through the grassy plains fast, but carefully. He looked in every direction for some sign of his cousin. Unfortunately, he seemed to be nowhere in sight. Blueblood continued down the road as the sun began to rise above the horizon, casting a warm, yellow glow on everything it touched.
Blueblood pulled off to the side for a second so he could wipe the dirt off his face. He sighed loudly. He had never felt more frustrated in his entire life. As he stared at the empty road in front of him, his mind began to drift to the events of the previous night.
I'm leaving you, Blueblood
Blueblood squinted his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to think of anything but what happened the night before.
I'm leaving you for another mare.
Blueblood grasped at his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to empty his mind. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again to see the empty road staring back at him. he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened i to reveal a small, diamond-encrusted ring, the light shimmering off the exquisite stones that decorated the ring.
To think that I was going to propose to her.
He put the ring back in his pocket and started up his motorcycle again, and made his way down the highway, determined to find his cousin, one way or another.
As he drove on, he noticed an odd shape sitting on the grass next to the road. As he got closer, he realized that the shape was actually a person. Blueblood drove as fast as he could towards the figure on the side of the road. He had to see if they needed help. Looking for Spike could wait that long, at least.
He parked his bike and rushed over to the hunched figure laying in the grass, not knowing if they were alive or dead.
"Hey man, are you alright?" he began.
As he got closer, he noticed the purple hoodie the person wore, recognizing it as the one that Spike had on the night before.
Oh shit! he thought.
"Spike?" he asked. He received a groan in response. Blueblood kneeled down to help him get up.
"Holy fuck, dude. What happened to you?" Blueblood asked the half-conscious dragon. As he helped Spike up, he noticed that Spike's appearance was different. He had a slight build to him, his wings were slightly bigger than before, his snout was reduced to where his face retained a humanoid shape, and--
Spike groaned in pain, but didn't appear to be hurt. "Blueblood? What happened? Where are we?" he asked him. Blueblood didn't answer, but instead stared at him like he had grown a second head. As Spike checked himself for any type of injury, he began to remember the events of last night. That explains why I'm out here, then. he thought.
"Dude, you got hair."
Spike turned to Blueblood, realizing that his cousin had just spoken to him, nut he hadn't heard what he said.
"What?"
"You have hair, Spike" Blueblood repeated himself.
"What?" Spike asked again.
"See for yourself." Blueblood horn glowed, and a mirror appeared in front of Spike. Spike looked at his reflection to see a startling change in his appearance.
The spikes on Spike's head had been replaced with emerald hair that extended down to his shoulders. It was parted so that it just barely came down over his left eye. It looked unkempt and unwashed, making him look like a derelict that sold stolen goods to people out of his car.
And if that wasn't enough, he had grown a beard too! It was the same emerald color as his new head of hair. It was mainly stubble, but he didn't really care, for he was more preoccupied with trying to figure out how it got there in the first place.
"Holy shit, dude. What happened to me?" Spike asked his cousin.
"Fuck if I know." Blueblood answered him, "But at least you aren't hurt."
"I guess. What are we gonna do now?"
"Well..." Blueblood began, "First , we need to get you some new clothes, because what you're wearing now makes you look like roadkill.
Spike looked down at his clothes and assessed the damage. There were several rips in his hoodie and the green T-shirt that he wore underneath. He looked farther down and saw that the fall had left some pretty big holes in his jeans. He was covered from head to foot in grass and dirt stains.
"Fine." Spike said. "But what are we gonna do after we're done with all that?"
Blueblood began walking. "We'll figure it out as we go along".
Great plan. Spike thought sarcastically. He ran to catch up to Blueblood as they walked over to his motorcycle. Blueblood's horn glowed for a few seconds, and the motorcycle disappeared with a pop! that made Spike jump ever so slightly. Blueblood didn't notice this as he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket. He wrote something on it while hiding it from Spike's view, folded it up, and made it magically disappear before Spike had a chance to read what it said.
"What was that?" Spike asked quizzically.
Blueblood replaced the pen in his pocket before responding to him, "Just telling Aunt Celestia that I found you."
Celestia's castle
Princess Celestia sat on her throne, dozing off because of the lack of sleep due to what happened the night before. She had been so worried about Spike, that she had spent the rest of the night in her room, pacing the floor as she waited to receive any sort of news on her son's whereabouts. Suddenly, a folded piece of paper appeared in front of her and fell into her lap. Her eyes snapped wide open, and she quickly grabbed and unfolded it, hoping that it would contain information assuring her of her son's safety.
Aunt Celestia,
I found Spike. Other than some torn clothes, he seems okay. Looks like he crashed into the ground while flying. He's undergone some kind of transformation that we've never seen before in any other dragons. We will be returning home soon in order to evaluate whether or not the transformation will be permanent.
Blueblood
Celestia looked up from the letter and let out a heavy sigh.
Dammit, I can't let them come back here. Not while they are still in my castle.
Celestia wrote a quick response to her nephew:
I don't think that's the best idea for Spike to come back while the Elements of Harmony are still residing here at my castle. I suggest that you find a hotel to stay at until Twilight and her friends leave my castle in a few days.
Celestia.
Celestia rolled up the paper before sending it to her nephew with her magic. Once the letter disappeared, she leaned back into her throne and closed her eyes.What's going to happen now? she thought. I can't let Spike stay with the Elements of Harmony. Not after everything they put him through. As much as I would like for him to stay here, I don't think he would enjoy having to endure the snotty remarks of almost every resident of Canterlot. Celestia's train of thought continued as she sat on her throne, not noticing the draconequus hiding in one of the many stained-glass windows that decorated the throne room who had been spying on her.
On the highway
When Blueblood received his Aunt's response, he hadn't been surprised when she didn't want them to return to Canterlot for a few days. It definitely wasn't a good idea to have Spike around the Mane Six so soon. It would be like pouring salt on a fresh wound for the poor bastard.
"Come on. We have to find a place to stay." he said to Spike.
"Why don't we just go to Canterlot?" Spike asked him.
"Think about it. Do you really want to be around those skanks after what they did to you?"
"I guess not."
"Good." Blueblood responded. His horn glowed for a second before a black jeep appeared on the side of the road next to them. "Come on, we'll take my car".
"What was wrong with the motorcycle?" Spike questioned him.
Blueblood rolled his eyes. "Would you prefer riding bitch on my bike? Or would you rather be able to sit comfortably in a vehicle that doesn't require you to be packed ass-to-cock with me?" Blueblood asked him sarcastically.
Before Spike could answer, Blueblood tossed a set of keys at Spike, which he caught before they could hit him in the face.
"You're driving." Blueblood said to him.
Spike looked at the set of keys, and then back at his cousin. "Wait, why am I driving?" he asked him incredulously.
"Because I'm exhausted from looking for your sorry ass all night." he responded grouchily.
Spike climbed into the driver's seat of the jeep while Blueblood took the passenger seat next to him. Spike started the car and began to drive down the long stretch of road.
A half hour later...
Spike leaned back into the driver's seat as he cruised along the highway. He looked at himself in the rear view mirror, and took a good look at his new appearance. Other than his hair and his newly-ruined clothes, he didn't look all that different from before. He looked back to the road as his mind drifted back to the night before. His sister and his crush stabbing him in the back, his rage-induced rant that preceded his running away, and the last words that he left them with before he had flown out of the castle and away from Canterlot.
YOU CAN ALL BURN IN HELL!!!!!!!!
"Thinking about them?"
Spike looked around to see Blueblood, who had been dozing peacefully in the passenger seat for the last half hour, awake and gazing at him.
Spike sighed. "It's just..." he started, his mind failing to form the right words that could describe his inner turmoil, "... fuck, man, I can't even describe it. What the fuck did I do to deserve this? I've always tried to do the right thing. I've spent my whole life being Twilight's assistant, and all I want is some appreciation for what I do. That's all I've ever really wanted, and instead, I get shit on again and again by the people who are supposed to be my friends. They work me like a damn slave and fuck me over all the time. They always treat me like I'm not worth shit. They've never included me in anything that they've done together. They just leave me behind and treat me like I'm not even there."
Blueblood looked out the window at the grassy plains that rolled past them. "I know, man. It's not right." he replied.
Spike shook as he continued to vent his feelings. "And then Twilight goes and starts sleeping with Rarity behind my back. She knew that I'm in love with her, and she did it anyway." Spike gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles began to turn white. "I'm damn sure that Rarity knew about my feelings, too! She knew, and yet she still used me so she could get free labor out of me! She never cared about me! None of them ever cared!"
Blueblood listened to every word that came out of his cousin's mouth. He was hurting. Both of them were hurting.
Suddenly, an idea cam to him.
"Hey, Spike," Blueblood said, "Why don't we head down to Las Pegasus?"
Spike gave his cousin a look of irritation. "Yeah, because gambling away what little money I have would be such a great way to forget all my troubles." he said sarcastically.
"That's not what I was talking about, smart-ass." Blueblood shot back. "But I do have and idea of how to get your mind off of what those shitheels did to you."
Spike drove on without another word from either of them.
Celestia, Luna, and the Mane Six sat in the dining hall, eating their dinner in silence. None of them had even spoken a single word to each other since the previous night's events. Celestia and Luna were angry as ever, and were only keeping the Elements of Harmony around because of the emissaries from Dracovinia that would be arriving in Canterlot tomorrow night. The purpose of their visit were to discuss the possibility of opening new trade routed along the border of the two nations. In reality, there was only one emissary, which was Dracovinia's ambassador to Equestria, but Celestia's had been intending to introduce Spike to the ambassador's daughter, who happened to be the same age as Spike. Once Spike had run away, Celestia's ulterior motive had pretty much gone right out the window.
Twilight finally spoke up: "Have you heard any news about Spike?" she asked her former teacher. Celestia glared at the lavender mare. "Spike is fine." she responded, "But he won't be back for a few days, and I will be sending the six of you back to Ponyville tomorrow morning. At this point I would rather tell the ambassador that we will have to reschedule for another time than have to be around the six of you for another day."
"Princess, please..." Twilight pleaded, "I need to talk to Spike."
Rainbow Dash spoke up: "What's his problem with us anyway? I mean, I can get why he would be pissed at Twilight and Rarity, because they've been sleeping around behind his back, but why the hell is he mad at me, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack!? We weren't the ones who betrayed his trust!"
Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash with a mixture of sadness, irritation, and disappointment. "He has every right to tah be angry, Dash. The poor little fella has spent all these years having to put up with us treating 'im like he don't even exist. We may not have been as bad as Twilight and Rarity, but we're responsible for him bein' so miserable, too."
"Well, he could have said something!"
"He shouldn't have had to say anything! We're the ones that screwed up, not him!"
Rarity jumped in: "And why, pray tell, are you including me in your argument?" she shot at Applejack and Dash, "I feel just as bad for what happened to Spike, but as far as I'm concerned, Twilight is the one who betrayed Spike's trust!"
Twilight looked outraged. "What!? Your the one who came onto me!"
"And you could have just as easily rejected me! And he's your brother, anyhow!" Rarity argued back.
"And you're the one who he's been in love with ever since he and I first moved to Ponyville!"
"Since when was the crush he had on me actual love!? Or do you not know the difference!? Perhaps you would be able to tell the two apart if you didn't spend so much time with your head buried in a book and had actually gone out and dated before!"
"Maybe if you didn't spend so much time marveling at yourself in the mirror, you would have realized that what he felt for you wasn't some childish crush! Or that the only thing about you that appealed to stallions was your artificial looks!"
"QUIET!!!!"
The Mane Six looked over at the source of the yelling to see Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who had said nothing during the argument, looking back at the four of them with anger etched on their faces.
"We're all at fault for what happened to Spike." Pinkie Pie stated matter-of-factly. Her mane hung flat against her face, as it had since the night before. "None of us ever treated him the way he deserved."
"That's right."Fluttershy added. "We all need to take responsibility, and we all need to try and make this right."
The Mane Six all looked down at their plates at this statement. Each of them had taken the words of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie into consideration, and had all come to the realization that they were right. They all had a part to play in making Spike so miserable. Therefore, they all had to try and find some way to make it up to Spike after everything they put him through.
They owed him that much at least.
"I wonder where he is." Rainbow Dash thought aloud.
streets of Las Pegasus
"Dude, where the fuck are you taking me?" Spike asked for the millionth time as his cousin pulled him through the streets of Las Pegasus. He had been asking the same question ever since Blueblood had given him instructions to drive to the ever-so-famous Las Pegasus Strip. They passed casino after brightly neon-colored casino as Blueblood continued to yank him towards whatever destination his equine cousin had in mind.
Blueblood pulled Spike into what had to be the biggest hotel on the Strip. A giant neon sign hanging over the entrance flashed "Royale Hotel and Casino" in vibrant blue letters. Blueblood led Spike past the various slot machies and game tables, leading into a well sized ballroom that was big enough to hold a few hundred people, or at least a thousand, if you crammed them in tight enough. As soon as they arrived, people began to file in until there was barely enough room to fit anyone else in. Even the people who were only there to gamble had turned away from whatever game they were playing and brought their attention to the empty stage that stood at the front of the ballroom.
The only things that was on the stage was a microphone, a set of drums, and a number of amps. Spike was about to lean over towards Blueblood and ask him why they were here when the lights around the stage and the ballroom darkened. Spike looked around to see that no one had reacted at all to the sudden loss of lighting.
Blueblood leaned over to his cousin and whispered into his ear: "Just watch."
Spike started to ask him what he was supposed to watch, when he heard what sounded like a guitar being strummed.
(A/N: Listen to this while reading. I do not own this song. It is property of the band Stone Sour)
The lights came back on to show five stallions standing on stage. The one holding the microphone had dark brown fur and slicked back white hair. He wore a black polo shirt and a pair of regular fit blue jeans and black sneakers. His face was adorned by a pair of shades that hid his eyes.
He was flanked by three men. The one on the left closest to him had orange fur, no hair, and a deep red beard that ran the length of the stallion's chest. The one next to him had yellow fur and an orange Mohawk that had to be six inches high. Both were dressed similarly to Blublood and were playing simple, black electric guitars.
The one on the lead singer's right had bright red fur, similar to that of Applejack's brother, Big Mac, and jet black hair that hung down over his face and cascaded down his shoulders and back. He wore a black muscle shirt, dark skinny jeans, and a pair of motorcycle boots. He played a white bass guitar.
The drummer who was positioned behind the singer had white fur, but neither hair nor a beard. He wore a simple black T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts and black skate shoes. He smiled maniacally as he pounded on his drums.
Spike was mesmerized by the sight in front of him. He watched as the lead singer yelled out the lyrics while the guitarists and drummer played out an intricate pattern of notes on their own respective instruments. It was like nothing Spike had ever seen before.
He watched as the guitarist with orange fur began playing out a solo on his guitar; practically hypnotized by the sound and sight of the guitarist's fingers moving rapidly up and down the neck of the guitar as he played out each note incredibly fast. Blueblood and the crowd yelled and cheered as the song continued while Spike stood stock still. Even as the song ended, Spike was still rooted to the same spot that he had been standing in since the beginning of the song. Even as the band played through the entire set, he had yet to move.
two hours later
"Wow." was all Spike could say as he and Blueblood made their way to their hotel room. After the concert had ended, Spike and Blueblood had decided to spend the night at the hotel. It wasn't until now that Spike had finally spoken since the beginning of the band's performance.
Blueblood laughed. "So I guess that you liked the show?", he asked Spike, elbowing him gently as the elevator that they currently occupied made its way to the top floor. Thanks to the fact that Blueblood was royalty, they were given access to the penthouse suite, complements of the hotel.
"That was fucking amazing!" Spike replied, "I should've gone to one of those a long time ago!"
They made their way from the elevator and into the penthouse suite that they would be occupying for the night. The suite itself contained a living room, a full-sized kitchen, two bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms, and a large balcony that allowed the occupants to look out and gaze at the amazing view of the Las Pegasus Strip that was before them.
"Well..." Blueblood yawned and stretched out his arms. "I'm going to bed. 'Night, Spike."
"Goodnight." Spike replied. He knew that Blueblood must be exhausted, even if it was only 10:00, because he had spent most of the previous night searching for him after he had run from his mother's castle.
Blueblood went to one of the bedrooms while Spike sat down on the living room couch and turned on the TV. As he sat there, watching TV, he began to replay the events from earlier that night. Being at that concert had been absolutely amazing. But as he continued to think about how great getting to see a real heavy metal concert was, he began to imagine what it would be like to be the one up on stage, entertaining thousands of people, hearing the cheer for you and scream your name. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. Something that would start a chain of events that would change his life in ways that he would never predict:
I want to start my own band.
I want to bring that same feeling of amazement and awe to others.
I wanna rock.
The next morning
Blueblood rubbed his eyes as he awoke from his peaceful slumber. He yawned and stretched as he sat up in bed. His eyes drifted towards the alarm clock that sat on the nightstand to see that it read 1:00 pm. Normally, Blueblood would've been somewhat distressed at the fact hat he had slept in so late, but considering how he spent the previous night looking around for Spike, he believed that had earned those few extra hours in bed.
When he left the bedroom and went into the living room, he was met by the sight of Spike siting at the dining room table, furiously scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Every few seconds, Spike would look up, tap the pencil he was using on his chin, as though he were in deep thought, and would then go back to writing whatever it was he was writing. There was a small stack of similar papers that sat on the table next to Spike, all with similar markings to the one that Spike was writing on, but Blueblood couldn't make out what was on the paper from where he stood.
Blueblood greeted his cousin, "Mornin', Spike. How'd you sleep?"
Spike replied, not looking up from his place at the table, "I didn't. I've been up all night watching videos of other bands and listening to their music."
Blueblood blinked. "Wait, wait, wait..." he started, "You've been up all night researching heavy metal?"
Spike got up from his seat and walked over to his cousin. Once Blueblood got a clear view of his cousin, he noticed that Spike's appearance had changed yet again.
For starters, Spike's hair was still just past shoulder length, but it was trimmed. He had combed it and parted it neatly to the right, taking away the appearance that made Spike look like a drug dealer. His ratty clothes from the day before were nowhere to be seen. In their place, Spike wore a black denim vest over a plain black T-shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a brand new pair of chucks. He wore a spiked wristband on his left wrist and a plain black one on his right. What really caught Blueblood's eye was the belt buckle that Spike wore on his waist. It looked like the head of some kind of demonic beast that you would find pictures of in some horror fantasy novel. It was made out of pure silver and had tusks that curved upwards and extended almost up to the head's eyes. Its eyes were blank, with no irises or pupils. Its mouth was filled with jagged teeth that looked like they could tear through any organism it chose if such a beast were to exist. As Blueblood looked at the belt buckle, he couldn't help but feel like the thing was staring right back at him. Blueblood knew that it was a ridiculous idea, but he could almost swear that it felt like those empty, white eyes were staring not just at him, but through him; Observing every move he made. Blueblood pushed these thoughts out of his head and tried to shake the feeling that staring at the belt buckle for too long left him with.
"What's all this?" he asked Spike, "Where did you get the clothes? And when did you cut your hair?"
Spike grinned and answered his questions. "While you were asleep, I decided that I should perhaps try a change in wardrobe and getting my hair cut. When I got my hair cut from this little barber shop about 10 minutes away from here, I decided to get myself some new clothes from the shop right across the street." He began to laugh. "You should've seen the look on that barber's face when he saw that apparently there are dragons with hair on their head instead of spikes."
Blueblood chuckled, "I'm starting to wish that I had been there."
"Anyway," Spike continued, "I was up all night because that concert made me realize what I wanted to do with my life." Spike walked over to the balcony and stared out to the streets below. "I've spent my whole life being Twilight's assistant, and I never really thought about the possibility of there being anything else out there for me. I thought that all I would ever be is just the little dragon that followed Princess Twilight Sparkle around; Constantly being pushed to the side and left behind to do all the menial crap that Twilight wouldn't do herself while she and Rarity played around with my emotions."
"But last night, when you took me to that concert, it felt like something awoke in me. That's then that I decided that I want to form my own band. I want to perform songs that make people scream and cheer and bang their heads to the music. I want to show people that I'm more than just Twilight Sparkle's assistant." Spike turned to face his cousin.
"I want to rock."
Blueblood looked at his cousin incredulously, then a grin spread across his face. "Well, if you need a guitarist, you've got one right here. If your gonna go out there and rock, then I'm gonna be right there, rocking with you."
Spike grinned back. "That's what I thought." he said.
Back in Ponyville, each of the Mane Six had gone their separate ways. They all needed to recuperate emotionally after the fiasco at Celestia's castle. There were no words to describe the guilt they felt. None of them said a word to each other as they each made their way towards each of their respective homes.
When Twilight reached the library, she simply stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She stood on the landing, looking at her surroundings. The library hadn't been there for very long. They had only rebuilt it a few years ago after the original building was destroyed in Tirek's attack on Ponyville. It had actually been Spike's idea to rebuild the library. Ever since then, they only used the palace that had sprung up out of the ground after TIrek's defeat for use during official business that required the involvement of the Elements of Harmony. As Twilight looked around. Memories of all the good times she had with the Mane Six and Spike began to come back to her. She came to realize how very few of those memories actually had Spike in them. Usually it would be her and her friends having fun, while Spike would be cleaning the library or making snacks for them or out running errands for her.
That couldn't be right. Right? Surely they had to have done some things together. Like me reading while he would grab books for me. Okay, bad example. But still, there had to be something. He was her friend after all, right? She certainly treated him like a...
Cook...
Maid...
Book fetcher...
Practice dummy for her spells...
Garbageman...
She slowly came to realize that she had never even bothered to treat him like a friend.
She sank down to her knees. "Oh no...", she whispered, "I'm no better than Rarity. The only difference is that he was in love with her and she used him for a pincushion. I never gave him the respect or attention that he deserved."
She put her hands to her face and sobbed. She hated herself with a passion. How could she do such a thing to her own assistant. To her own brother. For Faust's sake, she'd kn own him since he was born! She had been his caretaker for almost all of his childhood. They saw each other almost every day, yet she treated him like a pile of dog shit that she just stepped in.
As Rarity made her way back to the Carousel Boutique, she found herself on the receiving end of many dirty looks. It seemed that news tended to travel very fast in Equestria, and many of the townsfolk had learned of Spike's breakdown at Celestia's castle. Needless to say, the Mane Six weren't the most popular group in Ponyville, and from what it seemed, Rarity was the most hated out of all of them. Why shouldn't she be? Spike's love for Rarity wasn't exactly the best kept secret in Ponyville, and many of them already began to dislike her because of how long she had been using Spike. When news hit that Twilight and Rarity had been having sex behind Spike's back, her popularity decreased at ten times the rate that it had been before. Was it not for the fact that almost all of her business was done outside of Ponyville, she would have been homeless by now.
As Rarity reached her home, she began to reach for the door just as her younger sister, Sweetie Belle, stormed out the door and right by Rarity. She carried a black suitcase in her hand.
"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked, "Where are you going?"
Sweetie Belle stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her sister. An angry look was etched into her face, and her eyes burned with rage. "I'm staying with Apple Bloom for a few days." she said, "I don't want to be around you for a while."
Rarity looked down at the ground. "I guess you've heard about Spike, then."
Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth. "Yeah, and most of the town knows, too. You know, I was hoping that one day, you would come to your senses and finally give Spike a damn chance. I should've figured you'd do something like this."
Sweetie Belle interrupted her, "Oh, I understand, all right." her voice menacing, full of hate, "You're a stupid whore who never gave two shits about how Spike was in love with you unless you could use that to get some free work out of him. Back when you guys were younger, he would follow you around like a dog with his tongue hanging out, and the whole time, you were the one holding his leash. Sure, you would occasionally toss him a gem or two like an owner giving a treat to a loyal pet, but you never gave him a chance, or even thought of telling him how you feel. You didn't think about him back then, you didn't think about him when you started screwing around with Twilight, and I bet you don't even think about him now, because all you probably can think about is how this whole fucking thing is going to affect your reputation."
Rarity tried to protest again, "T-That's not true. I-I feel just as guilty about Spike as the rest of the gir--"
"Shut up." Sweetie Belle cut her off once again. She spat at Rarity's feet. "You're such a bitch." she turned back towards the road and walked away.
Rarity was left speechless. She had never heard her sister talk in such a way, much less curse. She turned back to her front door and walked inside. After turning the sign on her front door to CLOSED and closing and locking the door, she walked up the stairs and into her bedroom. She closed and locked her bedroom door, dropped her own suitcase on the ground, and plopped down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"Is what Sweetie Belle said true?" she asked herself aloud, "Am I really that heartless?"
"It seems like the rest of the town would care to think so, along with the Princesses and most of your friends. Personally, I agree with them."
Rarity shot upwards into a sitting position. She recognized that voice anywhere.
"Discord..." she groaned irritably, "What do you want? I'm in no mood for any of your tomfoolery"
Discord materialized in the middle of the room, floating a few inches off of the ground. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else instead of in Rarity's home and place of business. "Do I sound like I'm here to exchange pleasantries?" he sneered, "I'm here because I know about what happened at the castle. I saw it all from one of the stained-glass windows in the throne room. I wouldn't have bothered hiding, but I figured that the last thing that poor little Spike needed was the god of chaos getting involved in his personal life."
He moved away from her bed and over to her suitcase that she dropped when she entered her room. "I figured that Spike would have to snap sooner or later with the way that you and your little friends treat him. The only thing that I didn't see coming was this whole thing with you and Twilight. Even I wouldn't have had the nerve to pull off something as backstabbing and selfish as that. Congratulations. You've managed to out-evil me." A party hat appeared on Discord's head while a banner with the words 'CONGRATULATIONS! YOU FUCKED UP!' written in bright red letters appeared in mid-air. Discord blew on a noise-maker and threw a handful of confetti in the air before all of the party decorations vanished, along with the confetti and his party hat.
"Are you done?" Rarity asked through gritted teeth.
"Not quite." Discord responded. He opened her suitcase and reached inside. A second later, he pulled out the Fire Ruby. The stone was now completely black and the crack was still there, extending across the ruby from the top right to the bottom left. "I saw what happened to the Fire Ruby back at the castle, and I figured that I might as well tell you the truth about this gem."
Discord floated back over to Rarity's bed. "First of all, did you know that Fire Rubies are not really shaped like hearts?"
Rarity's eyes widened. "They're not?"
"No," Discord continued, "Now here's where the history behind these things comes in." An armchair appeared at the foot of Rarity's bed, which Discord took a seat in.
"You see, the Fire Ruby has great meaning to dragons that are part of the same species as Spike. For thousands of years, these rubies were used to represent one's love for another. When a dragon of Spike's species finds such a ruby, they spend years shaping it into the commonly known heart shape that ponies believe these things to form into naturally. When the dragon finally finishes shaping it, he then waits to find the one person that he decides that he wants to spend the rest of his life with; The one person that he loves with all of his heart. When he finds that one person, he gives them the Fire Ruby. By doing so, it becomes a sort of formal admission of their love for that person. When they give that person the ruby, a piece of their own soul is left inside the gem, representing how much they would give for the one that they love."
Rarity was in shock. "So when he gave me his Fire Ruby...he was officially telling me that he loves me? The whole thing about it being his birthday dinner was untrue?"
"Yes." Discord answered her, "Spike had originally found it when he was eight years old when he was exploring some old caves in the Badlands with Celestia. She told him about the customary traditions that members of his species performed when he first discovered it. He had been shaping it ever since. He never told Twilight about any of his plans for the ruby, and instead fed her some bullshit lie about how he wanted to wait until his thirteenth birthday to eat it, when it would be fully ripe." Discord rolled his eyes, "For a student of Princess Celestia herself, you'd think that a brainiac like Twilight would have known that a gemstone cannot ripen, but let me explain what's happened with this one." Discord held up the blackened Fire Ruby.
"You see, when Spike caught you in bed with Twilight, the crack in the stone and the gem's color turning black was actually the result of you hurting him so badly, that the bit of his soul that is in this ruby has turned black and died. When he gave you this Fire Ruby, that part of his soul became yours. It made an actual spiritual connection to your soul and his soul. By breaking his heart, you have destroyed that bond. While its had no effect on you, part of Spike's soul is now actually gone. While it will eventually grow back as part of him, while the part of his soul that was stored in this ruby will stay dead, you have actually managed to temporarily take away his ability to fall in love. How long it will take to grow back depends on how long the damage you've done will take to repair."
Tears poured from Rarity's eyes. She tried to say something. Anything. But she didn't know what she could possibly say as a response to the information that Discord had just given her.
"I...I...I" she stammered.
"Well, my job's done." Discord rose from his seat and the chair disappeared. "I'll leave you here to mull over what I've told you. Perhaps you may learn something about yourself." He laid the Fire Ruby down on Rarity's bed in front of the crying mare and disappeared, leaving Rarity alone in her room once more.
Rarity felt like her heart had been split in two, and then what was left was roasted over an open fire. No words could even begin to describe the immense mixture of sadness and guilt that she felt.
She laid back down on her bed and let her tears flow freely.
DIscord said that perhaps she would learn something.
Well, she definitely learned something about herself just now.
Spike and Blueblood checked out of the hotel the next day. At Spike's request that they get something to eat, they stopped by an old-fashioned diner to get something to eat before they hit the road again. They made their way into the diner to see the usual interior design that you would find inside such a place. The only other occupants were an old couple sitting at a booth close to the exit and an off-duty police officer sitting at the end of the bar. They sat down at a booth as a young waitress with pink fur and a lilac mane came by to take their order. A plain white nametag with the words "SPRING BREEZE" printed in all-caps was pinned to her bright gray blouse right above her breast. They both ordered a plate of eggs and a cup of coffee for each of them. The waitress jotted their orders down on a pad of paper before walking away. She came back a short while later with their orders and left them to their meals.
"So..." Blueblood began as he took a sip of his coffee, "What should we do first?"
Spike looked up from his plate with a mouthful of egg. He quickly swallowed and answered his cousin. "Well, I want to drop by the library and pick up a few things first."
Blueblood looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure that you want to do that?" he asked him.
"I only want to pick up some personal belongings, and we're gone. I don't wanna spend any more time there than necessary."
Blueblood nodded. "Good." He picked up his fork and began devouring his own meal. The silence between the two of them only lasted a few seconds before Spike decided to speak.
"I've been meaning to ask you something; What happened back in Canterlot that got you all pissed off?"
Blueblood froze in place, a forkful of egg halfway to his mouth. He looked up at his cousin before closing his eyes and exhaling. Spike took this as a sign to stop inquiring any further.
"Listen, you don't have to answer if you don't wan--" Spike began.
Blueblood interrupted, "No, it's fine." he set down his fork and rubbed the back of his head. "You know that cellist I was dating?"
Spike answered, "Yeah. Octavia, right?"
"That's the one." Blueblood continued, "Anyway, I decided that since I had been seeing her for a year and a half, that I would ask her to marry me. So I took her to her favorite restaurant in Canterlot and I was going to propose to her during dinner."
"So, wait...she said no?"
"Not actually. I didn't even get the chance to pop the question. We weren't seated for five minutes before she told me that she was leaving me for another mare. Turns out that she was having an affair with that one mare, DJ-PON3 or whatever her name is."
"Vinyl Scratch?"
"I think so." Blueblood picked up his coffee mug and drained it in one gulp. Spike sat there, filled with sympathy for Blueblood. Both of them had been through hell the past couple of days, and he hadn't even known that his cousin was going through something that was almost exactly the same.
"Sorry, man." Spike said.
"It's alright." Blueblood responded. Neither said a word to each other until they had eaten, paid the check, and were back on the road.
Blueblood drove while Spike looked through some lyrics that he had written the night before. Blueblood looked over at Spike. "Have you figured out what we're gonna do member-wise with this band that we're putting together?" he asked him.
"I know someone in Ponyville who'd make a good bassist. It's another reason why I wanted to head back to the library." Spike answered, not taking his eyes off of the papers he held in his hand.
"What about a drummer?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead."
A voice came from the back seat. "Did somebody say they needed a drummer?"
Blueblood and Spike yelled and jumped in surprise as Blueblood's jeep swerved across the road from side to side, nearly driving into the guardrails on either side. When Blueblood regained control of the car, they both turned around to see none other than Cheese Sandwich sitting in the back seat, large smile plastered onto his face.
"CHEESE! WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?! YOU NEARLY MADE US CRASH!" Spike yelled.
Blueblood looked over at Cheese and then back to Spike. "Who the fuck is this guy!?" Blueblood yelled. He wanted to know who the fuck this random dude was, how the fuck did Spike know him, and why the FUCK was he in the backseat of his car.
Spike gestured towards Blueblood with his hand, and then at Cheese. "Blueblood, this is Cheese Sandwich. He's a party planner just like Pinkie, except he travels the world." he gestured back to Blueblood. "Cheese, this is Prince Blueblood. He's my cousin--"
"Yeah, okay, I get who he is," Blueblood interrupted, "But can someone please tell me why he's in my fucking car?!"
Cheese continued to smile. "I heard that you guys were staring a band, and I wanted to see if you guys needed a good drummer!" he answered.
Blueblood was puzzled. "Wait, how did you find out that we were staring a band?" he asked. "We haven't told anyone else yet."
Spike answered his cousin's question, "I told you, Blueblood. He's just like Pinkie. That includes whatever weird, reality-bending abilities she has, too."
Blueblood thought about this new piece of information for a few moments. That's just great. Blueblood thought. Another pony breaking the laws of physics. As if Pinkie Pie didn't confuse me enough.
"Ooh, a radio!" Cheese exclaimed. He leaned forward past Spike and Blueblood and began fiddling with the dials on the jeep's radio, zipping past several different stations.
"Hey!" Blueblood said loudly. "Watch what you're doing! I don't want you breaking my shi--" Blueblood stopped speaking altogether as he heard what song was being played on the station that Cheese had picked. The station was playing "Uh! All Night" by KISS.
A large grin spread across Spike's face. "Damn, Cheese! I didn't know you were into this kind of music!" Spike laughed.
Cheese replied, "Dude, what do you think I do when I'm not planning parties?" Cheese's voice dropped about an octave. His hair had straightened out, and he had a devious look on his face.
Spike looked at Cheese's new appearance. "Whoa, man, do you look like this every time you listen to rock n' roll? he asked.
Cheese smiled deviously. "Only when I listen to the good shit, dude."
The trio continued down the road as they listened to the awesomeness being blasted from the radio, singing along with the band.
Being in a band is gonna be fucking awesome. Spike thought.
Later that day...
The trio arrived in Ponyville, much to the surprise of the town's residents. Many had thought that Spike would have been as far away from Ponyville as possible after the events at Celestia's castle. They were even more surprised to see his new appearance. As the three walked through the town and towards the library, Spike was the object of many stares. It wasn't day that the townspeople saw such an odd, yet awesome-looking dragon strolling through the town square.
The three stopped in front of the library, right in front of the door. The sign on the front of the door was flipped to "CLOSED". Spike reached one claw up to knock, only to return his arm back to it's original position by his side. Why the hell am I knocking? he thought, I live here. Or at least I used to live here. He pushed the door open and walked inside, his friends following suit.
The library was a mess. Books were strewn everywhere, from the shelves to the farthest corners of the room. Spike began stepping over the various books that decorated the floor before starting up the stairs.
"Damn. This place is a mess." Blueblood said. He took a cigarette out of the pack he kept in his pocket and lit it.
Spike heard the click of Blueblood's lighter. He didn't even have to turn around to know what his cousin was doing. "Come on, man." he said. He turned towards his cousin. "Don't smoke in here. There's fucking books everywhere. You're bound to accidentally light something on fire."
"Alright, fine." Blueblood groaned as he pitched his cigarette out a nearby window. Spike continued on his way up the stairs and to the bedroom that both he and Twilight shared. As he opened the door, he could hear the sound of snoring emanating from the room. He opened the door completely to find Twilight asleep in her bed, despite the fact that it was now mid-afternoon. The bedroom itself was in much better shape than the rest of the library, with only a few misplaced items found here and there. Spike tiptoed across the room and over to his own bed. The last thing that he needed right now was to wake up Twilight and have to deal with any drama that would result in her awakening.
Spike reached under his own bed and pulled out a medium sized suitcase. He opened it up and began reaching into his dresser, pulling out some clothes, his wallet, and a picture of him and Celestia when he was ten years old. He placed the objects within the suitcase and closed it. As he began to walk towards the door, he felt something heavy hit him on the back of the head. He fell to the ground, the world spinning around him. As he regained his bearings, he got back onto his feet and turned around to see a very angry-looking Twilight with an encyclopedia covered in a purple aura levitating right next to her.
"What are you doing in my home?!" she yelled. "You better get out or I'll--"
She stopped talking and dropped the book she held with her magic as she recognized the supposed intruder. "S-Spike?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "I-Is that you?"
Spike rubbed the back of his head where the first book that she had thrown hit him. "Yeah, it's me. I'm only here to pick up some stuff and then I'll be on my way." He picked his suitcase up off the ground and proceeded towards the bedroom door.
"Wait!" Twilight pleaded. "Spike, please, I need to talk to you."
Spike looked back at her, the rage he felt three days prior beginning to bubble up again. Without thinking, he spoke: "You know what? Fine. Meet me at the exit out of Ponyville in half an hour. And bring the rest of the girls, too. There's a lot more that needs to be said than you think." With that, he turned and walked out the door, leaving Twilight by herself in what was now only her bedroom.
Spike headed down the stairs and out the door, not speaking a word. Blueblood and Cheese Sandwich ran to catch up with the purple-scaled dragon.
"What just happened in there?" Blueblood asked him.
"I'll tell you after we stop by the Apple family's orchard." Spike answered.
Cheese looked confused. "Why are we going there?"
Spike grinned. "Where do you think our bassist is?"
Big Macintosh gazed out over the hilltop as he looked down at the apple orchard. He took in the beautiful sight of the hundreds of apple trees that had been rooted to this land before Ponyville had even existed. He had always taken pride in the fact that the orchard was such an important part of Ponyville's economy and history. Hell, it had been the Apple family that originally settled on the land that Ponyville would be built on. He loved working in the orchard, spending his days bucking the trees to catch the ripe, red fruit that his family was so well known for, because it was one of the few places where he felt at peace. Even then, he was still troubled.
As much as he loved working on the farm, he began to desire a life outside of the usual, day-by-day chores that took up most of his time. Unfortunately, this could never happen, for he was greatly depended upon to help keep the farm running. If Big Mac didn't do his part around the orchard, his family would lose everything.
Big Mac pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took a drag and puffed it out into the warm summer air, unaware of the three figures approaching him until one of them shouted his name.
"HEY, BIG MAC!"
The stallion spun around to see Blueblood, Cheese Sandwich, and Spike walking up the hill towards him. Or at least it was Blueblood, Cheese Sandwich, and someone who looked like Spike.
"Spike?" Big Mac questioned with his eyebrow raised. "What happened to ya? And more importantly, why are ya'll here? I heard that you had run off somewhere after you found out that Twilight and Rarity were together." Big Mac hadn't been surprised when he heard about what happened in Canterlot. He had figured that Spike would eventually get fed up with how the girls treated him. As much as he loved his two sisters, he had a tendency to treat Spike like a little brother whenever the two of them were together. Spike was one of the few people in Ponyville that Big Mac felt that he could really talk to, man to man. Spike knew about how suffocated Big Mac felt from being on the farm for most of his life, And Big Mac knew about how neglected Spike felt because the Mane 6 barely paid a lick of attention to him.
"We're here because I need to talk to you." Spike answered. "Is there anyplace where we can talk in private?"
"Sure." Big Mac responded, lifting up one leg and bending it to crush the lit end of his cigarette against the heel of his boot, "We can talk in the barn. Applebloom and her friends are at Sugarcube Corner, and Applejack has been in the orchard almost all day." It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Applejack was trying to distract herself from her guilt.
The four walked into the empty barn, the floorboards creaking beneath them with every step they took. Big Mac closed the doors behind them before they all sat down on a cluster of hay bales.
"So what'd ya'll want to talk about?" Big Mac asked Spike, taking a seat on a bale of hay directly across from the amethyst dragon. Spike's facial expression turned serious.
"Blueblood, Cheese and I are starting a band, and we need a bassist. I already know you play, because I've seen you practicing out in the orchard. I've heard you play, and you put all the other bassists I've heard to shame. What do you say, are you in?"
Big Mac's head was spinning. He had always kept the fact that he played bass guitar a secret. He didn't want anybody else knowing, lest he start hearing criticisms from other musicians on how good he was. Playing bass guitar was a secret passion of his. The feeling of his fingers against the strings and the sound of the low, deep notes emanating from the instrument was bliss to him. Being in a band had always seemed like a fantasy, like something that wouldn't happen in a million years. Yet, here he was now, being offered the chance of a lifetime. He wanted so badly to say yes, but deep down, he knew that he could not.
"I'm sorry, guys," he started, "But I'll have to say no. My family needs me here. If I'm not here, then we'll lose the farm. We're barely making it by as it is."
"Fuck that noise." Blueblood said, startling the other three who sat by him on their own respective hay bales, for he hadn't said a word since they had arrived at the farm. "I can hire somebody to work here in your absence. Give me five minutes, and I can have a guy here working for next to nothing until your family tells him to piss off."
Blueblood's offer rang in Big Mac's ears. How could he possibly say no to that?
"Fuck it." he stated, "I'm in."
A grin stretched across Spike's face. "Welcome to the band, my friend." he said.
Cheese Sandwich smiled devilishly. "That's what I'm fuckin' talking about!" he yelled, pumping one fist into the air. "Let's get this shit started!"
Spike turned to his energetic drummer. "Not yet, Cheese. I still have some unfinished business to take care of with the girls."
The four bandmates walked back to the exit out of Ponyville, where Spike had told Twilight to meet him. The three stallions and one dragon walked back in silence, until Blueblood spoke up:
"Are you sure you really want to talk to the girls again, Spike?" Blueblood asked, his voice filled with worry. He was afraid of what might happen if Spike was to confront the Mane 6 again. Would he go into another fit of rage and fly off again? He didn't know. And frankly, he didn't want to find out.
Spike turned his head towards his cousin. "I have to do this, Blueblood. I need to get this out and in the open once and for all. I can't keep all this shit bottled up. I need to confront them without having a meltdown and let them know why I'm doing this. Once we do that, it's 'Goodbye, Ponyville' and "Hello, open road.'
Blueblood, deciding that it would be best to get off the subject for the time being, turned to Cheese Sandwich. His hair still laid flat against his head, and he wore a black, leather vest over a dark yellow polo shirt with a pair of stone-washed jeans and a pair of black sneakers. Blueblood didn't even bother to ask how he had managed to change his clothes so quickly. "Hey, Cheese, "he started, "I've been meaning to ask you, since when did you play drums?"
Cheese Sandwich grinned. "I'm a master of many instruments, Blueblood. When you're in the business I'm in, you have to know how to play the way I do." Blueblood made no further inquiry, afraid that any more questions might tempt Cheese to start breaking the laws of physics. That kind of crap gave him a headache every time. So much that he always made sure to carry around a bottle of aspirin with him whenever he was around Pinkie Pie.
They arrived at the meeting place, which also happened to be where Blueblood had parked his jeep, to find that Blueblood's car was gone. Instead, in its place, was a large bus. The structure of the bus was that of your typical double-decker. The bus was black, with green flames painted over the sides. On one side of the bus, the word "GREENFIRE" was written in large letters styled to match the flames painted on the sides.
"What the fuck is this?" Blueblood exclaimed, growing angry at the idea that someone may have stolen his beloved jeep.
Spike walked over to the bus, and he ran a hand over the lettering on the side. a note written on a piece of notebook paper was taped to the side of the bus, along with a set of keys. Spike pulled off the note and read it:
Spike,
This is for you and your band. Use it well.
A friend
"I think it was meant for us, guys." Spike said he showed the note to Blueblood, Cheese, and Big Mac. They each read the note and passed it back to Spike when they had finished.
"Well, its free shit, so who am I to argue?" Blueblood said. Spike took the keys and walked over to the bus door. he inserted the key into the lock and twisted. A small click was heard as the tumblers inside the lock shifted. Spike removed the key and opened the door. He began to take a step, but faltered for a moment when he suddenly began to worry about what could possibly be inside the bus. For a moment, he thought about how Twilight would most likely do the same thing, if it had been her that the bus had been left for instead of Spike. The amethyst dragon shook these thoughts from his head and entered the bus.
The inside was even larger than the outside made it look. Spike guessed that the room had to measure at least 50 feet by 50 feet. The walls were made of stained oak. The floor was covered in carpeting that was black as night. Two couches made of black leather were placed next to each other, facing a wall adjourned with a 32-inch plasma screen TV. The TV was flanked by a door on either side. On the right was a large window facing the exit out of Ponyville. The asphalt road leading out of Ponyville that cut through the grassy plains could be seen on the other side of the glass. A doorway next to the window led into what Spike guessed to be a kitchen. A wooden table sat behind the two couches, along with 4 chairs. Next to the table was a spiral staircase leading to the second floor of the bus.
"Holy shit!" Spike exclaimed, his eyes widened in astonishment. "Guys, get in here! You gotta check this out!"
Blueblood, Big Macintosh, and Cheese Sandwich entered the vehicle, marveling at the sheer size of the interior of the bus. Except for Blueblood, none of them had ever seen a bus, or any motorized vehicle, for that matter, with an interior quite like this.
"How can it be this big inside?" Big Mac asked aloud.
Blueblood ran his hand along the top of one of the couches, feeling the leather material underneath his fingers. "It's probably enchanted." he explained, "I've seen a lot of socialites up in Canterlot use these kinds of spells for their carriages, so that they can have more room without their servants collapsing from trying to pull the extra weight of a bigger carriage."
"Why do they need carriages?" Big Mac questioned, slightly angered by the fact that upper-class citizens forced others they deemed beneath them to cart them around. "Why don't they just use cars?" Blueblood removed his hand from the couch to pinch the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.
"To them, it's a sign of wealth, and how they are above any who they consider part of the working class." Blueblood answered, earning a growl from Big Macintosh.
The four continued to explore the inside of the bus. Upstairs, they found a hallway with seven doors; three on each wall, and and the seventh at he end of the hall. Behind each of the six doors adjacent to each other were a bedroom, fitted with king-sized beds, a plasma-screen TV, and a private bathroom.
"Dude, this is some seriously deluxe shit!" Cheese exclaimed while sticking his head inside the seventh and final door at the end of the hallway.
Spike gave Cheese a questioning look. "What are you talking about, Cheese?"
"Come take a look for yourself, Spike!" Cheese replied enthusiastically.
Spike walked over to where Cheese Sandwich stood and looked inside the last door. Inside was recording studio, complete with a sound room and a number of instruments. Once Blueblood and Big Mac had caught up with Spike and Cheese Sandwich, the group of four began to look around the studio. They entered the sound room and began examining the instruments. The instruments consisted of a 9-piece drum set, a dark red Fender Precision bass guitar, a white Gibson Flying V electric guitar, and a Jet black Dean Razorblade with green flames painted in the bottom edge of the guitar
"Who do you think left these?" Big Mac asked, picking up the bass guitar and examining it.
Cheese answered, "I don't know, Mac, but whoever it is, we owe them big time."
Spike picked up the Razorblade and looked at it closely. He had never played an instrument before in his life, yet for some reason he felt drawn to the guitar. Just holding it in his hands felt right, like it was meant to be in his possession.
Suddenly, a series of loud knocks came from downstairs. Spike, rather than putting the guitar down, took the shoulder strap and positioned it on his back; the strap running diagonally from his left shoulder to under his right arm. The dragon left the studio and descended down the stairs to answer the door. When Spike opened the door, he found himself face to face with Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Elements of Harmony.
"You showed up." Spike said, "So what do you want to talk about?" He stepped out of the bus while Blueblood, Big Mac, and Cheese Sandwich listened from he doorway.
As the rest of the Mane 6 stared silently at the new and improved Spike, Twilight began to speak.
"Spike..."she began, "We're all really sorry about how we've treated you for these last few years. It shouldn't have taken you blowing up the way you did for us to realize that. Whether you know it or not, Spike, you mean a lot to us, even if we don't always act like it. We promise that things will be different from now on. We don't want you to have to feel the way you did ever again. We just want you to come home." Twilight's voice was quavering, like she was on the edge of tears. "Will you please come home?" she pleaded. The Mane Six looked at Spike with hopeful eyes; except for Rarity, who kept her head down; unable to look Spike in the eye after all she put him through.
Spike closed his eyes and rubbed his mouth, taking a second to think about what Twilight had said. After a couple of seconds, Spike gave his answer:
"No."
The Mane Six looked at him with shock.
"Aw, come on!" Rainbow Dash started, "You gotta give us a second chance, man! You can't stay mad at us forever!"
"That's not why I'm leaving, Dash." Spike shot back. "I don't care anymore about what happened in the past. This is about me living my own life. I've spent my entire life in Twilight's shadow as her assistant. I've never been on my own before. Now I know what I want to do with my life, and I can finally be happy."
"Ah think that yer bein' a little ridiculous, Sugarcube." Applejack stated.
"Good!" Spike retorted. "Because if being ridiculous means that I can be free from playing second banana to you six, then that's how it's going to be! I'm going to be in a rock band, and I'm gonna make a name for myself, and I'm gonna spend my life making damn good music, because it's my fucking life, and if you don't like it, I don't care! Now if you excuse me, I have music to record!" With that, Spike stepped back on the bus and closed the door behind them.
Blueblood enchanted the bus to drive them to Celestia's castle. The bus took off, leaving the Mane Six staring at where the bus once stood. Blueblood and Spike took a seat on one of the living room couches.
"Are you alright, Spike?" he asked his cousin.
"Spike looked at Blueblood and smiled. "I'm great, Blue." he responded, using the nickname that he had come up with for his cousin when they were children. He got up off the couch. "Come on. I got a shit ton of songs written down, and I want to see how they sound with me on guitar as well." He pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to Blueblood. Blueblood looked it over, then magically made three other copies so that each of them had one.
"Let's get moving, then." Big Mac said. They all went back up to the recording studio.
"I gotta say, Spike..." Blueblood said, "This looks pretty good, but the title's a little strange."
Spike looked back at his cousin. "What's wrong with the title 'Enter Sandman'?" Spike asked, "It fits the lyrics."
Blueblood shrugged as they entered the recording studio, unaware of the pair of yellow eyes watching them.
Spike and his friends sat in the living room of their new home, watching TV. The four were exhausted after a long day of recording songs for their first album. As they relaxed in the living room of their new home, the four were unaware of the draconequus who watched them from inside the bus.
"So what else are we going to record?" Blueblood asked. " We're gonna need at least three more songs on the album before we can call this thing finished."
Discord chuckled at the informal manner by which Blueblood spoke. He knew about the prince's problem with showing his true self in public. Blueblood had a hard life as a child, one which he was not keen on speaking about. When Discord had tried to get Blueblood to talk, the prince simply said "no" and walked away. When Discord continued to press the issue, Blueblood magically encased him in a metal box and threw him from the tallest tower of the castle.
Needless to say, Discord's attempts to pull information out of him stopped there.
Spike answered his cousin. "Well, out of all the shit I got here," he gestured to the pile of papers in his lap. " I think 'Sad But True', 'The Unforgiven', and 'Wherever I May Roam' would be the best choices."
"What about that one?" Cheese asked, pointing at a piece of paper sitting on the couch between Spike and Blueblood. The top of the paper was entitled "For Whom The Bell Tolls".
Spike picked up the paper and glanced over before shaking his head. "Nah." he replied. "I think we should wait until our next one to use this song. I don't want to put all of our best songs on one album."
Discord had been listening to the four's recording sessions all day. The music they played was, to Discord, mysteriously enticing. Hearing such music fill his ears put Discord at ease, as if he had found something he had lost long ago and had forgotten about it until now. Discord didn't quite understand where this feeling came from, but as he was a manifestation of chaos itself, he wasn't about to question it either. He liked the music that Spike and his band played, and decided to keep it at that.
Blueblood yawned. "Well, I'm tired." he said, getting up from his position on the couch. "I'm going to bed. You guys coming?"
Big Mac and Cheese Sandwich stood up from their respective seats and walked up the stairs with Blueblood. Blueblood turned back to look at Spike, who had not moved from where he sat.
"You coming, Spike?" Blueblood asked him.
Spike looked up at his cousin. "I'll be up, soon." he responded. "I'm just gonna go over some of the stuff we have here." Blueblood shrugged and went upstairs, with Big Mac and Cheese close behind him.
Spike sat and looked through the papers in his lap for a few minutes, before getting up, leaving the stack of papers on the couch. He walked up the stairs and proceeded towards his bedroom. As he undressed and got into bed, he couldn't help but wonder what the future could possibly hold in store for him.
At Celestia's castle...
Celestia stood over her balcony, ready to turn in for the night. Her sister, Luna, stood by her side, staring out over the horizon as the city of Canterlot sparkled beneath them.
"Must you worry about Spike so much, Tia?" Luna asked her sister.
Celestia looked at her sister. "I can't help it, Luna. He's my son. After everything that's happened in the last few days, I don't want him doing something reckless while he's in such a vulnerable state." A frown crossed her face. She rubbed her arms as she looked at the city below.
Luna placed a comforting hand on Celestia's shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be fine." she reassured her. "He's a grown dragon. He's fully capable of taking care of himself." Luna walked towards the bedroom door and opened it, turning back to her sister once more. "Now get to bed. You have a busy schedule tomorrow." Luna left her sister's bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Celestia sighed. She got ready for bed, she continued to think about Spike. She couldn't help but feel guilty about putting him into Twilight's care. Had she known how Twilight and her friends would treat her son, she never would have given her custody of Spike.
As she continued to think about her son, her thoughts soon shifted to the dragon's father. It had been over 20 years since she had last seen him, and yet she could still remember the last time she saw him.
Please, take care of my son. Those had been his last words to her before he left. After that, she had never seen him again. She looked at a picture of Spike and her when Spike was ten years old. Even when he was young, he looked remarkably like his father. Especially his eyes. At the age of ten, Spike's eyes had the same soft, warm gaze that she remembered his father so well for. One of her many regrets in her life was that Spike never had the chance to meet him.
Celestia turned away from the picture and got into bed. As she drifted off to sleep, she prayed that her son would be okay.
At the Carousel Boutique
Rarity sat at her kitchen table in her bathrobe, staring down forlornly at the glass of whiskey she held in her hands. She brought the glass to her mouth and drank deeply, finishing the glass before reaching over to the bottle beside her to refill her cup.
She was disgusted with herself. How could she ever do something so horrendous to Spike? It was bad enough that she had used him, but then she began seeing Twilight behind his back. What was wrong with her?
She drank once more, finishing a third of the glass before setting it back down. Her eyes averted to the Fire Ruby that sat in the middle of the table, still black as coal with the single crack running through it. She had to do what was right, which in this case, the right thing to do was to break up with Twilight. She knew it would hurt, because she genuinely cared for the lavender alicorn, but she couldn't continue to be in a relationship that would only hurt someone very near and dear to her heart.
And fucking his sister behind his back was a real great way to show him how dear to you he his, wasn't it, bitch? Her conscience said, mocking her. Rarity finished the glass and got up from her seat, grabbing the Fire Ruby as she did so. She climbed the stairs and walked to her bedroom. She unceremoniously plopped down on her bed, clutching the Fire Ruby to her chest. As she lied on her bed, she cried. Cried for how she would have to end her relationship with Twilight; cried for how she broke Spike's heart and lost the respect and love of her little sister; and cried for the loss of the friendship of one of the only men in Equestria who truly cared about her.
In Greenfire's Tour Bus...
In Spike's room, his belt buckle glowed in the moonlight. Unbeknownst to the sleeping dragon, the buckle began to glow with an eerie red light. The buckle's eyes glowed a dull red, and it began to emit a very low growl.
Soon...the Chosen One...shall rise...and fulfill his destiny...
The impact of Blueblood's boot on Spike's ribs sent the sleeping dragon sliding off his bed and onto the floor. Spike sat up from his position on the floor, disoriented and half-tangled in his sheets, to glare at his cousin.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he roared.
"You overslept...again." Blueblood responded, irritated. "We're almost at the Crystal Palace. Get your shit together, because the rest of us are waiting downstairs." Blueblood walked out of Spike's bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
Spike untangled himself from his sheets and hurriedly got ready for the day. He hurried down the stairs to see Blueblood, Big Macintosh and Cheese Sandwich standing in the living room, glaring at him.
"Sorry guys." he apologized, grinning sheepishly.
"You should really learn how to set an alarm." Big Mac advised.
In the last eighteen months, the four of them had all changed their appearance. Big Mac, along with Spike, had chosen to grow their hair out. While Spike and Cheese had remained clean-shaven, Macintosh had chosen to grow out his facial hair, and ended up sporting a horseshoe mustache and sideburns, while Blueblood had a neatly kept beard. Big Mac's usual outfit consisted of a black T-shirt and jeans, and the same black cowboy boots that he wore everywhere he went, while Cheese, Blueblood and Spike stuck to the same outfits they wore when they first formed Greenfire.
The reason for their appearance was that the anniversary of the liberation of the Crystal Empire was in one week, and Cadence and Shining Armor felt it was important that the hero that saved them all from the wrath of King Sombra was there to celebrate. Spike saw this as an opportunity to put a show on for the people of the Crystal Empire since Greenfire's newest album, "Turn to Ash", was just released.
The bus stopped as the four of them exited the bus and walked towards the entrance to the Crystal Palace. The trucks that carried all of their equipment had arrived a day earlier to set up so that they could start rehearsals as soon as possible. Still, Spike did want to spend some time with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. It had been almost two years since the last time he had seen either of them or his niece, Flurry Heart.
The Crystal Guards guarding the doors saw Spike and immediately moved aside to make way for their hero. Spike and his friends passed through the entrance to see Cadance and Shining Armor sitting in the throne room with Flurry Heart bouncing happily on her father's knee.
"Uncle Spike!" Flurry Heart yelled excitedly as she jumped from her father's lap to her uncle. As she reached Spike, he swept her up in one arm and hoisted her onto his shoulder.
"Hey! How's my favorite niece doing?" Spike asked.
"Great! Mr. Sunburst helped teach me a new spell! Watch this!" Flurry's horn glowed pink as a vase that sat on a pedestal near the door was turned into a banana, and then immediately turned back into a vase.
"Wow! That's real impressive, kiddo!" Spike praised her. Cadence walked over to Spike and hugged him as Flurry Heart jumped out of his arms to embrace Blueblood.
"It's great to see you again, Spike." Cadence greeted her brother-in-law. Spike smiled. He hadn't been to the Crystal Empire in almost two years. After his fight with The Elements of Harmony, Spike had become so wrapped up in his own career that he barely had any communication with family and friends outside of the Mane Six, which weighed heavily on Spike the longer that he continued such behavior.
"I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping up with you guys." Spike apologized. "But a lot's been going on with my music, and we've had tour dates to keep up with and-"
"It's fine, Spike." Cadence reassured him. "A lot changed in the last year."
Shining Armor walked up behind his wife and wrapped his arm around her waist. "You had a lot to figure out for yourself. So did Twily and her friends. What's important is that we're all together now." Shining added.
"Yeah, I'm glad that I finally have the time to catch up with y--" Spike paused. "Wait, did you say all of us?"
Cadence and Shining grinned sheepishly. "Well..." Cadence started.
"Are Twilight and the others gonna be here?" Spike questioned them.
"...Sort of..."
Spike stood still for a moment. "Huh..." He replied. "Well, I gotta go grab my luggage."
Spike's mind was racing as he made his way back to the bus that he had called home for the last eighteen months. He knew that it was important for the Elements of Harmony to be at the celebration, but after how things went the last time that he spoke to them, he didn't know if he was ready to face them again. He walked into the bus and grabbed the suitcase labeled with his name that he had left sitting on the floor by the couch,
C'mon, Spike. You gotta set things straight with them. J His conscience told him. He sighed. What happened in the past is in the past. Even if Twilight And Rarity are together, Twilight is your sister and Rarity is one of your best friends.
He walked back to the castle where he left Shining Armor and Cadence while Blueblood, Bic Mac and Cheese were being escorted to their rooms. Hopefully, I'll have plenty of time to think about what I want to say to them. "So what time are they gonna get here?" Spike asked.
"Yesterday..." Shining answered meekly.
So much for preparation. "Where are they?"
"They're walking around the city." Cadence responded.
"You two are assholes for not telling me they'd be here." Spike deadpanned.
"Spike, we--"Shining began.
"Forget it. I'm gonna go find my room and put my stuff away."Spike walked away, not happy that his own brother and sister-in-law had kept from telling him that the Mane Six were going to be at the celebration.
What did you expect? They have to be here, dipshit. They're national heroes, just like how you're the savior of the Crystal Empire. And with how shit went the last time you talked to any of them, it's no wonder that they didn't tell you that they were gonna be here until the last possible second.
Fuck, why couldn't Spike's conscience let him act like a sulking asswipe instead of using logic to prove him wrong?
Spike's inner self continued to lecture him as he made his way through the many halls of the castle. He already knew where his room was, as it was the same one that he stayed in every time he visited the Crystal Empire. As he turned one of the corners, a figure a head shorter than him with rainbow-colored hair crashed into him. While Spike was only pushed back slightly from the force of the collision, the one who had crashed into him was sent sprawling. Spike looked down and immediately identified the one who had run--well, really flown--into him as Rainbow Dash
"Ow!" She cried out, rubbing her head. "Why don't you watch where you're going!?" As she was ready to let loose another insult, she looked up and realized that it was Spike who she had flown into, who was currently looking down at her with an emotionless expression.
"Spike?"
"Nice to see you too, Rainbow Dash." He replied.
Dash hurriedly got to her feet and dusted herself off. "Wow. I almost didn't recognize you with the hair." She halfheartedly laughed. "When did you get here?"
"The guys and I just got here. They're being shown their rooms." He answered. "Where are the rest of the girls?"
"They're all out sightseeing and looking around at all the different shops. I decided to hang back, but I got bored and I've been racing around these hallways for the last 20 minutes."
Rainbow could never stay still for very long. Spike thought. Unless she's up in the clouds napping.
Spike continued his walk to his room with Rainbow in tow. "So, how's Ponyville been without me around?" He asked, trying to break the ice.
Rainbow looked down. "Different. Ever since you left, a lot changed. For a while, things went back to normal. We all went back to our work, but nothing felt the same. Pinkie doesn't have as much energy, and she doesn't bounce around like she used to, Fluttershy barely talks to anyone but her animals, and Applejack buried herself in her work."
"Seriously?" Spike asked, surprised that his leaving would cause such a shift in morale for his friends.
"Rarity and Twilight took it the hardest. Twi barely leaves the library, and the same goes for Rarity and the Boutique. She spent the first week you were gone downing enough booze to support half the population of Yakyakistan."
"Damn..." Was all Spike could say. They had finally reached Spike's room. Once they entered, Spike tossed his suitcase on the bed and walked over to the balcony. The room was similar to the one he kept at his mother's castle in Canterlot, only the walls were decorated with small amethyst and emerald gems, made to form a pattern that when looked at, looked like green and purple flames swirling together. "Well, at least they have each other to lean on, right?"
"You'd think so." Dash replied, earning a puzzled look from Spike.
"What do you mean?"
Rainbow Dash sighed. "You leaving wasn't the only reason that she started drinking." She explained. "The day after you left, Rarity went over to the library and broke it off with Twilight."
Spike was stunned. "But...I thought..."
"Rarity didn't think it was fair to betray you by dating your sister." She scoffed. "Took her actually betraying you to figure it out."
Spike's eyes narrowed. "She didn't have to do that for me."
Rainbow frowned. "What are you talking about? You were pissed to find out that they were dating and now that they're broken up, you're angry?"
"Because them breaking up doesn't fix anything." Spike retorted. "Just because Rarity dumps my sister doesn't mean that everything you girls did to me is gonna go away. It happened, it's over with, and because of it, I actually figured out what I want to do with my life. What's them splitting up going to do? Make me happy? Even if I was pissed, I don't want them sacrificing their happiness for me. That's just vindictive."
Rainbow Dash was taken aback by his reaction to the news. "Wow. I didn't think you'd want them to stay together after everything that happened."
Spike leaned against the railing with his arms crossed, looking out at the city of crystal below as it glimmered in the mid-morning sun. "A year and a half ago, That's exactly what I was thinking. But after a while, I realized that the damage was done, and all I could do was move on." He chuckled. "To tell you the truth, I was more worried about what I was going to say if I saw you guys again."
Rainbow walked over and leaned on the railing next to him. "Believe it or not, I've actually walked in on Twilight rehearsing what she was gonna say to you the next time you two met."
Spike laughed. "Why am I not surprised?" The two laughed together.
Rainbow smiled. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but...I'm glad that you're happy."
"Getting sappy on me, Dash?" Spike joked, which earned him a punch to the shoulder.
"Shut up. Hey, I gotta get going."
Spike smiled mischievously. "Gonna try and find Big Mac?"
Rainbow looked at him quizzically. "What are you talking about?" She asked, which made Spike's grin grow larger.
"I'm talking about how you drool over my bassist every time he walks into the room--"
Next thing he knew, Rainbow was nose to nose with him, staring him down. "Not a word out of you to anyone about this. Got it?"
"Eeeyup" Spike mocked her, once again, earning him a punch, only this time in the stomach. Dash flew out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Spike turned and took one last look outside to the glorious city below him, before leaving his room to find his bandmates.
To anybody who has bothered to stick around while this story has hovered in limbo, I owe you an explanation:
For the longest time, I've been trying to get back to this story, but I couldn't come up with any ideas I liked to continue from where I left off. Looking back at what I've previously published, I realized that I'm capable of writing much better material than the garbage that's already been posted. When I started this fic, I was a dumb high school student with shitty emo tendencies, and it shows in my writing. Every time I re-read this story, it screams: "DUMB FUCKING EDGELORD" to me. Now that I've left my teenage years behind and I've grown out of that particular set of bad habits, I'm going to start from scratch. Hell, I think I'll change the title, too. Once I get the first chapter finished and posted, I'm trashing all my previous work. Hopefully, I'll be done soon, so if you've been hanging in there, it'll only be a little while longer.
