> Bigger Than Mac
>  by DraconequusMaximus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Happy Birthday
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the magical land of Equestria, in a quiet little town called Ponyville, there was a large tree that housed a library full of activity. Normally, a library would be quiet and peaceful, but tonight was a night for celebration. Ponyville's resident dragon was turning eighteen years old. The former bearers of the elements, the princesses, Discord, and several other ponies had all packed into the tree for the occasion. 

Twilight was coordinating the other bearers in decorating while the birthday boy sat aside with his adoptive mother, Princess Celestia and his aunt Princess Luna. Their relationship was a closely guarded secret, only the assembled party guests knew of the connection.

"So Spike, how does it feel to officially become an adult?" Luna asked her nephew as she watched the decorating process. 

"Not much different from before really." Spike said as he looked himself over. He was several inches taller than he had been when he had first arrived in Ponyville, but was still quite a bit smaller than a grown pony. His mother noticed his disappointment and looked to her son.

"I know it must be hard for you Spike, but we don't actually know enough about dragons to tell you when you'll begin to grow significantly. You are the first dragon to be raised in pony society, but even if you remain the same for centuries there will always be ponies who care about you." Celestia said attempting to console her son. 

Spike nodded his head sadly, accompanying it with a mournful sigh.

"I know Mom, but most ponies will see me as a little kid until I get bigger." He said as he looked up at the alabaster alicorn. He loved his mother dearly, but he felt even smaller next to her, the biggest pony Spike knew of. 

He was broken from his moment of melancholy by the sound of a powerful knocking on the door of the library. His mood immediately brightened as he knew who the knock must have originated from. He rushed off to the door and opened it to reveal the eldest Apple sibling, Big Mac. 

The large red earth pony was carrying a large cask of cider on his back, his contribution to the event. He smiled at Spike as soon as he saw the little drake usher him inside. Big Mac walked in and placed the barrel on the food table and the pair began helping with the party's finishing touches. Unbeknownst to either of them Celestia watched the pair with great interest.

Neither of them said a word to the other, but could read each others thoughts with a look. The pair had become good friends over the years, while the girls were off on various adventures they had begun assisting each other with various chores.

Mac possessed size and strength Spike lacked, while Spike was good at problem solving and tasks where hands were far more useful than hooves. They had both began seeing each other as friends when they found they enjoyed each others company and had a shared work ethic. 

After a while Spike could read the mostly silent stallion just as good as his sisters could, if not better. Spike had been a great boon to the soft hearted hulk when Granny Smith had finally succumb to old age a couple of years ago. Spike may have been several years younger than the big lug, but he was very mature for his age and had proven an excellent shoulder to cry on. 

Big Mac had even gotten to return the favor when Spike's long-time crush on Rarity had proven one-sided. The two had developed mutual feelings for one another, but shyness and still fresh emotional wounds kept them from saying anything to the other. Neither of them could bring themselves to tell the other how they felt, but after so long they were both near the breaking point.

The princesses watched the silent exchange between the two with knowing looks that had come with their incredibly advanced ages. Celestia was often known to play the long game with her little ponies, sometimes planning centuries in advance for events that would greatly effect the world. She was glad she hadn't done so with her son, it seemed he was perfectly capable of finding his own happiness.

The regal sisters both looked over the pair with small but proud smiles. The moment was inevitably short-lived however, as a familiar patchwork god popped up between the princesses with a expression of feigned disgust.

"If those two were any cheesier there'd be holes run through the both of them. I swear, romance in this century is so overcomplicated. I remember when all you had to do to get married was offer the brides family a fat sack of gold or a share of your harvest." Discord said as he materialized the aforementioned bag of bits and a bushel of corn.

Luna nodded in agreement as Celestia face-hooved and made a mental note to speed up her fellow immortals reintegration into modern society. 

I really need to make sure they get out more. She thought to herself.

After another hour or so of preparation under taskmaster Twilight's strict supervision the party was ready to commence. Since Spike was still most likely able to succumb to greed growth everypony brought food items as gifts to the event instead of material possessions. The annual birthday potluck was something everypony had grown to look forward to just as much as Spike did.

The group was also sure to take many pictures so the event wouldn't be forgotten in years to come without the gifts. Food & fun were had by all as the night carried on. Eventually Pinkie Pie somehow ended up in a cider drinking contest with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Luna. Spike was watching intently until he felt a hoof tap him on the shoulder. He turned to see Big Mac who wouldn't directly meet his gaze.

"Spike, could ah see you outside for a minute?" The bulky earth pony said, seeming somehow redder than usual.

Spike knew whatever this was about it was serious, Big Mac was not one for words & they had long since lost the need for them. That, and under normal circumstances he would have wanted to cheer for his sister.

"Uh, sure. Let's go." Spike replied to Mac, who merely nodded and headed for the door. Spike followed close behind after making sure the others were distracted. After the pair made reasonably sure nopony was listening to them Mac took in a breath and released it before speaking. 

"Spike, ah'm not a very social fella as ah'm sure you know... but ah'm able to be mahself with you. You understan' me better than AJ even. Ah've been thinkin' about you an awful lot the past few months, but ah wanted to wait until you were legally an adult to tell you." He started nervously, obviously beginning to sweat.

Spike was having trouble processing what he was hearing. It certainly wasn't unwelcome news, but he wasn't sure that this was really happening. He was always a vivid dreamer, making him think this could be nothing but his own mind telling him what he wanted. Regardless, he didn't want this to stop no matter what it was.

"Macintosh? Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Spike said with signs of blush visible through his scales. He hadn't ever had a conversation like this with anypony except Rarity, but now he was on the receiving end of the heartfelt confession and he knew his response wouldn't be the same as hers had been if that was where this conversation was truly headed. Big Mac swallowed his nerves and answered the question exactly as Spike had hoped he would:

"Ah love you Spike, more than ah've ever loved anypony." Macintosh admitted proudly.

Spike had swam in boiling lava on a couple occasions up to this point in his life, but had never felt warmer than he did standing outside his home in the dark with Big Macintosh. 

"I love you too Big Mac, I have for awhile now. I was just afraid that you'd reject me just like Rarity had and then I might have lost my best friend. I thought having you as a friend would have to be enough, but I've never been so happy to be wrong about something." Spike said as he wrapped his little arms tightly around Mac's neck for a hug. 

The stallion wasted no time in reciprocating and held the drake to him with one of his forelegs. After a time the two separated and looked at each other with content smiles. Spike was the next to speak, a thought coming to his mind:

"What do we tell the girls... and my mother?" Spike asked as he nervously twiddled his thumbs while looking over to the door of the Library. Mac looked to the door as well before turning back to the much smaller dragon.

"Ah reckon we don't need to tell anypony anythin' just yet. We can keep it quiet until we're ready." He said hoping Spike would agree, his silent prayers had apparently being heard.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea for the moment, we should get back soon though. Pinkie might notice us being gone from the party." Spike reasoned, if anypony would notice it would likely be the party mare herself.

The pair snuck back inside, just in time to see princess Luna and Pinkie Pie both slam cider mugs onto the table in front of them. This was a signal for a refill, but when none came Princess Luna looked to the ponies spectating the epic battle of drink.

"Why have you not refilled our cups, Twilight? The challenge is far from over." Luna said turning to the youngest alicorn who had been put in charge of distributing the drink.

"You two have finished off the last of this year's cider. There's none left." Twilight said while overturning the empty barrel with in her magic. Pinkie and Luna locked eyes and donned serious expressions. 

"Next time." The mares said simultaneously as they made their promises to out drink each other. The pair even completed the Pinkie promise wordlessly to the other, making certain the challenge was to continue.

The rest of the party continued and it was soon time for Spike's special jeweled birthday cupcake. Pinkie seemed to just pull it from nowhere behind her back, but at this point nopony thought to question it.

Atop it was an already lit candle shaped like the number eighteen. Spike thought about his wish, as not to waste it. Once he decided on something he blew the candle out and repeated it to himself:

I wish I could be more like an adult for Big Macintosh. He silently prayed.

After a few more hours the party began to run down and the guests had begun to leave. The princesses wished him a happy birthday and for many more, Celestia and Luna receiving big hugs for attending. Big Macintosh gave him a smile and a nod and was off, he was the last to leave. The young dragon wandered up the stairs into his bed and fell asleep, eager for whatever tomorrow held.
> Unexpected Appetite 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle woke up at the same time as she always did, 7:00 AM on the dot. She had become so scheduled that she no longer even needed an alarm. She got out of bed and simultaneously stretched herself and wings while using magic to fix her hair into it's usual fashion. She trotted down the hall to Spike's room to wake the dragon as per usual, but found his door open and his bed unmade and empty. 

"Huh, Spike usually sleeps like a rock until I get him up." Twilight said to herself. She shrugged it off and trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen. She silently hoped Spike had already started breakfast.

She was immediately awestruck at the room that had once been her kitchen. The walls that once bore cabinets and appliances like the microwave and oven were now bare and marred with bite or scratch marks. Everything including the sink was gone, the pipes eaten down to the wall. 

In the center of the room was a familiar purple dragon finishing off what appeared to be the aforementioned sink's faucet. The cherry on top of the hard to believe scene was that Spike seemed to be at least a foot taller than he had been last night. Twilight picked her jaw off the floor and snapped back into coherent thought.

"Spike! What in the world are you doing? Is this a greed growth thing again?" She asked obviously worried for oldest friend and adoptive brother.

Spike looked to her and swallowed the chewed up metal before responding. 

"I Don't think so, I just can't stop eating. Still so hungry." Spike said before heading to the door on all fours as opposed to his normal two. Twilight could hardly believe what was happening, or that Spike could run so fast after eating so much metal.

Twilight tried putting a shield in front of him at the last second, but he broke it with a swipe of his claws. It was theorized that dragons steadily grew more resistant to magic as they aged. Twilight hadn't had much difficulty casting spells on him before, but she was starting to agree with the theory. She summoned up a piece of parchment and quill and penned a letter:



Everypony, Spike emergency. Bring food/gems/things you won't miss to town square. 

-Twilight 



Satisfied with the message she duplicated the letter seven times. One for each of the girls, the princesses, and Discord. She concentrated and used the mailing spell Celestia had taught her. After that she rushed off to find Spike who was apparently making a meal of the tools and various metal parts of things in the hardware and farm supply store.

Twilight was curious how he was consuming so much without seeming to grow fatter or get full, but decided that science could wait. She spread her magic to the entire room and grabbed Spike along with all the remaining tools and swept them into a large sphere and carried him to the town square. 

Spike barely acknowledged being brought to the new location as he merely kept eating. He was currently busy slurping up a large roll of barbed wire like it was pasta. It only seemed to take him a few seconds to down the spiky wire and before he could say anything else he started in on a shovel. His body seemed to pilot itself, on a mission to devour everything in sight.

Rainbow Dash was unsurprisingly the first to arrive with her contribution. She seemed to be carrying a large bundle of random objects bundled up in a bed sheet. Twilight took the opportunity to disperse the sphere and set Spike down with his "meal". 

Rainbow opened the sheet up and threw an assortment of broken exercise equipment and old cloud machine parts. She watched Spike finish off the shovel and take a large bite out of a plow.

"Twilight, is he becoming a giant again?" Rainbow asked looking to the distressed alicorn princess. She shook her head negative before responding.

"He says this is different than the greed growth incident, besides he isn't exactly stealing. He just doesn't seem to be able to stop eating and he doesn't seem to be getting full at all." She replied, her worry was getting worse by the moment. It seemed like if this kept up he might move on to houses, all of Ponyville could be eaten.

The pair was soon joined by the princesses and Discord, the latter of which was carrying a seemingly ordinary bucket. Before anyone said anything about it he poured an impossibly large amount of treasure onto the pile of assorted food substitutes. He then threw the bucket itself onto the pile and rejoined the others.

"So, it seems yesterday's feast wasn't enough for the growing boy." Discord said as he watched Spike start in on a handful of gold bits.

"Discord, what do you know of this?" Celestia said with a tone angrier than anypony other than Luna and Discord had ever heard. Her mane even seemed to become fire for a moment. Discord was fairly used to this tone and merely rolled his eyes.

"Little Spike is going through his first growth spurt. His species of dragon does this every twenty years or so. They devour everything they can then go through a pretty painful change. I assumed you knew about it Celestia, you might have just lost mother of the year." Discord said in his normal mocking tone.

I'll deal with Discord later, Spike is more important. She thought to calm herself. 

"How much will he need to consume, Discord?" Luna asked as she marveled at the rate her dear nephew was packing away the metals and jewels. 

"Hard to say, dragon nature is very primal but Spike isn't. I'm actually pretty surprised he isn't snacking on things that are more... fleshy. His control is astounding really, I'm only part dragon and I was a real terror when I was a baby." Discord said, possibly being sincere.

"My son isn't a baby Discord, he's legally an adult." Celestia said trying not to let the stress get to her.

"On the contrary, Spike is less than a toddler by dragon standards. They don't have an upper lifespan limit, never heard of a dragon going from old age in fact, and I'm positively ancient." Discord said as he made himself appear as a shriveled hunched over version of himself. 

Unfortunately Applejack and Big Mac had just shown up with their contributions in time to hear the insane draconequus' words. Big Mac felt like he had been bucked in the face, Spike was going to live forever and he wasn't. He hadn't even considered that Spike might live longer since he wasn't a pony.

This combined with seeing his colt/drake friend as a mindless eating machine was nearly too much. His sister snapped him out of his sudden despair as she passed him with her cart of apples. She deposited them on the pile, prompting him to do the same with his cartload of rusty farm tools. Applejack was brought up to speed while Big Mac looked at the dragon with sadness in his eyes. Spike met his gaze momentarily and saw the hurt and worry there. 

He managed to stop himself from eating and dropped the scrap of metal he was holding with great difficulty.

"Big Mac... I-"

Spike was stopped by himself as he momentarily froze and suddenly began convulsing. What could only be described as both a scream and a roar followed. A series of sickening pops and what sounded like tearing accompanied it soon after. The remaining members of the mane six arrived with their various items just in time to see Spike rear back up onto his hind legs as he began to stretch. His form became longer and seemed to inflate with powerful, but lithe muscle. 

After another series of pops his neck elongated considerably and his face followed suit. His spines were now a further distance apart and more numerous. He slammed down onto all fours again and panted like he had just run several miles. 

Big Mac was about to rush to him, but was pulled back by an invisible force. He looked back to see himself floating in midair next to Discord. Macintosh glared at him intensely, struggling in his magical bonds. Discord merely shook his head.

"Not done yet." Discord said before pointing back to Spike.

Upon closer inspection, the scales on Spike's back were shifting as if there was something crawling underneath his skin. After another much louder roar two bony thinly skinned protrusions erupted from Spike's back dripping with a crimson coat of blood. Twilight had the sense to erect a shield around Spike just before the protrusions opened revealing themselves to be massive membranous wings and spattering the shield with a crimson spray. 

The blood seemed to boil away and Spike looked to the assorted ponies around him. Many of the townsponies had come to see the commotion but kept a reasonable distance from what was now seemingly a fast growing dragon. Spike hurt so much he couldn't see straight, but there was somepony he needed right now.

Spike ignored the onlookers, taking a step toward Big Mac just as the world started to go dark. He wobbled for a moment before falling to the ground. Everypony was unmoving, except for Big Mac. He didn't hesitate to try and move the unconscious dragon. It wasn't easy, Spike was easily more than twice his size now so he could barely lift him onto his shoulders let alone carry him. 

"Help me get him to the hospital!" He barked to the princesses who were still in shock. They immediately snapped into action and used their combined magics to make themselves, Spike, and Big Mac vanish. Twilight teleported herself away as well right after. 

"What on earth is going on?" Rarity was the first to speak up what everypony had been thinking.

Pinkie Pie was uncharacteristically silent, Fluttershy was trembling slightly, Rainbow was trying to figure out if this was awesome or terrible, and Applejack was confused as to exactly how close Spike and her brother were. Discord produced another bucket from thin air and sucked up all the remaining things in the pile and in the ponies possession. They all looked at him curiously, as Discord wasn't well known for cleaning up messes he hadn't caused himself.

"Our dear friend Spike is going to be very hungry when he wakes up, he's a growing boy after all." Discord said before diving into the bucket himself. It then promptly exploded into pink smoke. He had presumably gone to see Spike as well.

The remaining members of the mane six decided that three princesses and the living manifestation of entropy could handle Spike. They were left to crowd control and attempted to field everypony's questions even though they knew little about the situation. But they were all certain of one thing. Things were about to change.
> Waking Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After dealing with the frantic populace of Ponyville the remaining mane six headed to the hospital to find a large tent had been set up to one side of the facility. It was easy enough to figure out that they most likely didn't have a hospital room large enough to accommodate Spike's new size properly. 

The girls trotted up to the tent and found themselves unsure of how to proceed. If they were doing anything like surgery, merely barging in could disturb whomever was in there with Spike. Applejack stepped forward and tried to alert the occupants.

"Uh, hullo? Is it safe t' come in?" Applejack said hopefully loud enough for somepony to hear her.

She didn't need to wait long as Discord's long neck popped out of the entry/exit wearing a surgical mask and a shower cap with what seemed to be rubber duckies printed on it. He smiled widely enough for it to be seen from around the mask.

"Ah, dear Fluttershy and company. I could use your medical expertise my dear." He said cheerfully while only somewhat acknowledging the other four mares. 

With a snap of his fingers the assembled ponies found themselves in scrubs, masks, and caps fit for somepony working in a hospital. He pulled Fluttershy in and withdrew his head. It was almost immediately replaced by his dragon-like tail, the fur of which imitated a hand signaling them to follow.

As the mares stepped in they saw Fluttershy being true to her craft and meticulously inspecting the sleeping dragon for anything that might have been amiss. Had Spike been conscious he would most likely be quite embarrassed at how closely the pegasus was looking him over. 

The princesses were all at the far end of the tent, the younger two attempting to console Celestia who had obviously been worrying herself sick. Her usually immaculate countenance was marred by bloodshot eyes and her normally pastel rainbow ethereal mane laying flat across her neck, currently a pale bubblegum pink. She held a cup of coffee in her bare hooves, her golden boots cast aside.

"I'm a terrible mother, I should have known about this. We could have prepared him for it." Celestia said with tears welling up in her eyes, Discord's words seemed to have hit home.

Before she could begin a session of full out weeping, Fluttershy stepped back from Spike and pulled her mask down so she could be heard more clearly.

"Um... Princess Celestia? I finished looking over Spike." The timid mare said trying to get the mares attention. Evidently she heard the quiet mare as she looked at Fluttershy with hope in her eyes. 

The expectant look made Fluttershy a little nervous, but she steeled her nerves thanks to the importance of the situation.

"Well, I don't know very much about dragons, but my specialty is animal care. From what I can see Spike isn't in any real danger, he just seems to be exhausted and... um... big?" She said thinking her explanation didn't sounds as professional as she had hoped. It didn't seem to matter though, Celestia's mane seemed to become more vibrant & resumed flowing unnaturally, but slowly.

"So he'll be alright? There aren't any problems with his wings or anything?" Celestia asked with some renewed vigor. Fluttershy nodded before continuing.

"Not that I can tell, he's going to need take it easy for a week at the least, his body seems like it used up quite a lot of nutrients and all his non essential body fat. I'd recommend he take a wide range of supplements for the next few months, calcium especially." Fluttershy took a moment to lift his wings slightly for the princess to see them, they sported a thin membrane nearly the same pale green as his underbelly.

"His wings seem to have come in alright, although I've never seen anything sprout wings without magic before. He's most likely going to need to work with them before he's ready to fly. He'll need to build up flight muscles too. His musculature seems different than a bats or a pegasi or any other winged animal I know of, so I recommend trying different exercises to see what works. 

Somepony will need to keep an eye on him when he begins trying to fly, just to be safe. Other than that I don't think that there will be any problems." Fluttershy was a tad winded from her medical spiel, the timid pegasus wasn't used to saying more than a sentence or two at a time. 

The princess' hair began to resume it's normal coloration and she let loose a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. 

"I hadn't been so worried since the great griffon war while Luna was away. Thank you for putting my fears to rest Fluttershy. Do you have any idea when he'll wake up?" She asked hopefully.

Fluttershy's expression saddened a little at the question, but she knew it would be bad to lie to the princess.

"I can't say for sure when he'll wake up, dragons are notoriously hard sleepers and Spike has just been through a very tiring event. I could be a few minutes or a few months." She said not meeting Celestia's gaze, feeling terrible for dampening the newly improved atmosphere within the tent. 

Nopony said anything for a few minutes until Luna stood up with a determined look.

"I will visit young Spike's dreams and speak with him, we should learn of how much he remembers of his ordeal." She said before sitting herself on the ground within the tent.

She closed her eyes and was silent, after a moment her eyes opened revealing what seemed to be... space. Blackness with seemingly distant specks of light. Seeing this in the eyes of a pony was more than a little unsettling.

"Does, she always get like that when she goes into ponies dreams?" Twilight said obviously creeped out  and interested by the phenomenon. Celestia nodded and looked back to her sister while speaking.

"Yes, it's quite disturbing isn't it? She normally only does this in the privacy of her chambers, she's actually very self conscious about it. It means a lot that she would do this in front of other ponies, she really does care for her nephew. Spike anyway, she threatened to eviscerate Blueblood the first time they met." Celestia chuckled, already feeling better about her son.

Everypony's attention was drawn to the sound of an uncharacteristically loud "Ha!" from a certain alabaster unicorn. She immediately resumed her normal poised demeanor before simply stating: 

"A lady is allowed a loss of composure now and again... and the pig deserved to be taken down a peg." 

Nopony argued with this as Celestia merely nodded in agreement. After about fifteen minutes Luna's eyes closed and opened again to reveal her normal blue-green eye color. 

"It seems his mind has not suffered, though he complains of a sizable headache. He believes he will awaken by the end of the day, but his soreness is making his rest difficult. His hunger also has subsided greatly but he says it still feels like he hasn't eaten all day, as opposed to the unending emptiness." Luna stated, relieving some of the uncertainty of the assembled mares.

Pinkie Pie was already crowd sourcing ideas for what to make for Spike's inevitable "You-got-really-really-big-really-really-fast-party". Her heated discussion with Discord about the merits of depleted uranium as a substitute for oregano was interrupted by Luna, who had just remembered something else.

"Ah yes, Spike would also like for us to ascertain how Big Macintosh is faring." She said scanning the tent for the burly earth pony. 

This reminded the mares who had come in late of Big Mac's unexpected reaction to Spike's loss of consciousness. It was becoming apparent that the stallion was nowhere to be seen.

"Just where is mah brother?" Applejack asked Twilight, as she had been here longer. 

"He said something about fixing the barn?" Twilight said uncertainly, "He left as soon as he was sure Spike was in stable condition."

"Did anypony else notice those two sneak off for awhile during our contest last night?" Applejack looked around at everypony, though only Pinkie Pie nodded.

"Yupp, I was gonna try and find out why they left a party early but I wanted to win the contest and they came back a few minutes later." She said obviously confused as to why anypony would leave a party early.

All of the mares present were brought out from their own thoughts on the subject as Discord spoke up.

"Are all of you crazy pastel ponies blind? Those two have had eyes for each other for some time now. Are immortals the only ones that ever notice anything?" He said to the mares. Rainbow flew up to his face angrily and shouted:

"How would you even know? You only ever show up to mess with us or when the princesses make you!" 

"Pffft, oh please Rainbow Dash. I'm around all the time, I even have a house in Ponyville." Discord said before he suddenly shrank into a rather dull looking donkey. Rainbow was dumbstruck until she recognized the disguised Discord.

"You're the guy that always seems to be around to take offense every time somepony says that someone is making an ass of themselves!" Rainbow said pointing a hoof accusingly at the transformed draconequus. Discord resumed his normal form and had a false look of hurt on his face.

"Well excuse me for trying to give ponies a better appreciation of classic comedy!" He said with a forced huff. Twilight opened her mouth to comment on Discord's somewhat creepy antics but was stopped by a surprisingly deep groan.

"Uuuugh, trying to sleep here guys. Just had all my bones stretched and gained like three hundred pounds all at once." 

"SPIKE!"  The collected mares shouted, deafening the tired dragon.

The group mobbed him with a collective hug, causing the sore reptile to both smile and wince.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake guys. I still feel pretty sore though, like somepony dropped a mountain on me." Spike said as he lifted his newly elongated neck. Celestia and Luna helped Spike onto his feet. 

Spike looked himself over, he examined his new claws and stretched his wings experimentally. They hurt, but the thought of soaring through the sky eventually was well worth it. Curious, he flexed his arm revealing a far greater bulge of muscle than he had seen on anypony other than Bulk Biceps.

"Okay, so I'm gonna go right out and say it. I. AM. HOT." He said with a grin that bordered on predatory. His smile fell when he saw the mares other than the immortals step backward slightly.

He opened his mouth after facing away and tapped his new fangs with his claw, they were about the same length as kitchen knives. He knew for sure because he had eaten his own set in the middle of the night. 

"Sorry girls, not used to being all... scary." Spike said looking himself over again. 

Now instead of appreciating his powerful new physique he saw the body of a monster. To his surprise Fluttershy was the first to step back toward him.

"No, we're sorry Spike. We acted on instinct without thinking of how it might make you feel." She said in her most motherly tone. The other mares nodded to in agreement that they felt terrible for fearing their dear friend. His actual adoptive mother was the next to step forward.

"I'm glad to see you up so soon Spike." Celestia said craning her neck up to see her son's face, "It's hard to believe my little boy was so much shorter than me just yesterday."

Spike was surprised that he was indeed a couple feet taller than his mother now. In fact looking over he could meet eyes with Discord while on all fours.

"Hello there! Nice to finally have someone to talk too that can look me in the eyes!" Discord smiled at him as his eyes proceeded to roll out of his head and look up at Spike from the ground. Spike decided to ignore that, today had already been weird enough for his liking. He looked around the tent and noticed a distinct lack of red in the area.

"Has anypony seen Big Mac?" He asked with concern obvious in his new voice.

"Supposedly he's at the barn fixin' it. But ah don' remember there bein' anythin wrong with it." Applejack replied while rubbing her chin with a hoof. 

"Come to think of it, he was the first pony to try an' help you when ya passed out. Never heard im' make such a fuss before. There's somethin goin on between the two of ya isn't there?" She said in an accusing tone.

Spike suddenly felt very small again as all eyes in the room traveled back to him. His nervous swallow was audible to everypony in the room.

"Heh, about that..."
> Living Arrangements
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was an interesting sight to see a dragon trying to make himself appear as small as possible. Spike didn't even realize he was doing it, but he felt like the ponies were towering over him again. Applejack in particular. He was good friends with these mares, he considered them family even. 

But this was coming out to a room full of ponies on very short notice, right after a life changing event. If reptiles could sweat, Spike would be swimming about now.

Okay, they love you and they love Mac, this isn't a big deal. Calm down. He silently reassured himself. Though still nervous, he felt less anxious than before.

"Me and Mac have been really good friends for awhile now. Every time you girls would go off to save the world, you left a lot of things that needed doing for both of us. We started helping each other out, and sooner or later we became really close. I can understand him from a look or the occasional Eeyup just as well as you, Applejack." Spike paused for a moment to try and form his next sentence properly, Applejack took it as a sign that he was finished however.

"So, what? He's yer best friend? That'd explain why the big lug's so worried about ya." Applejack said thinking she had hit the nail on the head.

"Yes, he was my best friend... until last night at the party." Spike replied, becoming less confident again.

"Did you two have a fight?" Rarity asked from beside Applejack. Spike looked at her. This is about to get even more awkward... he thought to himself, after remembering how he used to bend over backwards for the unicorn mare.

"Uh... No, kind of... the opposite of that I guess?" Spike said failing to articulate his thoughts properly. Twilight, ever the seeker of knowledge and clarification was next to speak up.

"So, you to had an... agreement? About what exactly?"

"It was more of an... acknowledgement? I guess? We... both acknowledged certain... feelings for each other." Spike said hoping Twilight would pick up on the meaning. Twilight seemed more perplexed than she had a moment ago, while the other mares were wide-eyed with the realization of the full extent of Spike's relationship with Big Macintosh.

"Are you tellin us you and Mac are colt cuddlers?" Applejack said sounding very uncomfortable. Twilight's understanding of the situation clicked into place at the question and she joined the others in stunned silence. Spike merely nodded without saying a word. Everpony's attention was drawn to the sound of hoof steps coming from behind them. The princesses were walking up to Spike with smiles on their faces.

"My son, I'm very proud of you. You not only found yourself a special somepony, but you also mustered the courage to admit who you are to your loved ones so soon after your ordeal." Princess Celestia said while shedding liquid pride.

She wasn't a princess right now, she was a proud mother affectionately nuzzling her now not-so-little boy. But as she looked up at her son she could tell something was still amiss, his expression was even sadder than when the girls had backed away from him. Luna had seemingly noticed this as well as she beat Celestia to the punch.

"What still troubles you dear nephew?" She asked genuinely concerned. Spike let out a deep sigh before answering.

"It doesn't matter if the secret isn't a secret anymore, Big Macintosh probably thinks I'm a monster now." Spike dropped to the ground into a position similar to the loaf shape a cat sometimes does. His wings drooped and touched the ground at his sides as he hung his head down low.

"Why would he think that?" Pinkie Pie asked tilting her head to the side a little in confusion.

"I saw him look at me right after I grew before I passed out, I hadn't seen him look like that since Granny Smith passed on. Besides, fixing the barn is Big Mac's excuse to be alone when he's upset." Spike said sinking his neck down to the point the full length was resting on the ground.

Applejack thought on that for a moment. Is that true? Now that she thought about it, whenever something upsetting happened Big Mac would make some excuse to go fix up the barn. She was even fairly sure he had re-shingled the barn roof by himself after the time Apple Bloom accidentally let it slip that he slept with a stuffed toy at the family reunion. 

The validity of Spike's claim seemed to be confirmed, Spike seemed to know her brother better than she did. Several times she had come home from spending time with the girls she came home to find the pair playing cards or just hanging around the house, she just never thought anything of it until now.

"He's right, Mac always uses that excuse when he's upset. But, Ah don't think he'd ever believe you were a monster. Ah'm sure he just needed some time to think is all, you did sorta grow twice his size in a coupl'a minutes. This is an awful lot to take in right now, but if ya make Mac happy ah suppose ah'm alright with this. Mac coulda fallen for someone a lot worse. As stallions er... dragons, go yer a right gentlecolt." AJ said trying to cheer up the miserable reptile. Spike smiled a little, making an effort to hide his teeth from view. With a loud groan he managed to pick himself up from the floor.

"I'm gonna go see him, we need to talk about this sooner than later." He said as he wobbled a bit before one of his back legs gave out and he laid back down in defeat.

"Spike, you're still very weak. It's almost like you're malnourished." Fluttershy said placing a hoof on Spike's claw in a show of concern. Celestia nodded in agreement.

"You should eat, Discord has an enchanted bottomless bucket with lots of treasure that you didn't finish earlier." She said looking over to Discord who stepped forward.

"Actually Celestia, I think I'd like to make my contribution to Spike's snack collection." Discord said before pulling a bluish-white chunk of what seemed to be some sort of ore that produced a warm yellow glow.

"What the hay is that?" Spike said looking at the suspicious ingot.

"This is called orichalcum, the finest meal a dragon could ask for." Discord said showing it to Spike.

Everypony in the room had their attention stolen right then by Twilight, her tone sounding of surprise and disbelief.

"But orichalcum is extremely rare! Only a few milligrams have ever been discovered in recorded history! It's capacity for holding magic and durability is only surpassed by the elements of harmony! That ingot could theoretically hold enough magic to split the earth in half if it were filled to capacity!" Twilight said in awe at the nearly mythical metal. Discord merely rolled his eyes at her lecture.

"This ingot is essentially depleted. Right now it's basically a chunk of dragon chow, it'll have our scaly friend here running laps in no time. If you be a good pretty purple pony princess I'll get you some for your hundredth birthday." Discord said before stepping on Spike's claw with his cloven hoof, opening his mouth like a trash can and dropping the ingot into his mouth.

Spike instinctively chewed the surprisingly delicious material up and swallowed. All was silent until what sounded like a muffled explosion originated from Spike's stomach. He opened his mouth and burped up a cloud of pale blue smoke. His muscles seemed to fill themselves in even more before everypony's eyes. He stood up and stretched as if he had merely been asleep, he even flapped his wings a few times before smiling widely enough to show enough teeth to make a shark jealous.

"I feel fantastic, I think I could sort the entire library without breaking a sweat." Spike said while he reexamined his biceps.

"Yes well, don't expect me to be so generous all the time. This mush fest was merely starting to wear me down. Now if you'll excuse me, it's Friday and I have a poker game to get to. Sombrero and Chryssi get annoyed if I'm late, and it's my turn to get the snacks." Discord said before snapping his talons and disappearing. Celestia made a mental note to talk to him about that later.

After a moment of everypony being unsure about how serious Discord was being, Spike broke the silence.

"Applejack, would you mind walking to Sweet Apple Acres with me?"

"Why would ah need to go with ya? This is between y'all and you're strong enough to go by yourself right?" She asked in confusion.

"I think it's probably a bad idea to have me around by myself, ponies panic pretty easily. If the element of honest tells them I'm not turning into a monster again they'd be more inclined to believe it." Spike said hopefully.

Applejack thumbed through her mind for an excuse not to go, wanting to avoid the awkwardness. However when nothing came to mind she tried to shift the responsibility.

"Ah suppose so, but couldn't Twilight go with ya? She is a princess an' all." Applejack said motioning to the youngest alicorn.

"I believe I have a better solution, Applejack." Princess Celestia said before walking over to her son, "Luna, Twilight, I believe we can teleport Spike to Sweet Apple Acres if we work together. Dragon's may be exceptionally resistant to magic, but three alicorns should be able to overcome that with ease."

The other princesses moved into position around Spike and lit their horns, their individual magics streamed together and in a brilliant flash of light the dragon and his mother vanished. Luna was the first to speak afterward.

"It seems my sister wishes to have words with your brother as well Applejack. If she harms him you may give the medical bill to Spike. He will send it on to us." Luna said before re-lighting her horn and vanishing, presumably back to Canterlot.

"She was kiddin, right? Twi?" Applejack asked her friend in shaky, nervous tone.

"I can never tell with Luna, her humor is kind of dated. But she was the element of laughter back before the Nightmare happened." Twilight said in an attempt to ease her friend's nerves. Applejack seemed relieved upon hearing that, until Pinkie Pie chimed in.

"Wasn't she also honesty? Would that mean she was being serious about that? I mean you hardly ever joke around Applejack, even if you like to laugh." Pinkie was set continue on that tangent, until the most recent element of loyalty shoved her cyan hoof into her mouth.

"Not helping Pinks." Rainbow Dash said in an annoyed tone.

"Ah think maybe we should go help mah brother... you know, be there for moral support?" Applejack said ushering everypony out of the tent.



-MEANWHILE-



Sweet Apple Acres filled Spike's vision as soon as he opened his eyes. After living with Twilight for so long he had learned that closing your eyes during teleportation lessened the disorienting effects experienced by non-unicorns. He stopped to take it in anew, his size granted him a new view of the place. 

Until now, the size had always impressed him. Now it seemed like the only place in Ponyville that could easily accommodate his sudden increase in size. He was surprised to see his mother standing next to him taking in the surroundings as well.

"It's been awhile since I've been here, I remember when I granted Big Macintosh's family this portion of land near the Everfree. Truly remarkable what earth pony magic and a little bit of elbow grease can accomplish, isn't it Spike?" She said with a heavy dose of nostalgia.

"Mom? Not that I mind you being here, it's your country and all. But why are you here?" Spike asked slightly confused.

"My boy is entering a relationship for the first time, I feel like I need to get to know this stallion. You two can have your talk and then I'd like a word with him." Celestia said in a perfectly level tone that Spike recognized immediately.

"Mom, I'm fairly certain that's the same tone you used when you explained that the maid that called me a filthy lizard wouldn't hurt my feelings ever again when I was seven. I asked around, nopony seemed to know where she went." Spike said fearing for Big Mac's safety.

"I only gave her some... incentive to pursue work elsewhere, like Zebrica for instance." She said innocently.

"We'll talk about you deporting the maid later. I need to go talk to Macintosh." Spike said as he started walking off towards the barn. He felt surprisingly good about walking on all fours, he had always felt odd being the only bipedal Equestrian citizen.

As Spike rounded the corner to the barn, an odd sight stopped him in his tracks. The barn was just as it had always been, but it was now a familiar shade of purple. There also seemed to be a sawhorse and a fair amount of lumber in front of it. The barn door was pushed open as soon as Spike took another step forward. 

A tired looking Big Mac emerged dragging a large bag of tools backward out of the barn. He turned to see where he was going and saw the confused drake looking at him. Their green eyes met and the world seemed to stop for a moment.

"So... you've, been redecorating?" Spike said as he lifted a claw to the direction of the barn. Mac nodded before speaking.

"Eeyup, was supposed t' be a surprise. Thought you'd be out fer a while, specially didn' expect you up and lookin for me." Mac said with a blush intense enough to be seen from underneath his red coat.

"I sorta thought you were having second thoughts about... us. But it looks like you really were fixing up the barn." Spike said somehow managing his own blush through his scales. "But, why exactly are you changing the way the barn looks? Isn't red more... traditional?"

"It ain't a barn anymore, s' yer new house. Or it will be, once it's finished." Macintosh said scuffing the dirt path with his hoof, only half meeting Spike's gaze. He was acting like Spike had when his mother had caught him with his claw in the gem jar when he was little.

Spike thought about that for a minute. We hadn't even considered that. I definitely can't stay in the library anymore. Spike was incredibly happy, his life had essentially been turned upside down, but he still had Mac. Mac had even started a large undertaking with no help whatsoever for his sake. After thinking on it for a moment he looked back to the stallion.

"I only have two problems with that. First, your gonna run yourself ragged doing this by yourself. Your gonna let me help you." Spike said walking closer to Big Mac, who was unsure of Spike's objections.

"What's the second problem?" Mac asked looking up to Spike who had stopped less than two feet from him.

"It's gonna be our house, not mine." Spike said smiling at the stallion, before Mac could say anything he was scooped up by a powerful arm that held him close to Spike. He didn't need to answer after that, he just enjoyed the warm embrace of the dragon he loved.

In the background the motherly alicorn smiled, she still wanted to meet the stallion, but she wasn't going to ruin their moment for anything.
> Meeting Mommy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike and Big Mac held one another for several minutes before separating. Spike finally noticed his mother standing in the background and motioned for her to come closer with a claw. He turned back to Big Macintosh with an apologetic look on his face.

"Mac, I hate to put you on the spot like this, but my mother wants to meet you. Like, right now." Spike said guiltily. He directed Mac's attention to the regal white alicorn walking down the dirt path.

"You gonna be alright talking to her?" Spike asked the normally silent stallion.

"Eeyup..." Mac said sounding less than sure of himself.

"I'll be right here with you. You've got nothing to worry about." Spike said similarly uncertain.

Celestia's arrival was taking seemingly forever. She was walking at a normal pace but time was taunting them it seemed. The pair was silent as she continued to wear the practiced smile she had perfected over the ages. After what seemed like an eternity the mare stopped a few feet away from them.

"Glad to see the two of you are still on good terms, I knew it'd take more than that to scare an Apple away from someone they loved. I've known many of your family throughout the years. Always good, honest, hard-working ponies." The princess said before offering Big Macintosh a gilded hoof. The stallion shakily accepted the hoof and shook.

"I'd introduce myself to you, but we both know it would be pointless. However, since you are very important to my son, you may simply call me Celestia. I don't like unnecessary formalities." Celestia said while she donned a much more natural smile. 

It could only be described as... sunny. Big Mac thought to himself. His tension lessened, but he still felt that this was going to get serious again soon. His suspicions were confirmed as the smile slipped into an unreadable expression.

"I would love for this meeting to be nothing but a happy occasion, but I know you heard Discord's words. I regretfully admit that Discord was being entirely truthful in what he said about dragons. Dragons are nearly immortal as I, my sister, and Discord are. Unless we are slain we will endure the ravages of time. You however, are not destined to withstand the ages. Will the two of you enter a relationship despite this?" Celestia said with eyes that gradually seemed to dim as she spoke.

Spike had never seen his mother like this, she hardly seemed like his mother. She seemed like something ancient, her words stung, but he could tell they were true and that she had lived them. Spike looked to Big Macintosh, and Big Macintosh to him. They looked into each others eyes and knew their answers. They turned back to the princess to tell her.

"Eeyup." Was all they needed to say. The light seemed to come back to the princess's eyes and her smile returned brighter than before.

"I'm very happy to hear that, though that wasn't quite what I expected." She said before lighting her horn, after a moment a small but elegant table materialized in front of them. Two chairs soon followed, accompanied by an ornate teapot, cups, saucers, and a sugar bowl. She ushered Big Macintosh to sit in the chair opposite her. He complied and seated himself.

"What, I don't get a chair?" Spike said jokingly.

"Maybe I'll have somepony make you a chair that could hold a metric ton." Celestia retorted as she poured herself and Macintosh some tea. Spike snorted smoke at the joke.

"You know it's all muscle now though, no more baby fat." He said as he flexed his bicep, he took a moment to raise his scaly eyebrows suggestively at Big Macintosh. Macintosh would have taken a moment to thank his maker for being too red to blush properly, had she not been sitting across from him. Celestia rolled her eyes and giggled a little at their exchange. She took a drink from her cup and turned back to the boys.

"Now then boys, I do like the idea of changing the barn into a house for the two of you, but do you have any specific idea of what's needed?" She asked looking over to the recently repainted barn.

"Ah was jus' cleanin it out for now, I still need Spike's... erm, measurements an' such before Ah did much else." Big Mac said, trying to make that sound the least suggestive he could. 

Celestia nodded her agreement. In another flash of light a tape measure was summoned along with what seemed to be an immense bathroom scale.

"Spike, if you would." His mother prompted him to step onto the over sized device. It groaned in protest as he did so causing him to frown. He looked down to the numbers and felt almost sick.

"T-two thousand, nine hundred and thirty-seven pounds. How is that even possible? I barely weighed twenty five pounds the last time I was weighed." Spike said seemingly in denial.

"Muscle weighs more n' fat." Mac said trying to comfort the dragon.

"He's right Spike, there doesn't seem to be any fat on you, like you said. Dragons are powerful creatures with incredibly dense muscle, I've literally seen one run off with the Equestrian Royal Treasury. The whole building! It was before we moved the capital to Canterlot." Celestia said waving a hoof in the air for emphasis.

"How'd ya get it back?" Macintosh asked.

"We didn't, I couldn't take it on alone. It was only three weeks after the Nightmare incident, it knew we were vulnerable. The economy collapsed, took centuries to recover. Erased it from the history books, they were dark times." Celestia said remarkably nonchalantly.

"I'll make a killing in the moving business in a few centuries." Spike said with mock enthusiasm. "Let's just get the rest over with."

Right on cue, the tape measure came to life in his mother's aura and did it's job. It measured him from the tip of his snout to the arrow of his tail. When all was said and done Spike was still fairly self conscious about his new found size now that it had been put to numbers.

"I'd like to send you boys some help as soon as you draw up a plan based on these figures. Consider it a birthday present, Spike." Celestia said before floating a piece of paper with Spike's measurements under the yoke that Big Mac wore for safe keeping.

"Now, as much as I'd love to spend more time with the two of you I have to be off. Luna can only last for so long without threatening an unruly noble. You two should come to visit every now and then, if you have any trouble you can't handle just send me a letter." Celestia said while banishing the assorted objects back to wherever she had summoned them from.

"A pleasure meeting you Macintosh, take care of my boy please." She added with a smile.

"Yes ma'am." Macintosh said raising a hoof to his forehead in salute.

"See you later mom, try not to overwork another pastry chef." Spike said with a cheeky smile.

"I haven't had anything sweet all day thank you." She said before lighting her horn and vanishing, leaving nothing but a whiff of ozone.

"Yer ma isn't gonna secretly make me disappear or anythin' right?" Mac asked slightly worried.

"Meh, probably not, unless you call me a filthy lizard. I still need to talk to her about that maid." Spike said completely seriously.

"What?"
> The Bearer's Bad News
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack and the others arrived back at the acres sometime after sundown. The day had seemed to drag on so long on it was hard to believe that everything had occurred in the span of little more than twelve hours. They had defaulted to walk instead of teleport, as they wanted to talk about the day's events.

Their conversation had been interrupted by the townsponies' second volley of questions, causing the trip to take even longer. When they arrived they were greeted by an interesting sight. Spike was currently trying to replant an apple tree that had seemingly been ripped from the ground. Macintosh was silent but seemed less than amused at the loss of one of his trees.

"The hay happened here?" Rainbow dash said flying up above the group to get a better view.

Spike turned to see the familiar mares. He wore a sheepish smile as he passed the tree from his front claws to his tail so he could walk to them properly.

"Well... I felt bad that both Applejack and Mac missed out on a full days work because of me. So... I tried to buck a tree to see if I could help out tomorrow. But, it sort of came out of ground when I hit it." Spike said before moving the tree in his tail to the front for them to see better. 

Not only had it been ripped from the ground, there was a large fist-shaped indention in the wood. It was at least an inch and a half deep, and all of his fingers were clearly outlined. To his credit, the tree was indeed barren of apples.

"Sweet Celestia, Spike! What'd trees ever do to you?" Rainbow Dash said in amazement. 

"Nothing! I was just trying to help, not my fault I didn't know my own strength." Spike said dropping his head in shame.

"Yer, three thousand pounds a' muscle Spike!" Macintosh said pointing to Spike's bicep with a hoof.

"Hey! two thousand nine hundred thirty-seven. I'm not that heavy! ...by dragon standards." Spike said moodily.

"How do you know that?" Twilight said looking over her big little brother.

"Mom made me get all my measurements taken for the house." Spike said pointing to the freshly painted barn. The girls all took notice of it for the first time. Applejack was rightfully more than a little confused.

"Why is mah barn purple, an' why are you callin it a house?" Applejack asked with a raised brow.

"Me an' the pri-er, Celestia agree that Spike needs somewhere t' stay." Macintosh said avoiding her gaze. 

"Mac realized that I got too big for the library before anypony else. We're gonna convert the barn into a house... for us." Spike said moving just a little further away from Applejack and a lot closer to Big Mac. To her credit she was only slightly fuming.

"Where the hay are we spossed' t' keep everythin' Mac? Ya coulda at least asked me first."  She said glaring at her brother. Mac had a more serious face than anypony, including Spike had ever seen.

"Applejack, yer mah sister, an' ah love you, but ah'm tellin you t' be quiet. Ah've supported you an' yer friends in everythin y'all did fer years, an' did yer work while you were away. Ah, even helped convince Granny t' agree t' that bat sanctuary. Yer gonna let us do this, whether ya like it er not. Ah'm the oldest, an' mah name's on the deed t' the farm." Mac punctuated his out of character tirade with a snort, leaving everypony speechless. 

Applejack in particular, was struck dumb. She could count the number times she had heard Mac that angry on her hoof. The last time was when some colt had said something about their parents who had passed away only a few months prior. Mac had sent him to the hospital with a single buck, he had always been big for his age. 

Mac was silent, but obviously not his calm self yet. Spike dropped the tree from his powerful tail's grasp and wrapped it around Mac's midsection, lifting him into the air. He repositioned the stallion to meet his eyes.

"Mac, I know what this is really about. You're going to apologize to your sister, and then we're going to tell them about it. Got it?" Spike asked adopting an almost parental tone. Macintosh nodded guiltily and was placed next to Spike. Spike ushered him forward with a claw, making him stand before his sister again.

"Ah'm sorry, AJ. Ah'm not really mad at ya." Mac said in a defeated tone.

"And?" Spike said from behind.

"Ah wanted a place fer the both a' us to stay together. I wanna spend as much time with im' as possible, before..." Was as far as Mac could go before it was too much for him.

"Before?" Applejack asked, fearful of the answer.

"Before he runs out of time." Spike said stepping forward, alongside Big Mac.

"Is there sumthin' wrong with im'?" Applejack asked, obviously concerned.

"There's nothing wrong with him, he's upset because he knows he's going to die thousands of years before me, if I do." Spike said pulling the weeping stallion into another hug, holding him as tight as it was safe to.

"What? Did the princess make him immortal because he's her kid?" Rainbow Dash asked the girls, unsure of what to think.

"She didn't need to. Dragons live as long as it takes for someone to slay them. So long as I keep my claws to myself, I might very well live forever. Mom came through and talked to us about it. 

We've agreed we can make it work, but it's starting to get to him." Spike said hanging his head in shame. He had known about this since he was very young. He had cried about it for days. His mother eventually helped him past it, but the more friends and loved ones he obtained, the more it seemed to sting.

"I knew about it, but I wasn't sure if you did Spike." Twilight said feeling almost as guilty as the dragon himself.

"Kinda figured, I know mom gave you copies of all her books about dragons when we moved here." Spike said shedding a couple of tears that boiled away as they fell.

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner Spike?" Rarity said sounding hurt.

"I don't like to think about it. Almost everypony I know will be dust before I'm even considered an adult by my species. Mom, Aunt Luna, Discord, and maybe Twilight will be all I have in less than a century. Dragons take naps longer than that. I feel like a monster every time I think about it, I don't deserve so much extra time." Spike said looking to the stallion he held.

"You aren't a monster Spike, you're just different." Fluttershy said flying up to pat Spike on the back. He couldn't feel the shy mare's gentle touch whatsoever through his now nigh impenetrable hide, but the sentiment was greatly appreciated.

"Shy's right Spike, the princesses are like, ancient and we don't call them monsters." Rainbow Dash said landing in front of the melancholy couple.

"I could hardly think of you as a monster for such a thing. You didn't ask for this deary." Rarity said lifting a monogrammed hanky to Spike's eyes in her magical grasp.

"Spike, I can sort of relate. Me and Cadence are the first ponies to be made into alicorns with magic. We may or may not live as long as the sisters do, or live for a few hundred or maybe even shorter than an ordinary pony. It's hard to say what the future will hold, but we'll stick with you as long as we can Spike." Twilight said placing a hoof on the claw Spike wasn't using to hold Macintosh. 

"And I'll party with you every year, until I drop." Pinkie Pie said jumping onto Spike's back, giving him a hug from the back of his neck.

Applejack was the last of the group to respond to the news. Things had seemingly been forever changed in the span of a day, but there was no monster to fight, evil to vanquish, or wrong to right. This time, she was staring down change. A force ponies have feared since time immemorial, but Apples weren't ones to back down.

"Ah'll be with you, and mah brother so long as you two can put up with me." Applejack said planting a playful punch on Spike's bicep, "But you better promise t' keep watch over the family, beens yer gonna be a part of it."

"I promise, I'll watch over the Apple family, and all your families for as long as I can. Ponyville too." Spike said sweeping everypony into a group hug with his increased reach.

The hug lasted several minutes, it was silent, but for awhile the group seemed to share the noiseless communication Spike and Big Mac had. It was nice, but it was getting continually darker, after a time the group separated. New worries, and new promises were shared between them.

"Ah'd offer to let ya stay in the house Spike, but it don't seem to be an option right now." Applejack said rubbing her foreleg at the awkwardness.

"Nah, it's fine. Mac cleared out the barn already, plenty of room for me. I'll help with chores in the morning, but I don't think I should mess with the trees again." Spike said as he placed Pinkie back onto the ground, removing her from his back.

"Eenope" Big Mac said from his side.

"Sounds like a good idea, we could use some muscle to get some stumps outta the ground." Applejack said looking over the uprooted tree. "Come on Mac, today seemed t' last forever. Ah know ah could use some shut eye."

"Eenope, ah'm staying in the barn with Spike." Big Mac said without meeting his sister's eyes. 

A chorus of "OOOOOOH's" was heard from Pinkie and Rainbow, who had their minds planted firmly in the gutter. Applejack chose not to acknowledge their presence, but looked a little uncomfortable about what they were implying.

"Uh, alright. Just... nothin'... funny, okay?" Applejack said as she silently prayed Twilight could erase images from a pony's imagination.

"First of all, we've only been together a day officially. Second, not actually sure that's physically possible for us. Third, I never, ever wanna talk about that with my coltfriend's little sister. Lastly, Pinkie and Rainbow had better stay on a three-thousand pound dragon's good side." Spike said, enumerating his qualms on his claws.

"Two-thousand, nine-hundred, thirty-seven pound dragon." Big Mac said with a smile. Spike chuckled a little, and dropped his tough-guy act.

"Anyway, see you girls tomorrow." Spike said before grabbing Big Mac with his tail and placing him on his back.

"Hah, I can give ponies rides now! This is cool." Spike said as he turned to walk to the barn.

"Yeah, I bet you want Mac to ride y- OW!" Rainbow Dash began yelling before receiving a powerful thump on the head courtesy of Equestria's newest princess.

"He's still my little brother Dash, not funny." Twilight said lowering her hoof. "Be,ides, Celestia would probably hit you with solar plasma if she heard you say that."  

Rainbow was immediately silent at that revelation and the girls said their goodbyes to one another. Applejack was inside the house and halfway up the stairs before she had a revelation. 

"Apple Bloom gets home from Babs' place tomorrow. An' ah'm gonna have t' go through all this awkwardness again." She said to nopony in particular. 

Ah need a drink. She thought to herself. Turning around, she headed for the kitchen.
> Friends and Neighbors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike awoke as soon as the sun filtered in through the barn's windows. He loved his mother dearly, but he was not a morning person. He looked to his side and saw Big Macintosh still nestled underneath one of his new bat-like wings. He nudged the sleeping stallion with his snout to no avail.

"Rise and Shine Mac, I promised your sister I'd help out today, and I intend to earn my keep." He said before lifting the wing leaving Big Macintosh exposed to the cool morning air.

"Ah don' wanna get up yet, yer so warm." The stallion said placing his foreleg over his eyes to block the sun.

"Yeah, yeah, runs in the family I guess." Spike said jokingly. Mac chuckled at this as he stood and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

The pair slowly made their way out of the barn, Applejack was already feeding the pigs when they got out. The pair silently walked towards her, she somehow didn't notice their presence. The pigs took one look in Spike's direction and fled to the other side of the pen with loud squeals.

"What in tarnation?" Applejack said as she turned to see Spike directly behind her.

"BWAH!" She yelled, jumping into the pen for safety. Spike felt terrible, but it was pretty funny.

"Morning Applejack." Spike said trying to contain his laughter. Applejack regained her senses, realizing it had only been Spike. She was fairly angry, but was doing her best to remain calm. Spike snaked his tail over the pen and lifted Applejack out of the muck and back to their side.

"Ah'd appreciate if ya didn't do that Spike, almost scared the apples off mah flank." She said shaking some of the muck from her.

"Actually, I'm pretty surprised I can sneak up on anypony. Sorry though." Spike said less guiltily than he should have sounded.

"Right, well ah'd like ya t' go over there an' pull those stumps outta the ground. Last big storm we had wrecked some a' our trees somethin' fierce, stumps are all that's left." Applejack said pointing to an area near the fence that went around the property. Another, smaller farm lay beyond the fence.

"You know, I've never asked, but who owns the other farm over there?" Spike said looking at the property curiously.

"That's the Harvest family farm, they grow all sorts a' veggies." Big Mac answered.

"Hmm, not sure if I know any of the Harvest Family. Anyway, I'll take care of those stumps and I'll find you guys when I'm done." Spike said to the Apple siblings who nodded their agreement.

Spike walked off as they discussed other chores. He was worried about his new size at first, but he was enjoying it so far. He had always been the little guy all his life, and now he towered over most. Plus his tail had never been as useful as it was now. It was almost like having another arm at his disposal. 

He arrived at the area with the stumps within mere moments, his limbs being much longer was also a nice bonus. He looked the first stump over and decided it wasn't a challenge, after all he had accidentally murdered a tree yesterday without using his full strength. He dug his claws under the stump, being meant to cut diamonds they glided through dirt effortlessly. With a good tug, the stump was freed from the earth.

"Huh, seems like I'm gonna be done pretty quickly." Spike said as he dropped the stump out of the way.

Spike turned to uproot the next one, when he saw a familiar mare tending to the fields behind the fence. She was yellow with a memorable orange mane and tail. She was currently facing away from Spike, who decided to say hello.

"Hey there Carrot Top! How's it going?" Spike yelled at the mare, a claw cupped to the side of his muzzle hoping to amplify his voice. The mare visibly sagged at the much hated nickname.

"My name is Golden Harvest, you-" Golden cut herself off as soon as she saw the enormous purple reptile smiling at her.

"Oh yeah, sorry Golden. Haven't seen you in ages." Spike said waking up to the fence. The mare took a moment to process everything she was faced with.

Dragon, purple, pleasant conversation...

"Spike? You... look different, do something different with your... um, spines?" She said nervously.

"Heh, yeah I get it, I'm kinda off-putting now huh? Don't worry though, the growth's natural this time. No rampages, just pulling stumps for Applejack." Spike said motioning to the uprooted remains of what was once a tree. The mare let out a sigh of relief at the much welcomed news.

"Oh, well I must admit that's good to hear. Awful nice of you to help the Apples too, they have an awful lot of land to look after." Golden said looking much more at ease.

"Eh, just earning my keep. I'm living here at the acres now, can't fit in the library anymore." Spike said looking himself over sadly. Golden nodded her agreement, Spike certainly looked too big to fit anywhere in Ponyville.

"Oh, that must be hard. Living away from your mother for the first time." Golden said with no small amount of sympathy.

"Huh? Oh, no Twilight's more like my sister, she was just a foal herself when she hatched me. I was raised by a government official in Canterlot." Spike said not technically lying.

"Oh, I see. Well at least the Apples were nice enough to put you up." Golden said as she went back to tending to some vegetables.

"Well, actually there's a little more to it. Me and Mac are together." Spike said sheepishly. Golden looked up from her work in surprise. Her jaw hung open for more than a minute as her brain tried to handle what she had just heard.

"Oh my, that is a little more than I had thought. I didn't even know Mac was gay." Golden said imagining the pair together. A light blush spread across her face as she did so.

"Well, you know Mac. The strong silent type." Spike said with a hint of a smile, careful of displaying his teeth.

"You know, I'm not sure if I've actually heard him speak now that you mention it." Golden said placing a hoof on her chin in thought. Spike chuckled a little at that, but decided it would be best to get back to work.

"Well, good talking to you, but I'd better finish up these stumps. Mac and AJ are probably waiting. Lemme know if you need any help with something heavy." Spike said turning back to his stumps.

"Will do, see ya round neighbor." Golden said with a wave. 

However what she was thinking was: Ha, Berry and Colgate are gonna flip! Oh! This is perfect, I can finally top Roseluck's gossip for once!

Spike took the next half hour to remove the rest of the stumps, placing them in a pile, as Applejack had neglected to tell him what to do with them. He walked off to find the oldest Apple siblings, but instead found all four members of the now teenaged Cutie Mark Crusaders staring at him with eyes as small as pinpricks. He realized he hadn't seen any of them since his growth spurt, and that they were probably frightened to death of him.

"Girls, I know I look scary, but-" Spike was interrupted by Scootaloo, who had reached into her saddlebag and thrown a large wrench at his face. It didn't actually hurt, but it was mildly annoying.

"Girls, really I-" Apple Bloom hit him with a souvenir snow globe from Manehattan.

"Seriously, can we-" Sweetie with a dictionary.

"Hit me." Babs complied with what seemed to be a sock full of bits.

"Why would you even have that?" Spike said looking at the unorthodox weapon.

"A girls gotta be able to protect herself on the streets." Babs said smugly slinging the sock over her shoulder.

"You girls out of stuff to throw at me?" Spike said looking at them, obviously annoyed.

"I still got the sock wit' me." Babs said holding it in front of her for him to see. Spike promptly spat a small  green fireball at it, incinerating the lower half and scattering bits everywhere.

"How bout now?" He asked smugly.

"We're spent." Scootaloo said in defeat.

"Good, that was starting to get annoying. You four need to let ponies and dragons talk before you assault them from now on, alright?" Spike said looking at them sternly.

"Yes sir." The crusaders said guiltily in unison.

"Ugh, don't call me sir. I only turned eighteen two days ago. Technically I'm not going to be an adult for like two thousand years." Spike said handing the girls their belongings.

"Spike? Is that you?" Sweetie Belle asked in disbelief.

"Eeyup. Had a growth spurt while you were away. Hurt like crazy, but I can rip trees outta the ground without breaking a sweat now." Spike said flexing his bicep that was thicker than a pony's midsection.

"Dang, son. Last time I was in town I was taller than you." Babs said looking the dragon over.

"Wow, maybe Rarity will pay more attention to you now." Scootaloo said poking him with a hoof experimentally.

"Heh, actually I've been over Rarity for a couple years now. I've sort of moved on." Spike said not meeting the mare's eyes.

"Hah, pay up y'all!" Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo who reluctantly hoofed over a few bits each.

"Were you betting on my love life?" Spike said sounding somewhat offended.

"Eh, we bet on a lot of things. We've still got a pool going on whether or not there's gonna be another princess in the next ten years." Scoots said as she tucked her wallet away again.

"I'd take a piece of that, but I've got an in with the royal family, wouldn't be fair." Spike said as he helped gather Babs's bits.

"So what are you doing on the farm anyway?" Sweetie asked as she levitated the rest of the bits back to Babs.

"Uh, I'm sort of living here now. The library's too small for me." Spike said avoiding looking at Apple Bloom.

"That's pretty neat, an' you an' Mac can spend more time together now. Ah know y'all have been friends fer a while now." Apple Bloom said innocently.

Spike was internally freaking out, he hadn't prepared for this. 

I'm going to ruin his youngest sister's innocence, I just know it. He thought trying to suppress his panic. Regardless of the consequences he thought it would be better to come forward with it right now.

"Actually... me and Mac are... uh. Together now, it's a recent development." Spike said fearing Apple Bloom's shattered worldview.

"Bout time. I knew Mac liked ya." Apple Bloom said before playfully punching him in the arm.

"Wait, what? You knew Mac liked me? Why didn't you tell me? We've been shying away from asking each other out for like a year!" Spike said literally fuming. Smoke was leaking up from his mouth due to his distress.

"Cuz I don' mess with that sorta thing since the whole love poison thing." Apple Bloom answered without even taking the time to think about it.

"Yeah, okay. I can understand that." Spike said, instantly beginning to cool off.

"So, does everypony but us know about this already?" Sweetie asked, unsure of what to think.

"The girls do, nopony else does really, but it's not a secret." Spike said explaining the situation.

"Where is he anyway? Shouldn't he be like, with you?" Scootaloo asked.

"Jus' cause they're datin' don't mean they're joined at the hip." Babs said in an annoyed tone. Luckily it kicked Spike's memory back into gear.

"Oh horseapples, I was supposed to find Mac and AJ when I was finished. You girls hop on, we can go find them together." Spike said dropping a wing low like a ramp for them to climb up. None refused, as the idea of riding a dragon seemed like a rare opportunity.

As soon as they were seated Spike started moving while looking around for the older Apples. The girls did the same, trying to see large spots of red or orange through the thicket of trees. Everything was calm on the acres. The only real sounds that could be heard were those of faint screeching coming from the vampire fruit bat sanctuary. 

It was odd, usually everywhere in the vicinity of Ponyville was bustling with activity or being besieged by random disasters. The peace while nice, was unfortunately short.

"So who's the bottom?" Scootaloo asked casually, causing Spike to stop abruptly, causing the girls to nearly fall off.

"No, no, no, we aren't getting in to that. EVER." Spike said seriously, "I'm already going to get tons of weird questions about this as is."

"It was just a question, not like I wanna watch or anything." Scootaloo said defensively. Before she knew what was happening Spike's tail looped around her and plopped her back onto the ground.

"You need to spend less time with Rainbow Dash, and you can walk the rest of the way, maybe you'll learn not to ask people things that make them uncomfortable." Spike said as he began walking again.

"It's not like we're babies or anything, we went through health class and everything." Scootaloo said in a huff.

"Pfft, you have no idea how easy you had it. Twilight home schooled me, I had to hear everything from her. She was so embarrassed when I had to remind her that her books didn't cover dragon biology." Spike said remembering the most awkward moments of his life.

"Are dragons that different?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

"Well yeah, ponies are mammals and I'm a reptile. I came from an egg and I breathe fire, eat treasure and stuff, and I have clawed hands and feet instead of hooves." Spike said raising a hand and wiggling his razor sharp digits.

"Eat this bit." Babs said skeptically. Having not known Spike very well, she was unaware of his eating habits. He took the small gold coin and chewed it to a pulp and swallowed.

"Yikes, glad you're a vegetarian." Babs said as she pulled her hoof back.

"Yeah, I have to take a lot of supplements and stuff to keep up with my nutritional requirements, but it's worth it. Nopony would wanna be around me if I ate meat all the time." Spike said hating the fact that his species ate creatures that were as good as defenseless against them.

"So, is mah brother okay with ya bein' so much bigger now? Ah don't think he's ever had to look up t' meet somepony's eyes before." Apple Bloom inquired.

"You'd be surprised, he met the princesses and Discord yesterday. Even Luna's a little bigger than he is." Spike said thinking about his talk with his mother and Mac the previous night. He wouldn't leave Mac for all the gems in the world, but he knew he was in for some major sadness down the road.

"Why'd my cousin need to meet the princesses? Ain't he just an apple farmer?" Babs said rightfully confused. Spike realized that the crusaders didn't know about his connection to the princesses at this point. He decided that they were probably mature enough to know by now.

"He is an apple farmer, but he's MY apple farmer. I was raised by Princess Celestia, so she wanted to meet him." Spike said as they continued their trek through the maze of apple trees.

"Wait, your mom is the princess? Does that make you a prince?" Sweetie Belle asked excitedly, momentarily regaining the squeak she often had as a filly.

"Technically yes, if anything happened to Mom and Luna I could step in since Cadence is only her niece and Twilight doesn't have a definite role yet. But I wouldn't do that, everypony would freak out if a dragon was in control and I can't move the sun or moon anyway. Twilight could probably do it, or I guess Discord if all else fails." Spike said explaining the secret hierarchy of Equestria.

"So, are you rich or anything?" Scootaloo asked curiously.

"Not very, I get a stipend from the government every year like all the royals, but I've got it in a high interest account at the bank. Mom controlled it until now since I was a minor. I'm saving it for emergencies, I can't hold onto it personally or I'd end up hoarding it forever. But I think I'm gonna use some of it to turn the barn into a dragon-sized house." Spike said looking into the distance at his new home.

"Neat, so ah'm guessing you don' want us t' go around tellin' everypony bout you bein royalty?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I'd rather you didn't." Spike nodded.

"Okay, but remember us come Hearth's Warming." Scootaloo said in a way that Spike couldn't tell if she was kidding.

"Deal." Spike said lifting Scootaloo back onto himself with his tail.

The group chatted as they looked for the older Apples. Spike felt good knowing that he had friends he could count on, even if they had accosted him with random objects. He felt things were looking up. He was so happy, he didn't even notice an excited yellow mare trotting away from her hiding place behind a nearby tree. 
> Word Travels Fast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Macintosh was sorting through the apples that were to be taken to market later in the day. Thanks to over a century of earth pony magic seeping into the land there were very few that didn't meet his strict standards, but it never hurt to be sure. The few rejects were headed to the compost pile. He had done these tasks so many times over the years that he didn't even need to think about them. As he continued on his chores he was planning out details for the barn.

It was a little known fact that Mac was in charge of the financial side of things at the farm, he kept the books and did the heavy lifting while AJ used her nearly unbelievable stamina in taking care of most of the smaller jobs. Apple bucking was divided evenly between the three siblings, Apple Bloom would most likely take on more responsibilities as she grew older. 

Mac was broken from his internal number crunching by the sound of heavy footsteps. Sure enough, when he looked for the source he found Spike walking toward him with the C.M.C. using him as transportation. Spike donned a smile upon seeing Mac and stopped to let the girls off.

"Ladies, I believe this is your stop. Thank you for choosing me for your Sweet Apple Acres transportation needs. It is now safe to exit the dragon." Spike said adopting a cheery but official tone. He moved his wing down at a slant allowing the girls to slide down one at a time.

Mac smiled as he witnessed his drakefriend getting along with his sister and her friends. He didn't really think that they'd suddenly not like each other after the unexpected growth spurt, but it was nice to be reassured. The teenage fillies and the much larger dragon looked to him with smiles.

"Sorry I took so long Mac, I was shooting the breeze with Golden Harvest and then I picked up some hitch hikers." Spike said apologetically.

"Ain't no harm done. Ah was just gettin' ready t' take these apples t' market, y'all didn't miss nothin." Mac said as he finished inspecting the last few apples.

"So Mac, Spike tells us you two are an item now?" Babs said giving her cousin a sly grin. Mac gained an embarrassed smile as soon as the words left her mouth. 

"Eeyup." He said going back to his default response.

"Nice job landing a prince, not to mention a dragon that could probably bench a half ton." She said playfully punching Spike's arm.

"Took ya long enough." Apple Bloom added with a smirk.

"Congratulations you two." Sweetie added happily.

"Yeah, probably gonna break every single mare in Ponyville's heart though." Scootaloo said seriously.

"They can have him over my dead body, and I think I can take the lot of em'." Spike said protectively, followed by a brief snort of smoke

"Eeyup." Mac said with a firm nod of agreement.

After a little more chatter and several single word responses the girls headed off to crusade, hopefully without destroying anything. It was approaching market hours, so Spike helped Mac load the fold-up stall into the cart alongside several crates of apples and various apple related food stuffs. 

Spike's strength was a great help, and thankfully his maneuverability wasn't impaired due to the open space of the acres. After everything was loaded Mac went to get the harness to pull it, but was stopped by Spike.

"I can get it today Mac, we'll take turns. Don't wanna take all your work from you." Spike said grabbing the hitch with his tail so he could pull it behind himself. Mac nodded, he enjoyed his work, but it would be nice to have somepony else do the heavy lifting and such from time to time.

With that the pair walked down the dirt road that lead to Ponyville. Spike may have been born in Canterlot, but he had always felt more at home in the country. Things just seemed more vivid and beautiful without the noise and overcrowding of the city. He could even admire the stars far easier here. 

He would never tell his mother, but since his aunt's return the night sky was more beautiful than hers had ever been. Mac had always been a country colt, and wouldn't ever leave it. His family was an indelible part of this town's history and he was proud of it. As they drew nearer to the town there seemed to be a great deal of activity going on.

When they reached the market there were several stalls already set up and selling their wares. What caught the pair's attention was that the normal produce stands had been joined by others selling all manner of memorabilia that looked an awful lot like them. There were plushies that looked like purple dragons, figurines that looked like red stallions in yokes, and hats emblazoned with cheesy dragon puns and pictures of Mac's cutie mark.

"What the hay is going on?" Spike asked as he looked around the marketplace finding more and more ponies wearing cheap looking products based around himself and Big Macintosh.

"Look! There they are!" A random mare Spike didn't recognize shouted as she pointed at the couple. Within seconds they were mobbed by what seemed to be the majority of the population of Ponyville. 

Spike had no room to maneuver and Mac was unsure of what to do. He wasn't a stranger to crowds, being an award winning turkey calling champion, and a member of the Pony Tones. But he hadn't known he was going to be accosted by ponies on this particular occasion. 

The mass of equines was taking up the entirety of the marketplace making escape a further impossibility. Spike did the only thing he could think of and extended his neck as far upward as possible and let loose a rather impressive torrent of emerald fire, silencing the crowd instantly.

"Now, who'd like to tell me what the hay this is all about?" Spike bellowed loud enough for the entire crowd to hear. As soon as he said the words, a pony he recognized as the new town mayor stepped forward. He was instantly recognizable to anypony that had lived there very long, Filthy Rich.

"Greetings your majesty, I'm sorry we didn't inform you about all this, but everything got out of hoof once everypony heard the news that there was a new celebrity couple living here." Filthy said as he bowed to Spike. Spike put a claw over his face and groaned at the news.

"How'd you even find out about this? Nopony is supposed to know about it except close friends and family." Spike said angrily looking the crowd over. He even saw there was a sign on the hardware store telling ponies that The prince eats here!

"Well, that is... um." Filthy said stumbling over his words now that he was being stared down by an angry dragon. He was visibly sweating bullets, so he did what most politicians would do. 

He threw someone less important than himself under the metaphorical bus. He reached behind him and grabbed a familiar mare and placed her in front of the displeased dragon.

"Carrot Top? I don't recall telling you anything other than that me and Mac were together." Spike said with thin whisps of black smoke escaping his mouth every time he spoke.

"W-well, I may have wanted the whole story so I could gossip with the girls. I sort of... eavesdropped on your conversation with the crusaders." Golden looked up at him with an uneasy smile and ears folded down. Spike saw how afraid the mare was and calmed himself.

"Everpony except Carrot Top, go back to your normal business." Spike said to the crowd, which dispersed gradually. Spike shooed off the last few stragglers and looked back to the yellow mare in front of him.

"W-what are you gonna do to me?" Golden said nervously. Spike looked at her for a minute before whispering to Big Mac for a second. Spike and Macintosh broke apart and nodded to each other.

"First, you're gonna keep letting me call you Carrot Top. Then, you're going to go buy us one of every piece of the unofficial merchandise, and write down who sold it so we can have a talk with the vendors." Spike said pointing to the stalls ahead of them. Golden's apprehension lessened considerably.

"R-really? That's it?" She asked in disbelief.

"Eeyup." Macintosh said with a curt nod.

"Yes sirs!" The mare said before running off to purchase the overpriced junk. 

Spike helped Macintosh set up the stall and then excused himself to go try and calm the town down. He wondered how the merchandise had been made in a matter of hours until he saw three familiar unicorns that had a knack for causing trouble. 

Two yellow stallions that were nearly identical and a blue mare in a purple hat and cape. Trixie was manning the front while Flim and Flam where weaving plushies, T-shirts, hats, and other items together with magic. It seemed they were making the majority of the unlicensed products, and everypony else had jumped on the bandwagon. 

Spike face-clawed himself at the sight of the notorious trouble makers. He walked up to the counter of the impromptu stall and rung the bell for service, as Trixie wasn't paying any attention.

"Welcome to Lulamoon and Flim Flam's fine crafts, how may Trixie help... you?" The mare said turning back to the front and finding herself staring at the very dragon they were making money off of.

"Hello Trixie, don't suppose you'd mind telling me how you got permission to use my, and my coltfriend's likenesses, would you?" Spike said with a smile that you'd expect a predator to have before striking it's prey.

"T-Trixie was just um... that is to say... It was the Flim Flam Brothers idea?" She said attempting to give her humblest smile.

"You know, my day was going great until I came into town. First I have my secret spilled by my new neighbor, and now the mare that once treated me like a basketball and the con artists who keep harassing my coltfriend's family start making toys of me without my permission. 

I am not a happy dragon right now." Spike said as he flipped the sign on the counter from open to closed. For good measure he tossed the service bell into the air and caught it with his mouth and chewed it to a pulp before swallowing.

"Trixie is very sorry Prince Spike, but Trixie and her new business partners were just passing through and we heard about the new royal couple and couldn't help ourselves." Trixie said bowing down to the angry giant. 

Spike sighed deeply, he needed to have Mac remind him to tone down the anger. He was getting too good at scaring ponies for his liking. That was something he didn't want on his conscience, especially now that there was a direct link to him and the royal family. 

Spike took a deep breath and took a moment to calm himself. He decided the best course of action was to let them go with a warning. The products were actually half decent this time around, and nopony was getting hurt after all.

"Here's what you're gonna do, you and the Flim Flam brothers are gonna take all your bits and scram while you're ahead. Also, just call me Spike, and stop bowing to me. If you come through again, make sure it's just a social visit, no more get rich quick schemes or magic duels okay?" Spike said taking a step back from the ramshackle stall.

"Trixie promises, but... you don't need to tell Sparkle about this right?" She said giving the dragon her best puppy-dog eyes. An idea formed the second Trixie mentioned Twilight.

"No, but you should come see her. I think she likes you. You two would probably hit it off if you met under good circumstances. Just remember, her little brother is a lot bigger than he used to be." Spike said with a wink. 

Trixie blushed and nodded before whistling with her hoof to her mouth, signaling to the brothers that it was time to flee. Spike was unsure how anyone could do that without fingers, but didn't question it. The brothers looked up from their work and saw Spike and rushed back into their magic powered wagon and were off with astonishing speed, Trixie barely managed to get on in time.

Maybe I should have mom look into magic powered carts? Spike thought to himself.

After a short walk back to the Apple stall he saw an incredible line of ponies waiting for apple products. Apparently, his relationship with Macintosh had amounted to a royal endorsement for Apple family apples and treats. Spike could barely see Macintosh through the crowd, he had to stretch his neck to the limit to see over the ponies. 

Macintosh had apparently raised the price per apple to match the demand according to the scratched out number on the sign replaced by a much higher one. It didn't seem to bother the crowd at all, the apple supply was quickly depleting. Spike decided he needed to help and poked his head in through the doorway of Sofas and Quills, Ponyville's second strangest store. 

The first was of course Sugarcube Corner, because of Pinkie Pie. His shoulders were now too broad to allow him full entry. He looked to the counter and saw a surprised Davenport, the earth pony stallion that owned the business.

"Excuse me, but could I get you to write a letter for me?" Spike asked the confused store owner. Davenport nodded and took out a piece of parchment and quill.

"What would you like it to say your majesty?" He asked before putting the quill in his mouth. 

"Dear Applejack, Trouble in town, bring more apples for market. Love, Spike." He said, dictating the letter to the stallion. As soon as it was finished he rolled it with a ribbon and placed it before Spike.

"Thanks Davenport, feel free to just call me Spike by the way." Spike said before withdrawing his head.

It was soon replaced by his arm which took the scroll. As soon as he was away from anything flammable he burned the letter away with his magical breath and watched the enchanted ash fly away to Sweet Apple Acres. 

He looked back to the apple stall and found that he was right to call in backup. Big Mac had just sold the last apple fritter to Lotus, one of the spa twins. As she walked off munching on her fritter Spike arrived at the stall again.

"I sent a message to Applejack, she's gonna bring more apples." Spike said taking a seat next to the stall.

"Good, ain't ever made this many bits in a day before." Mac said lifting the bag they collected payment in for Spike to see. It was practically bursting at the seams.

"Wow, I was pretty peeved at Carrot Top earlier, but now I'm finding it harder to stay mad. You think we should at least reimburse her for all the junk we're making her get?" Spike asked looking from the bag to Mac.

"Eenope." Mac replied smugly.

"Me either, but I thought it'd be good to make sure." Spike said wearing a big smile.
> Dinner For Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack had received letters from Spike on occasion, but it was usually a notification of disaster. Spike had told her to bring apples, not an unreasonable request of her, but it seemed strange that they would need more. 

They rarely ran out of apples on market days, especially not so quickly. As Applejack brought the extra cart full of apples into town she noticed things were strange. Several mares passed by her with stuffed toys that looked remarkably like Spike and her brother. She stopped a mare she recognized as Lemony Gems who was wearing a purple ball cap with Mac's cutie mark on the front and little dragon wings on the sides.

"Scuse me, Lemony, but could you tell me what the hay is going on?" Applejack said motioning to her unusual hat.

"Oh, I thought you of all ponies would know Applejack. Your brother is dating Spike who was secretly a prince! Everypony is celebrating that our little town is host to the new royal couple." Lemony said pointing to several of the stalls pedaling various nick-knacks and clothing items.

"Well a' course Ah knew, Ah'm just confused as t' how y'all know." Applejack said somewhat confused.

"Carrot Top told everypony, she was apparently listening in on a private conversation between Spike and the crusaders." Lemony said pointing to the mare in question. She was currently hauling a wagon full of the now famous couple's merchandise.

"Golden Harvest! The hay are you spying on ponies on mah farm for?" Applejack yelled at the guilty pony. She froze on the spot before slowly turning to face the strongest mare in Ponyville.

"Applejack, I'm really sorry! Spike and Big Macintosh already forgave me! I'm getting them one of all the toys and stuff ponies have been making." She said pointing to the wagon full of overpriced junk. Applejack was pretty sure she was telling the truth. Being the element of honesty was useful now and again.

"Fine, but don't let me catch yer sorry flank on mah farm without bein' invited." She said before continuing on her way to the marketplace.

As she got further into town she saw almost everypony with at least some of the odd memorabilia. The town was abuzz with activity, merchants were selling anything they could paint purple and green or stamp with an apple. Ponies would have normally known better than to do all this, but ever since Filthy Rich had taken over as mayor he had converted everypony over to the gospel of money. 

Applejack hated to admit it, but the extra revenue was helping the town immensely. Ponyville was often under siege by one threat or another, and the bits were appreciated for repairs. Applejack eventually reached the market and saw the cause for the impromptu letter for help. The stand was devoid of any produce or baked goods. Sitting behind the stall was the couple of the hour.

"Y'all managed to get yerselves in the spotlight perty quick didn' ya?" Applejack said with a smirk as she unloaded the apples.

"Yeah, Carrot Top blabbed after listening in on me and the crusaders. She's going around buying us everything in retribution. But, on the bright side, our relationship seems to be selling an awful lot of Apples." Spike said reaching over and placing a crate of apples onto the stand.

"Are ya sure ya don't mind all the stuff with yer mugs on it?" Applejack said looking back to the stand selling mini-figures.

"We weren't too thrilled at first, but we worked out a deal with Filthy Rich. He's getting everything licensed, all we need to do is sign off on it. We're getting a pretty nice cut of the deal, gonna use it to build the house." Spike said as he finished placing the apples and goods onto the stall's shelves.

"Eeyup." Mac said flipping the sign from closed to open.

"Well, y'all can go get some grub if ya want. Ah'll watch the stand for now, Ah'm sure ya'll d' get pestered t' death with both a' ya here." Applejack said shooing the pair out from behind the stall.

"Sounds good to me, I'm running low on fuel. Thanks AJ." Spike said as the pair walked off.

The pair had to deal with several groups of whispering mares who seemed to be giving Spike a death glare. Others had cameras and were frantically snapping photos of Equestria's newest celebrities. Spike remembered how Shining Armor had complained when he and Cadence had gotten married. The paparazzi had nearly driven the two insane. Spike wondered if this was their fate as well, everypony was already treating their relationship as the biggest thing since Luna's return.

Come gawk at the big gay dragon prince and his farm pony lover! Spike thought to himself. 

He was taking it pretty well, being a reptile among mammals was good experience for being gawked at. Mac on the other hoof, was doing his best to cope. Spike could tell he wasn't liking the unexpected stardom.

After a short trek they arrived at Hayburger, the closest restaurant with outdoor seating. Spike decided to just walk through the drive through cart lane, as this was an unusual circumstance. Big Mac went to get them a table while Spike ordered.

"Hey, so I know I don't have a cart or anything, but I can't really go inside." Spike said to the acne riddled teenage stallion at the window.

"Oh, your majesty! Please, don't worry about it. What can I get for you today sir?" The stallion said saluting Spike.

"Well, I'd like... let's say thirty-five hayburgers with cheese and ten orders of horseshoe fries." Spike said unsure of how much he could eat with his new size.

"Um... alright then, we have a special promotion the manager just cooked up. We call it the green fire slushie, it's jalapeno flavored. It's named after you obviously. You get a free large with every ten bits worth of food you buy." The teenage colt said while trying to calculate the massive order properly.

"Sounds interesting, how many am I looking at?" Spike asked excited at having a drink named after him.

"Well your total is fifty-three bits, so five." The stallion said giving him his ticket. Spike reached under his wing and gave the stallion his bag of bits he had withdrawn from the bank while waiting for Applejack. The teen took out the necessary amount and recounted the total he took several times, not wanting to mess up the change he gave royalty, especially not a dragon. Spike took the bag back when prompted.

"So, could you send somepony out when everything's ready? I'll be in the outdoor seating area, think you can find me?" Spike said jokingly.

"Yes sir, we'll have that out to you as soon as possible." The cashier said before shutting the window.

Spike walked back around to the outdoor seating to find Big Mac. It wasn't hard as Mac was pretty big for a pony, and red wasn't the most common color. He was seated at the far end of the area under a shade tree, most likely as to not draw attention to himself. It would have worked, had Spike not have joined him. Ponies tend to notice large purple dragons.

"Hey handsome, they're gonna bring the food out in a bit." Spike said sitting at the table across from Mac. Mac as usual, was silent, but their seemed to be tension in the air.

"Something wrong, Mac?" Spike asked worriedly.

"Just thinkin'." Mac said staring at a napkin he had apparently been writing on before Spike's arrival. It seemed to be measurements and estimates, the former being somewhat personal.

"Are those for the house?" Spike asked looking at the contemplative stallion.

"Eeyup, tryin' t' figure how we can make the house last fer as long as possible for ya." Mac said without looking up from the napkin.

"What do you mean?" Spike asked raising one of the scaly ridges that served as his eyebrows.

"Ah heard that Discord fella, yer gonna grow again in twenty years or so. The barn'd still be jus' big nough' for after that too if I'm doin the math right. But what bout' afterwards?" He said looking up from the napkin.

"We can worry about forty years from now closer to it, let's just worry about now alright?" Spike said looking to his love. Mac was really trying to let work take his mind off of things, but worrying about problems two decades in advance wasn't helping anypony.

Before anything else could be said a stallion carrying a seemingly absurd amount of burgers and fries with great difficulty came out of the restaurant. Spike took them from their place on the young stallion's back and placed them on the table. Another employee, this time a mare brought out a family sized drink carrier with Spike's special slushies. Spike took them as well and placed them alongside the food.

"Thanks guys, sorry for making you work so hard for my order." Spike said before handing both of them a generous tip. They saluted and smiled and went back to their work.

"Ya gonna be able to eat all that?" Mac said eying the pile of hayburgers.

"Five and two orders of fries are yours, I remember what you normally get. You can really pack it away for a pony." Spike said as he unwrapped his first burger, putting the entire thing in his mouth.

"What's this here?" Mac said pointing to the emerald green slushie.

"They call it a green fire slush, you can guess who it's named after." Spike said swelling with pride. 

Macintosh merely rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the beverages for himself. He took a good long drink and set the beverage down and reached for a burger. He stopped dead seconds later except for a twitching eye.

"Mac? you alright?" Spike asked the seemingly ailing stallion.

"B-brain freeze n' burning mouth." Macintosh uttered shakily.

"Well, it is called the green FIRE slush." Spike said taking one for himself and downing it with no trouble. Mac took a bite of his burger, helping the burning sensation in his mouth as the brain freeze lessened.

"How'd ya drink that so quickly?" Mac said in amazement once his self inflicted torture had ended.

"I breathe fire, so my taste buds can take a lot of punishment, and brain freeze stopped bothering me years ago. I've eaten a lot of ice cream over the years." Spike said before starting in on a couple more burgers. Mac finished two in the time it took Spike to devour ten. The pair was silent, until Mac spoke up.

"So... we're officially a celebrity couple now huh? Ah wasn't quite expectin' that when Ah asked ya out." Mac said sheepishly. Spike smiled at him knowingly, he had been thinking something similar.

"I know, it's not what I had in mind either but I love you and I know we can make it through this. I know this whole business is my fault, but I couldn't be happier that you stuck with me." Spike said before giving Mac a kiss on the cheek from across the table, much to the stallion's surprise. He was definitely a deeper shade of red than he had been moments ago.

"S-Spike, we're in public!" Mac both whispered and yelled at the dragon, without being truly angry.

"Yeah, but everypony knows about us now. Besides, it was just a quick peck on the cheek." Spike said before gobbling down the rest of his burgers and starting in on the fries.

"Ah, love you too, but... ah dunno how comfortable ah am with public stuff." Mac said slowly regaining his normal shade of red.

"Sorry Mac, I know you aren't too good with public anything without prep time." Spike said guiltily. Mac opened his mouth to reassure the dragon, but was soon interrupted.

"Spike! This slushie is amaaaaaaziiiing!" A familiar voice talk/sung from behind the dragon in question. 

Spike turned to see Pinkie Pie wearing a green and purple tie-dye shirt and a necklace shaped like Mac's cutie mark. She also had an extra large green fire slush in one of her hooves. Rainbow Dash was wearing a ball cap with Mac's mark and little dragon wings on the sides. She hovered just above Pinkie slurping a smaller version of Pinkie's gargantuan beverage.

"Sup Spike? How's it feel to be famous?" Rainbow Dash said somewhat enviously before taking another drink of her slushie.

"Well, It'd be nice to get some time relatively alone with Mac. But the whole "fame" thing is making it a pain in the flank." Spike said while gesturing to Macintosh who nodded his agreement.

"It's not everyday that ponies find out that they have royalty right under their muzzles." Rainbow said as she threw her now empty drink container in a nearby trash bin.

"Or that that royalty is a really big gay dragon that's dating every mare's dream stallion." Pinkie Pie added with a smile and the subtlety of a rampaging minotaur.

Mac was visibly uncomfortable after the last bit, he had never really had an eye for the fairer sex, despite the mares all having eyes for him. 

He wasn't seen in town for a month after the uncomfortable love poison incident. Spike would have said something about making Mac uncomfortable, but Pinkie hadn't meant any harm, She was just being Pinkie Pie. She seemed to catch herself when she saw Mac's face however.

"Still, would have been nice to at least have a meal together without the whole restaurant watching us." Spike said looking around the open dining area. 

Sure enough, there was quite a few ponies making an effort to seem like they weren't watching. Pinkie Pie looked as though there was some heavy thinking going on inside her head. She was being eerily quiet, which was never long lived for the pink party pony.

"Gottagoplanningsomethingforsomeponytotallynotaponyandadragon!" Pinkie blurted suddenly as she disappeared in a burst of speed, leaving a dusty afterimage that saluted before collapsing into nothing. The assembled ponies and dragon just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Anyway... I guess I'm not hanging out with Pinkie anymore today. Guess I'm gonna go take a nap. See ya later lover boys." Dash said as she zoomed off with her signature multicolored jet trail.

"Today has been weird, but not terrible. Wanna head home and quit while we're ahead?" Spike asked after finishing the last surviving order of horseshoe fries.

"Eeyup." Mac said before finishing his own meal.

The pair passed by Applejack on their way out of town an picked up the empty cart they had brought, which was now full of a surprising number of mediocre items bearing some semblance of them. Carrot Top had apparently left them in Applejack's care. 

Spike towed it as he had the first time, since they didn't have the hitch with them. Spike planned on dividing the stuff between the crusaders, his mother, and aunt. It was a little known fact that the alicorn sisters loved plush toys.

It was dark by the time they were halfway back to the farm, and a curious sight met them when they were within half a mile. There were lit candles lining the path to the farm. The breeze was light enough not to extinguish them, the weather was eerily perfect. No clouds blocked the view of the stars, which seemed especially vibrant tonight. 

The setting was incredibly romantic, and they were both feeling it. When they got to the farm they could see that the mysterious candles led straight to the barn, the door of which was wide open. It also appeared to be dimly lit with an astounding number of candles.

Somepony had obviously gone to an awful lot of trouble to make things seem romantic. As if reading the pair's thoughts, Pinkie Pie stepped out with a tremendous bottle of champagne resting on her back. It was obviously meant for Spike and Mac, as were two appropriately sized glasses she produced from seemingly nowhere. One for Mac, and a one that seemed a lot like a fish bowl for Spike. The party mare was wearing what seemed to be a diaper and cardboard wings.

"Pinkie Pie? What exactly are you doing? What is all this?" Spike asked looking at the candlelit barn. Pinkie's response was to shoot Spike in the face with a suction cup arrow that stuck to his scales with ease.

"You two looked sooo sad when you couldn't get a break today, so I called in some favors, broke some fundamental laws of physics, and got you a HUGE bottle of champagne.

Now you two can have a night to yourselves. Applejack is crashing in Spike's old room in the library and the crusaders are all staying at Rarity's house for a sleepover. So you can have all the alone time you need, so long as you only need it till morning." Pinkie said as she somehow managed to push both Big Mac and Spike into the barn.

"You two have fun now!" Pinkie said as she slammed the doors shut on the confused couple.

The pair looked at each other and then to the bottle and glasses. It was true that being alone was going to be a rare occurrence, what with Applejack and Apple Bloom living so close and the townsponies keeping such a close eye on them. It seemed almost impossible that they would have a chance like this, but Pinkie was good at impossible.

"Well, she's doing us a favor. It'd be rude not to take advantage of the alone time, and who knows when we'll have this chance again?" Spike said looking at Macintosh with a suggestive grin.

"Eeyup." Mac said wearing the same smile.

It was a very good thing nopony was within audible range that night. Dragon's can apparently get very loud when they're enjoying themselves that much. Mac would be sure to buy earplugs in the near future, just as soon as he was able to walk to the store without an obvious limp. He'd need to ask Applejack to cover for him tomorrow, he couldn't handle anymore bucking right now.
> The Getaway
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three weeks, it had been three weeks since Spike's secret had gotten out. The first couple days had been okay, but soon things started to get out of hoof. Canterlot had been sending him letters requesting him for ribbon cutting ceremonies and the like, and ponies as far away as Appleoosa had been sending him fan mail. 

He actually sort of liked that part, but a crazy fan had snuck into the barn and tried to pry a scale off of him. He had had enough, and so had Mac. The solution was simple, they were leaving for an impromptu vacation.

Shining Armor had sent an open invitation to the Crystal Empire as soon as he heard the news. Spike had told him that they could handle themselves, but he was wrong. The stress of being a celebrity was overwhelming, they were taking him up on his offer. Spike had already sent Shining a letter via the flame channel, and they were on their way. The train would be pulling into the Crystal Empire Station within minutes. 

It was a little embarrassing, but Spike had to ride in a shipping car. It had been specially furnished to seem less like a big metal box. The floor had been specially padded for comfort, and the walls made to look like those in the castle. Spike had to stop them from adding a chandelier, as he'd be too tempted to eat it. Macintosh stayed in the car with him, despite being offered a private first class cabin.

As the train pulled to a stop, Macintosh woke from his nap only to find he was trapped under the tremendously heavy arm of his beloved. This had happened a few times before, but each time he had simply had to wait for Spike to wake up on his own. 

Kicks, bites, and yelling seemed ineffective. Spike's scaly skin was too thick for pony alone to even irritate, this was going to be fun. Mac could hear them opening the container car. As the door slid open and light filtered into the car he could only sigh.

"Welcome to the Crystal Empire Lizard Lips!" A white stallion with a dark blue mane bellowed as the door finished opening. As soon as Mac saw his red military uniform, and heard the childish nickname, he knew who this was.

"He's asleep." Mac said with a deadpan expression from his spot underneath the sleeping behemoth's arm.

"Aw, man. It took me all day to come up with Lizard Lips." The stallion said in disappointment.

"Lizard Lips woke up when the light hit him." Spike said still somewhat groggy. He lifted his arm freeing Mac from the death grip.

Spike stood and stretched, waking himself up fully. He planted himself back onto all fours and stepped out of the train car. Mac followed with Spike shutting the door behind them. 

"How's it going Shining?" Spike said looking down upon Shining Armor with a smug smile.

"Whoa, Twily wasn't kidding. You got big fast." The prince said taking in his brother's new stature.

"Ya should see how much he eats." Big Mac said as he himself took a moment to stretch.

"Ah, right. Where are my manners? I'm Shining Armor, Spike bi-er older brother." He said offering a hoof to Macintosh.

"Pleased t' meet ya. Macintosh Apple." Mac said accepting the hoofshake.

"Twily's told me about you, Applejack's Brother, right?" Shining asked happily.

"Eeyup." Mac said with a nod.

"Probably would have known more, but somepony never writes." Shining said motioning to Spike.

"I try, but they don't make quills my size." Spike said as he wiggled his pointy digits.

"That's pretty ironic, considering you're a living mailbox." Shining said trying not to laugh at his own joke.

"Ha ha, just take us to the palace Bubble Boy." Spike said rolling his eyes.

"They're shields, not bubbles. Shields are manly, bubbles aren't." Shining said defending his special talent, "But yeah, let's go. Cadence has been dying to see you two. She's read all the tabloids about you."

Spike and the stallions walked from the station to the palace, exchanging small talk, and enjoying the relative peace. Spike had been well known in the empire since the Sombra incident, so while he got many friendly waves, but the crystal ponies didn't do much else. 

It was almost like Ponyville had been before the fame had hit. The empire was really just an enormous city, with the crystal heart and palace in the very center. This guaranteed that there were many clear routes to the palace. They made it in good time, even though Spike's size made a carriage an impossibility. 

"This place is awful bright." Macintosh said as he shielded his eyes from the overwhelming glare as he looked up at the Crystal Palace.

"Yeah, it'll take you a couple hours to adjust properly." Shining said as he nodded to the guards at the front gate. The armored stallions saluted and opened the doors for them.

"Cadence is still holding court at the moment, so I'll send somepony to get you later. In the meantime you two can go get settled into your room. Sapphire here will show you the way." Shining said sending one of the guards to their side. 

Unlike the Canterlot guard, the crystal guard were allowed to retain their natural coloration. Spike found it refreshing as he could never tell his mother or aunt's guards apart. 

"Pleasure to meet you sirs. The room is down this hall if you'd follow me." Sapphire said with a salute, it was also a refreshing change that Sapphire was a mare, a rarity amongst Canterlot guards.

After a short trek through some intersecting hallways they arrived at an especially large doorway. The door itself was a deep black metal that Spike's draconic senses picked up on. These senses let him smell and taste many things like ponies would food, as nearly anything was food for a dragon. This particular metal however, made him sick to his stomach.

"Out of curiosity, what was this room before now?" Spike asked Sapphire. Sapphire's expression fell a bit as he asked that question.

"It was Sombra's favorite bedroom. He slept in a different one every night but this one was the one he used the most." Sapphire said shivering at the thought of the former tyrant king.

"That would explain why it's creeping me out." Spike said as he looked back to the particularly unappetizing door.

"Yes, he did something to all the doors to keep ponies out. We disenchanted them, but sometimes they give off bad vibes." Sapphire said handing Spike a black key similar to the door in design.

"Well, as long as it's safe. Thanks Sapphire, you can go back to your post now." Spike said turning the key in the lock. Sapphire walked off as the door opened, revealing an enormous bedroom.

There was a fine sofa that looked so plush Macintosh wondered if it was made of clouds. On the opposite side of the room was a short dresser with a mirror atop it that had an ornate frame carved in the likeness of stylized unicorns. The carpeting in the room was a royal red and very soft, but the truly magnificent finisher of the room was the bed. 

It was a masterpiece, the blankets were obviously some sort of silk, the pillows were stuffed with phoenix down, (Spike recognized them as they were nearly identical to his mother's) and the most important part was that it was big. Very big, just like it had been tailor made for a certain dragon.

Spike wasted no time in hoping into the lusciously comfortable bed. He let out a moan of satisfaction as he spread out over it's irresistible, possibly magical surface. He was so comfortable that he thought he might actually be dead, and he didn't care.

"Oh Mac, you gotta get up here. It's like swimming in rainbows and kittens or something. It's even better than a lava bath." Spike said in his state of euphoric bliss.

"It can't be that great." Mac said as he climbed up the edge of the bed, "See? ah ain't all... Oh Celestia, ah may never leave." 

"I missed having a real bed sooo much." Spike said as he affectionately nuzzled Big Mac like a teddy bear. 

"We gotta take this with us when we leave." Mac said as they thoroughly enjoyed the unbelievable comfort and closeness.

"The world would be such a better place if Sombra had designed furniture instead of enslaving entire populations." Spike said before letting out a massive yawn.

"Eeyup." Mac said as he let out a very similar yawn.

Both of them were snuggled close together and were out in a matter of minutes. After sleeping on the barn floor for the last three weeks with only a couple spare blankets, this was heaven. Shining Armor and Cadence came to fetch them about two hours later, and opened the door to see the couple who had shifted positions. Spike lay flat on his back with his forked tongue hanging out to one side of his mouth. Macintosh was laying on top of him enjoying the natural heat his coltfriend gave off at all times.

"You brought the camera right?" Shining Armor whispered to his wife.

"Of course, aunty would kill me if I didn't get a shot of something so adorable." Cadence said as she snapped a photo of the scene. 

"Sombra's bed never fails, always put you to sleep within minutes." Shining Armor said with a smirk.

The photo slid out the bottom of the camera and Cadence took it and waved it in her aura, developing it. She used her magic to summon up a pink envelope that she placed the photo into. She sealed it with a heart shaped sticker. She took a quill from under her wing and artfully labeled the envelope Aunty Celestia.

"Do you need to make everything pink?" Shining asked her as she made the camera disappear.

"Yes, as a matter of fact." Cadence responded as she booped him on the nose with the envelope.

Shining rolled his eyes and pulled a large gem out of his uniform, he floated it in front of Spike's nose. The dragon woke up and crunched it between his powerful jaws. It took him less than a ten seconds to grind the gem to dust and swallow it. He yawned and lifted his neck looking to the sleeping stallion on his chest.

"Hey, Mac? We have guests." Spike said as he nudged him with the end of his snout.

"Hmm?" Mac said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. When his vision was back he looked from the two across the room and then back to his position on top of Spike. He suddenly felt his face get very warm. He ducked behind his lover in embarrassment.

"Y'all coulda knocked!" He said from his hiding place.

"Yeah, we did sorta come out here for privacy you know?" Spike said as he slowly rose up from the indescribably soft bed.

"You should have locked your door then." Shining replied as he pointed to the key that had been dropped on the floor as they fell unconscious.

"Spike, it's good to see you. Could you send this off to aunty for me?" Cadence said floating the envelope into his claw. Spike let out a small burst of green fire, burning the mail away. The ash flew out the door on it's way to Canterlot.

"There you go. Now then, did you two need something?" Spike groaned as he stretched his wings, they got stiff if he slept on them.

"Actually, you two have been asleep for a couple hours it seems. It's dinner time." Cadence answered with her characteristic smile.

"Awesome, I feel like I could eat a house." Spike said instantly perking up.

"Considerin' where we are, ah'd believe it." Mac said stepping down from the magical mattress.

"I like him, he's funny." Shining said to his wife.

"And he isn't too hard on the eyes either, you can sure pick em' Spike." Cadence said teasingly.

"Yeah, he's definitely a keeper." Spike said planting a kiss on Mac's cheek.  

"Ugh, dude. Come on, I'm right here." Shining said shielding his eyes from his younger brother's display of affection.

"Grow up Shining, it was just a kiss on the cheek." Cadence complained to her husband.

"Yeah but, he's like my little brother or something. Imagine watching your brother kiss someone." Shining replied.

"Yeah, disturbing. But nopony wants to kiss Blueblood." Cadence said visibly sickened at the thought.

"I'll give you that one." Shining agreed.

The group adjourned to the dining hall shortly after everypony's agreement about Blueblood. The room was large enough for Spike to move around in freely, possibly even fly in if he kept a low altitude. 

It was empty except for the four of them, making it feel much more spacious than it already was. The nobles had been sent away so tonight would be a family only dinner. Spike was seated across from Macintosh as Cadence was across form Shining.

"So, I know you both live in Ponyville, but how did you two meet?" Cadence asked, ever interested in pony's love lives.

"We started helping each other out with chores when the girls went off to save the world." Spike said before taking a large chunk of quartz crystal into his jaws.

"Eeyup, neither a' us could do everythin' by ourselves. So, we worked together and eventually became friends." Mac said before taking a bite of his own meal.

"Then a few months after that Mac's grandmother passed away and I guess I made a pretty good shoulder to cry on." Spike added after swallowing the crunched up quartz.

"Miss Rarity broke his heart bout a month later an' I  helped pick up the pieces." Mac said looking to Spike with an expression containing nostalgia, sadness, and happiness all at once.

"We hung out whenever we could, and after awhile we knew we had feelings for each other. Mac was the first to speak up oddly enough, just as soon as I turned eighteen. A day before my uncomfortable growth spurt." Spike said shuddering at the memory of his body feeling like it had been in a taffy puller. The wings had been even worse though.

"Hard to believe you got so big all at once." Cadence replied.

"Yeah, Discord says I can expect it to happen every twenty years. First a big eating binge, then super painful growth. Next time should be easier though, now that the wings are out." Spike gave his wings a small flap as demonstration.

"Can you fly yet?" Shining asked looking the membranous wings over.

"Yeah, didn't even need any lessons. Instincts kicked in soon as I got off the ground." He replied before taking a hearty drink from the barrel of crystal berry juice he had been supplied.

"Scared the apples outta me first time he took me up." Macintosh said clearly annoyed.

"Yeah, forgot earth ponies didn't like heights." Spike said apologetically.

"Well you two seem like quite the couple, I see you having a great future together." Cadence said cheerily.

"Means a lot comin' from you ma'am." Macintosh said gratefully.

"Please, just call me Cadence. It seems like you're going to be part of the family before too long." She said with a warm smile. Mac smiled back, family was the most important thing to an Apple, and the more the merrier.

After dinner the couples parted and went to their own rooms. Spike and Mac elected to lay on the carpet instead of the bed, as they didn't want to fall asleep right away. They were just enjoying the peace, and each others company. Spike had his head rested on Macintosh's barrel, and Macintosh had even discarded his yoke, a rare occurrence. 

"Ya know what yer cousin said about bein' part a' the family?" Mac asked Spike, interrupting the quiet.

"Yeah?" Spike relied without moving from his position.

"Does it bother ya that ah' can't stay with ya forever?" Macintosh said somewhat sadly.

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me sad sometimes, but I'd rather have you for as long as I can than not at all." Spike said in a tone that told Mac he had been thinking on it just as much as he had.

"Ya wouldn't rather have some other dragon, er wait fer a' new alicorn or somethin?" Mac asked, worry evident in his voice. Spike moved his neck to meet Mac's face and kissed him tenderly, it lasted less than a minute, but spoke volumes about Spike's feelings. Though he was sure Mac knew his answer he felt the need to say it as well.

"I only want you Mac. I could literally wait for eternity without finding anyone that even came close to you." Spike said as he took Mac into his arms and pulled the stallion close to his chest. 

"Ah, love you." Mac said as his worry left him.

"I love you too." Spike replied softly.

Mac wasn't sure if it was Spike's internal heat, or their love, but he felt a warmth deep down. He had never considered himself anything special, but right now he felt more important than the sisters that moved the sun and moon around the sky. He knew he wouldn't last forever, but as long as Spike never forgot him he wouldn't truly be gone.

The pair didn't make it back to the bed that night, they fell asleep in each others embrace.  
> Vacation Extended
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike and Macintosh had spent a week in the Crystal Empire before getting back on the train. They had intended to head straight for Ponyville, but Spike had burped up a letter from his mother halfway there. As it turned out, the staff working on their home had hit a snag with the plumbing. 

The pair wouldn't be able to go back for at least three days, they needed to put the septic tank directly under the barn as it was the only spot the roots of the countless apple trees were sparse enough. They had attempted to dig further from the barn and had damaged the roots of a tree. 

The foreman was still recovering from a sudden case of bucks to the head, courtesy of Applejack. The pair would be staying in Canterlot with Spike's family until they could head back. 

"So, we're gonna be stayin in yer old room?" Mac said looking up at the enormity of Canterlot Castle.

"Yeah, we'll get to see Mom, Aunt Luna and Discord I guess." Spike said as they walked through the gate. Spike was significantly slower than normal, as he was walking on his back legs hefting Sombra's bed in his arms.

"Ah still can't believe ya took that." Mac said stopping from his position several yards ahead of Spike.

"They said we could take it if I could carry it. Not my fault that they underestimated my awesomeness." Spike replied as he tried to look past the unnaturally comfortable bed.

Mac rolled his eyes as they walked through the large doors into the palace. The guards recognized Spike right away and knew Macintosh from the tabloids. Several of them waved, Spike had always been on good terms with the castle staff and had even helped them with their duties when he was younger, or at least kept them company. Princess Celestia met them at the main stairwell with a warm smile.

"Hello boys, so good to see you. I see you've already been furniture shopping for your new house." She said lifting the bed into the air with her magic. Spike returned to his normal quadruped state and rolled his shoulders.

"Yeah, a Sombra original with phoenix down pillows. Best sleep I've ever had." Spike replied.

"Really? Never would have thought. I'll just put it into your room for the moment." She said before making it vanish in a golden flash.

"Pleasure t' see ya again Celestia." Mac said with a short bow. 

"It's nice being able to talk to you two like a mother would while in public. Honestly, the only reason that I had it kept a secret was to protect you. Now it would be silly to think you can't protect yourself." She said as she walked down the stairs.

She stopped directly in front of the pair and pulled them into a big hug. Spike smiled widely, but Mac was slightly uncomfortable. He knew Celestia was still a pony, and most likely eventually his mother-in-law, but she was also a seemingly ageless demigod that ruled his country. On top of that his family was forever indebted to her for giving his great-grandparents their home where the Apple family still lived to this day.

"So, where's-" Spike began, but was halted by a thunderous bang of doors slamming outward at the top of the stairs. A navy blue alicorn jumped from the top of the stairs and glided down to the group.

"Nephew, Macintosh it is good to see thee. We did not have long to talk during our last encounter." Luna said while joining the hug. 

Contrary to popular belief Celestia was not the strongest of the royal sisters, Luna though smaller was liable to crush you with a hug if she wasn't careful, even Spike felt it.

"Luna, could you please stop. Macintosh is mortal." Celestia struggled to say. The group was dropped immediately by the lunar alicorn.

"Our apologies, we forget our subjects are less durable than us." Luna said as she helped the crimson stallion right himself.

"S'okay ah don't break easily." Mac said as he looked to Spike. Spike's face reddened considerably and he looked away.

"Oh please Spike, all of Ponyville knows about it, Twilight says you can hear the roars for miles. That's why I'm soundproofing your house." Celestia said after rolling her eyes.

"Okay, so, now this officially the most embarrassing conversation I've ever had." Spike said hanging his head under the weight of the sheer discomfort.

"Nephew, me and my sister are each at least thirty-five hundred years old each. We have had our fair share of life experiences. There is little that phases us." Luna said as she recalled many a crazy adventure from the past.

"Still only eighteen here. Haven't had a lot of experience dealing with stuff." Spike said still recovering from the crushing awkwardness.

"Fine we'll get back to you in about two thousand years, sound good?" Celestia asked with a smirk.

"Sure, just so long as it isn't right now." Spike said getting up from his slumping position.

"She will hold you to that. She still holds a grudge over a stolen cupcake from twenty-seven hundred years ago." Luna said seriously.

"Butter-cream frosting with chocolate sprinkles on strawberry cake. I was saving it and you took it from the cupboard." Celestia said bitterly. Spike knew his mother had an unhealthy fondness for pastries, but that seemed a little much.

The group soon adjourned for the dining hall, where the finest meals bits could buy were served. Spike however had a geologist and mineralogist that the castle kept on staff. He was payed well and spent his time finding fine gems and minerals, he mailed them to Spike in Ponyville and sometimes served Discord. Apparently he could eat literally anything. This particular pony had been the one to send Spike the rare fire ruby years ago.

Dinner conversation steered toward the future of Spike's relationship with Mac several times. The pair genuinely knew they would be together for as long as possible, but they hadn't really talked about the immediate future. They had only officially been together for almost a month. The circumstances surrounding their relationship had really put stress on them. They really hadn't had time to actually date.

The couple decided that tomorrow would be their first real date. No family, no crazy fans, just the two of them at a restaurant in Canterlot. The regal alicorn sisters had promised to leave them be for the night, and Discord was currently helping Fluttershy take care of a sick Ursa Major in the Everfree. Barring a world ending disaster the pair would be relatively alone for the night.

The pair spent most of the day lazing about Spike's room, reading comic books eating junk food, and cuddling. Spike was still wary about physical intimacy until they were back home and the sound proofing had been tested. The day had been pretty good all and all, and somehow remarkably normal. The pair split for an hour to get ready from their date when the time drew near. 

Macintosh was the first to meet at the bottom of the stairs, as they had planned. He had showered, combed his hair, and switched his yoke for a suit vest provided for him by the royal tailor. 

"Hey, looking good Mac." A familiar voice said from the top of the stairs.

Mac turned to see Spike, looking mostly the same except... shiny?

"Ya look... bright?" Mac said looking the dragon over.

"I uh, polished myself." Spike said before face-clawing himself and groaning. "That sounded way too suggestive, didn't it?" 

"Eeyup." Mac said smiling broadly.

"Let's just go." Spike said hanging his head. Mac patted him on the back as they walked out of the palace.

The pair didn't have far to go, the ritziest restaurant in Canterlot was in the same area of the city as the castle. It was called "The Prench Mare" and despite that the restaurant served dishes from all over the world and even served meat for ambassadors from other countries. Not that Spike would ever indulge unless his life depended on it. 

The stallion at the podium in front of the open door took one look at the pair and tried to bow to them on instinct, slamming his head into the podium. Spike helped him to his hooves, making sure he was stable.

"You alright there pal? That was quite a head injury." He asked the wobbly waiter.

"Yes, yes, sorry. It's my first time meeting royalty, I fear I may have ruined your first impression of the competency of our staff." The stallion said as he dusted himself off.

"No, it's alright. This isn't the worst reaction I've ever had. I won't tell anypony if you don't. Let's get us a table okay?" Spike said smiling at the stallion.

"Right this way sirs." The waiter replied happily.

The two were seated remarkably quickly at a table in the VIP section. Their orders for drinks were taken and the pair were left to themselves. There was only one other couple in the section, a white unicorn with a dark blue mane and a monacle, and a strangely tall unicorn mare that had a pale pink mane, she was also a stunning white. It was none other than the famous Fancy Pants and Fluer De Lis, sitting at the bar. 

"Hey, check it out. We aren't the only celebrity couple here." Spike said motioning to the well known Canterlot elite before pretending to read his menu. 

"Who're they?" Mac whispered, somewhat insecurely.

"Ah, sorry. Forgot it's a Canterlot thing. They own half of the city's businesses between them. They also donate almost as much to charity as my mother and aunt. They're also great ponies, I've met them a few times before. They never looked down on me for being a dragon among ponies, even before everypony knew I was a prince." Spike said as he spoke the world of the couple.

"Sound like good folk." Mac said as he perused the menu.

"Oh yeah, they're practically saints." Spike responded as he went through his own menu.

"Why thank you, your majesty. We do try." A ladylike voice replied in a prench accent. The pair looked to the source, to find the couple in question standing directly next to them.

"Whoa, snuck up on us there." Spike said clutching his chest, feigning a heart attack.

"Yes, sorry about that. But thank you for painting us in such a favorable light, Spike." Fancy said before taking a sip of his drink.

"Pretty easy, if yer deservin' of it." Mac added with a smile.

Fancy Pants chuckled a bit, dismissing the compliment with a playful wave of his hoof.

"You must be Macintosh Apple. The restaurant we're in is one of mine, I make sure we only use Sweet Apple Acres apples in the food. Best in Equestria, if you want my opinion." Fluer said with a warm smile.

"Thank ya, we work hard fer that title." Macintosh said proudly.

"Yes, I've been all over the world, but never had a finer piece of fruit." Fancy added before finishing his drink, "Good to see you found yourself a keeper Spike."

With that the pair departed taking their leave of the restaurant leaving Spike and Mac to themselves. The dinner surprisingly went off without a hitch. The food was excellent, and Mac confirmed that they did indeed use his family's apples when dessert rolled around. They had a great first date, and even stayed for a few drinks at the bar. 

The night wrapped up with a certain tipsy dragon collapsing on their new bed. Macintosh had never been much of a drinker, and was still awake. 

He took a walk through the castle, thinking to himself. He loved Spike dearly, but he still needed some alone time now and again. He didn't venture too far, as he knew the castle had certain areas not meant for him. He did however stop when he came to a strange door, it was pink with black spots with deep green outlines. There was what seemed to be an eye where the peep hole in a door would normally be. He stared at it for a moment until it blinked at him. He realized who this door must belong to, and knocked on it.

"Hello Big Red, would you like some gum?" A familiar voice said from behind him. He jumped and turned to see Discord smiling at him while holding a pack of gum. 

"No thank ya, but ah do think ya can help me with somethin." Mac said after a moment of thought.

"Really? This I gotta hear." Discord said leaning down to meet the stallion's face. The pair wandered into the draconequus' room to discuss the mysterious favor.
	  
> Home Again.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canterlot had been surprisingly uneventful, and the date had been wonderful. Macintosh and Spike had spent the last day apart, as everyone needs a little alone time now and then. Spike had purchased some new comic books and hung out at Pony Joe's for the majority of the day. Mac had said he had taken in the sights of Canterlot. Celestia had magicked their new bed into their house for them while they were out, saving them a lot of time and effort. 

Spike was tired of being treated like cargo and flew the pair home himself. Mac had procured a safety harness in a shop in Canterlot after the first flight he had experienced. Though he doubted he'd ever truly get used to being in the air.

The pair landed outside the library tree to meet with the girls. The elements of harmony had assembled in front of the tree, Fluttershy had even brought Angel, who Spike hadn't seen since the growth spurt. Spike landed a safe distance from the girls and helped Mac unbuckle the harness. Mac slid down the dragon's side and dusted himself off. 

"Hey Spike, nice landing. Dunno if I could land so easily if I weighed more than a ton." Rainbow said with only a little snark. 

"Yeah, thanks, it's so nice to have everypony always reminding me of my weight." Spike said mocking gratefulness. 

"Darling, I don't think anypony would call you fat. You are the definition of fitness." Rarity said with more than a little envy.

"Yeah, you're like a rock. Tom could take lessons from you." Pinkie Pie said from her new position atop Spike's head.

"Actually, I think I ate Tom during the whole growth spurt thing." Spike said trying to remember the feeding frenzy.

"Good riddance." Rarity said turning her nose up at the memory of Discord's antics.

"Yes, well I'm just glad to have you two home Spike." Twilight said smiling.

"Yeah, speaking of, why is nopony caring that we just landed in the middle of the town?" Spike said before looking around at the ponies going about their business. None of them were particularly interested in the couple arriving in town.

"Oh, yes it seems Prince Blueblood was caught propositioning a mare he thought was a prostitute this morning. As it turns out, she was the new ambassador for Zebrica here to discuss trade agreements." Rarity said with the largest smile Spike had ever seen.

"So we're old news?" Mac asked with a smile.

"Yes, and it seems that Blueblood is finally getting the boot too." Twilight said pretty pleased with the turn of events.

"Nice, so how's the house looking?" Spike said looking to Applejack.

"Perty good, they were just finishin' the soundproofin'." She replied using her hat to avoid his eyes.

"Great, gonna go hide there forever. Because apparently all of Ponyville knows about that, and my mom." Spike says looking to his sister with a look that could seemingly melt steel.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think that's what the roars were! I thought you were having nightmares or going primal. Pinkie Pie had to explain it to me later." Twilight said both incredibly guilty and embarrassed.

"Okay, seriously. I'm setting you up with Trixie, you need to get out more and she's seriously crushing on you." Spike said pitying his older sister.

"Oh, um... okay?" Twilight said blushing intensely.

With that they left that topic alone, and headed out to the house. They shared some small talk, and the couple told them about their date. Before long the girls and Mac had all piled onto the dragon in an effort to save time. 

Spike's strides were considerably longer than their's and they were all anxious to see the completed house. The only exception was Rainbow Dash who insisted on flying herself. As soon as they got to the acres they found the three local crusaders standing in front of the enormous dwelling. 

"You guys took forever! We wanna see in the giant house!" Sweetie squeaked as she hopped in place. The other crusaders nodded in agreement.

The barn had essentially been torn down and rebuilt to better suit the requirements for Spike's size. It was about twice the size it had originally been and was now a lighter lilac color instead of Spike's shade. The massive home's large sliding door could be opened easily enough by anypony. Spike took the opportunity to slide it open after he had taken in the full outside. 

The inside of the house was a lot like the inside in an average home, but things were spaced out more for Spike's maneuverability. The various accoutrements were also a bit larger than would be in a pony's house for obvious reasons. It was mostly bare, as it still needed to be furnished. 

"Wow, it's pretty normal actually. I was expecting... I dunno what I expected." Scootaloo said rubbing her chin in thought.

"Ah think it's nice, needs some furniture though." Apple Bloom said with Sweetie nodding her agreement.

"Yeah, the only room we actually have furniture for is the bedroom. We swiped Sombra's favorite bed from the empire. It's like drowning in puppies and sunshine or something. Not even kidding." Spike said as he opened the door that he assumed led to the bedroom. He was proved wrong after seeing a toilet in the all white room he was facing.

"Wow, Spike that totally looks like an awesome bed." Rainbow teased.

"This'n Dear." Mac said smugly from across the hall as he opened the door to the actual bedroom. The mares all turned to see the bare room, except for the massive bed. Pinkie Pie instinctively jumped into the air in and touched down onto the magical surface.

"Oh, my gosh. It's like taking a bath in warm cream cheese frosting while listening to Bob Marely." She said before drifting off into a blissful unconsciousness.

"Well, that was a slightly disturbing mental image." Rarity said visibly uncomfortable.

"Pfft, it can't be that great." Rainbow Dash said laying down on the side opposite Pinkie. 

"Oh buck me. It's like having your blood replaced with hard cider and then getting thrown in the dryer." She said as her eyes closed in pure bliss. Within seconds Rainbow was lost to them as well.

"You should charge for this." Sweetie Belle said poking a loudly snoring Pinkie.

"First sleeps the best'n." Mac said with a small smile.

"Shouldn't we wake them up?" Twilight asked looking them over.

"We'll kick them out eventually. Let them enjoy it." Spike said smiling as the pair unknowingly began snuggling. After a moment Spike's smile fell as a great rumbling shook his stomach. His nose also began leaking pink smoke.

"Spike? Are you feeling alright?" Rarity asked him with a look of concern. In reply Spike belched a torrent of purple flames into the air, a package with a letter taped to it flew from his jaws, landing on the bed.

"Ugh, that was worse then the time Chrysalis hijacked the flame channel. That definitely wasn't from mom." Spike said clutching his stomach in discomfort.

Twilight levitated herself the package and read the letter attached. Her eyes widened as she read the letter, as she finished she saw the assembled ponies staring at her.

"Who sent it Twi?" Applejack inquired causing the alicorn to make the letter vanish in a flash.

"Oh, um. It was a colleague of mine in Canterlot, they needed to get that package to me right away so they sent it to Celestia. It came through weird because of the magical nature of the contents." Twilight said with eyes that wouldn't directly meet Spike's. She also seemed to be sweating nervously. To complete a trifecta of suspicion she teleported herself away saying only:

"Gottagodoresearchbye!" as she vanished taking the package with her.

"Anypony else think we're missing something?" Spike said looking at the assembled Mares and Macintosh.

"Eenope." Macintosh said unconvincingly, with eyes darting from side to side. He looked an awful lot like Applejack did when she lied.

Is Mac involved with this somehow? And lying about it? Spike thought to himself. Nah, can't be, but Twilight is up to something. 

"Can you guys head out? I think me and Mac need to get settled in." Spike said as he scooped up the mares on the bed and placed them across the backs of Rarity and Applejack.

"Gonna test out the acoustics?" Scootaloo said suggestively. She quickly received a punch in the shoulder from Apple Bloom.

After some goodbyes the group headed off and the pair took to inspecting the new house. When Spike was sure he was alone he located some paper and a quill. Luna had the brilliant idea that he should write using his tail's new dexterity. He practiced a few times, finding it relatively easy to write, though it would be awhile before he regained his impeccable penmanship. 

Dear Trixie,



	Twilight is desperately in need of a love life, which you can help with and I know you're interested in her. She wasn't exactly against the idea of me getting in touch with you either. She just got some kind of special project today, so I assume she'll burn out in about three days. 

In four days, Friday, I'll have her cleaned up and ready to go by seven PM. Her favorite place to eat is hayburger, so don't freak out about bits. She likes vanilla ice cream too. Her favorite color is purple, surprised? And she likes lilacs. She's going to ramble and go off on tangents and is likely going to get embarrassed. It's adorkable, work with that.

Also, I will find you if anything happens to her. I eat diamonds and can cut them with my claws. I breath fire and am essentially immune to all but the strongest of magics. Watch yourself, no more criminal activity, and no magical artifacts please. 

Other than that I look forward to seeing you two together, you can even have Twilight teach you to access the flame channel by yourself. That's method of harnessing dragon fire for mailing purposes, which is how this letter is reaching you. We've met enough times for me to lock onto your magic signature. If you have any difficulties please contact me in person or via normal post.




Sincerely, Spike. 


"And with that, Twilight will tell Trixie all about her experiments on their date, and start living a better life. With luck, I can figure out the real sender of the magical package and figure out if Macintosh is somehow involved. Now I just need to wait." Spike said before flaming the letter to it's recipient. 

He had a smug smile about him as he walked off to find Mac. But the more he thought about it, he was playing the long game. He was becoming calculative, and secretive, maybe even plotting.

"I'm becoming my mother." He said completely unsure of how he felt about it.
> House Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been three weeks since Spike and Mac had returned from Canterlot, and the apple bucking for the year had been finished. Spike had even been able to adapt the old family cider press for use with a crank, letting him press the apples while Mac checked for quality, taking over for Granny Smith. 

With all the hardest work of the year being finished, Spike and Macintosh had more free time. They had even managed to furnish their house by special ordering from a catalog from the griffon kingdom. Griffin males tended to be much larger than ponies, so the furniture was around the right size for Spike.

Trixie and Twilight had had several dates, and all seemed to be well with the pair. Spike had questioned Trixie about Twilight's work, but while Trixie was a competent mage she was far from being a scientist. All she understood that was that Twilight was doing something with advanced alchemy, magical metallurgy, and thaumatic resonance. 

Spike knew Macintosh knew absolutely nothing about magic, and instantly dropped his suspicions about it. He had helped Twilight with experiments and knew that all those things were heavy stuff, no way an earth pony could help out with any of those, except maybe alchemy, but that was more of a zebra thing. 

Currently, Spike and Mac were at the local convenience store getting stuff for the party. Mac was the only one able to actually enter, but they opened the windows so Spike could look in and tell Mac what to get. Spike was paying from his hefty savings. He thought it was better to use it for friends than to hoard it.

"Ooh, they've got those chips that taste like pickles! Get those, and some cheese dip." Spike said looking over the selection.

"Eeyup" Mac said as he grabbed the items and put them into the basket he carried.

"Oh, and cheesy poofs and those salty sweet potato chips Fluttershy loves so much, and a tub of bean dip." Spike said looking back to the other end of the isle.

"Eeyup" Mac said somewhat annoyed as he backtracked.

"Okay, well Pinkie says she'll handle the bigger stuff as long as we get the chips. Let's move on to the booze." Spike said eying the liquor isle. 

Mac sighed, he had learned that Spike had a heavy tolerance for alcohol. He could consume several times the amount a pony could and only become tipsy. The bartender at the restaurant in Canterlot had to pick his jaw up from the floor during their date.

"So do ya just want t' get one of everythin' then?" Mac said jokingly, Spike however knitted his brow in thought.

"Yeah, that sounds okay, but get a few of those goldschlager things. I really like those." Spike said completely missing the sarcasm.

Mac placed the basket he had been carrying at the front of the store for the clerk to watch and retrieved a cart. It took him three trips to get everything, and the clerk was barely visible behind the numerous bottles on the counter and floor. Mac was glad there was somepony else to haul all of this back home. After Spike paid the stunned stallion at the checkout a hefty sum they were off, with Spike pulling the cartload of clanking bottles.

They spent the next two hours getting the house ready, and setting up the new big screen television Spike had purchased. Television was relatively new to Equestria, as they were more magically advanced than technologically. But Spike had also purchased a VCR and a boatload of tapes from the griffon kingdom and the minotaur lands. 

Mac had tried to hook it up, but admitted defeat and left the task to Spike as the electronics had been built with creatures possessing hands in mind. It took around an hour to get everything set up, but the occasion was well worth the time spent.

A little before sundown the guests arrived. all six elements of harmony, Trixie, the crusaders, Discord, and Luna. Celestia had wanted to come, but was tired after a long day of work. The crusaders had to Pinkie promise to stay out of the liquor, and nopony breaks a Pinkie promise. 

Spike told everypony to sit wherever they pleased, and that food was in the kitchen. Pinkie was somehow carrying an absurd number of trays of appetizers and the like as she entered.

"Hey Spike! I know how much you like to eat, so I made oodles of goodies." Pinkie said as she trotted off to the kitchen. 

"You are amazing Pinkie." Spike said taking in the delicious aromas, "Ooo, do I smell jalapeno poppers?"

"Of course." The party pony said happily from the kitchen.

Spike smiled and walked back to the living room where the crusaders were talking with Trixie, sans the cloak and hat. They were asking her about her travels, and she seemed to be telling the honest truth without very much exaggeration. She caught Spike's eye and he gave her an approving nod as he passed. She smiled gratefully before returning her attention to the crusaders.

Spike saw Macintosh chatting with Twilight and Luna about something seemingly serious. Luna and Twilight had serious expressions on their faces and Mac seemed neutral, only occasionally nodding his agreement in whatever they were discussing. Spike raised a brow at this and continued on toward them. He took a spot next to Mac on the enormous sofa. 

"What's everypony talking about?" Spike asked casually.

"Twilight was just regaling us with tales of years past, like the time travel incident with the Canterlot archives." Luna said as her expression melted into a smile.

"Yeah, that was quite an adventure. My stomach hurt for days after that one." Spike replied with a smile, using nostalgia to mask his suspicion.

"Yes, and we were totally out of ice cream too." Twilight added with a similar smile.

"Yeah. Gotta admit though, having my own place is great, but I do miss living with you Twi." Spike said sadly. He knew he would eventually outgrow his old home, he just hadn't expected it to happen overnight.

"Yes, the library has been awful quiet lately. I was so used to having you around all the time." Twilight admitted.

"Well, if you're lonely I know a great and powerful somepony that lives in a covered wagon and could probably use better living arrangements." Spike said looking over his shoulder at the blue mare currently showing the crusaders card tricks.

Twilight blushed deeply, in truth she had thought about it, but it seemed too soon. After all three weeks wasn't a long time, but Twilight knew living in the covered wagon wasn't good for Trixie. 

"I'll talk to her about it, but it might be a little early." Twilight said without looking him directly in the eyes.

"Good girl, now then we seem to be a draconequus short. I'd like to make sure he isn't destroying something." Spike said as he looked around the room. 

The remaining elements of harmony were on a the couch opposite them, and Discord couldn't be seen among them. However when Spike looked up he saw Discord sitting on a stool upside down on the ceiling.

"Hello my boy, lovely abode. Much nicer than the homes of other dragons I've been to." He said cheerfully.

"Thanks, mom's crew did a great job. Glad you could make it, figured it's not a party without the element of laughter and the god of chaos." Spike said with a big grin.

"Right you are, I see you even got one of those fancy picture boxes. Tia wouldn't let us get one for the castle." Discord said in a huff.

"Well, I thought it'd be cool. Anyway, Fluttershy's over there with Dash if you wanna talk to her. I'm gonna get the TV set up." Spike told the crazy deity before being on his way.

Spike had to fiddle with the remote for about fifteen minutes before finding the appropriate channel for the VCR. He also made sure that everypony had food and beverages. All that was left to do was vote on what movie to watch first.

"Okay everypony, to celebrate another years harvest, and Mac and I's new house feeling more like a home we're having a party slash movie night. Mac, the choices if you would." Spike said loud enough for the whole house to hear.

"We got: It Came from Froggy Bottom Bog, My Ma the Vampony, Attack of the Smooze, Las Pegasus Bachelor Party, an' Sombra Lives Again." Mac listed off.

The assembled ponies, dragon amd draconequus spoke amongst themselves for a few minutes. It seemed like a close vote. The top contenders were My Mom the Vampony, and Attack of the Smooze. The smooze won out, and Spike popped the tape in and dimmed the lights.

Spike fast forwarded through the previews, until the featured presentation warning popped up. The opening included a griffon letting out a roar while surrounded by a fancy border, and the name of the company that made the film.

The movie itself was so cheesy that it was hilarious, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Discord were all out of breath from laughing so hard during the movie. The group was moved on to watching Luna and Pinkie pound drinks at an astonishing speed, as they were trying to settle their match from Spike's birthday. 

Spike looked to his side to see Mac had left without him noticing. Something was up, and whatever it was they were planning it right under his nose. He decided to sneak off to try and find out what it was.

Dragons, by nature are a predatory species. When need be they can be disturbingly silent for their size. Spike took advantage of this to go on the hunt for his missing stallion without alerting him and whoever was with him. After a quick look around he found there was a light on in the guestroom. He was careful not to pass in front of the door to alert them, instead he merely craned his neck to the door to listen in.

"It turns out the gem isn't good enough for the project. But I think I have a new conduit, Celestia is going to send it to me soon, but through normal post. I think Spike is suspicious after the package incident." A voice easily recognizable as Twilight said.

"Well, sorry. I haven't had to use a flame channel in eons." An annoyed voice Spike determined to be Discord replied. Spike was sure Discord was still watching the contest, but it was true that he had duplicated himself before.

"Yer sure this thing'll work, an he'll be okay?" A voice Spike could easily identify as Macintosh asked in concern.

"It's 99.99531% safe, as close to perfectly safe as possible. We just need the rest of the princesses, Discord, and any other powerful unicorns we can find to get it working." Twilight said trying to reassure the stallion.

After that Twilight went into lecture mode and Spike tuned her out as he couldn't understand the majority of it. 

So, Macintosh is in on whatever it is and Discord is the one that sent Twi the package. What the hay are they making and what does it have to do with me? Spike thought to himself. 

He thought he heard movement coming from behind the door and silently slipped away. He rejoined the group who were tending to Pinkie Pie who had passed out. A very drunk, and very proud Luna lay on the sofa a few feet away.

"You were a worthy opponent, but nopony has ever defeated me in a drinking contest." Luna said to the lamp on the end table nearest her.

"Luna, that's a lamp. I think you've had too much to drink." Spike told the inebriated alicorn.

"Shut up Rainbow Dash. I've been drinking for over three thousand years. I think I know my limits." Luna unknowingly told her nephew.

"Right, well Spike says you can stay in the guest room because he doesn't want you flying." He replied trying to humor the drunken princess.

"Ah, Spike's such a good kid. My sister is so lucky, I should adopt a dragon. Maybe a sea serpent? I shall name her muffin!" Luna said as she stumbled off to what she thought was the guest room, but was in actuality the broom closet.

"Eh, deal with it later." Spike said as he went back to the others, it was still a party after all, and those poppers were calling his name.
> Royal Conference
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike had been trying to catch his friends in the act of whatever they had been doing since the party. He hadn't been able to learn anything new, being unable to fit through the door of their residences was proving quite a hindrance. He wasn't able to search much at all in the last few days, as he was preparing for his first royal conference. 

Every six months the royalty of Equestria and the Crystal Empire got together to discuss important matters. Now that Spike was known as a prince and Blueblood had been canned he would be taking part in it. 

Macintosh would be staying in the castle during the conference, as only royalty was allowed inside. Spike hadn't actually been into the chamber it was held in before, it was the only area in Canterlot Castle he was unfamiliar with. His mother had told him that he would only be allowed in should he decide to take on the responsibilities of royalty. Spike was going now to figure out exactly what his responsibilities would be.

Spike was currently far above the city, looking down at the numerous tall buildings of his hometown. Macintosh was strapped to his back by the safety harness he had obtained He trusted Spike completely, but earth ponies just weren't meant to fly. Spike was sure to take things as easily as he could, which Mac appreciated greatly. The landing was harder than normal, Canterlot was more crowded than most places, so precision was key.

"Aaaand there we go Mac, back on solid ground." Spike told the shaky stallion as he descended to the balcony of his former room.

"Thank Celestia." Mac sighed as he fiddled with the straps of the harness. He was so focused on the task that he failed to notice the alicorn standing several feet away from them.

"Your welcome." Celestia chimed back smugly. Macintosh had just managed to undo the last buckle at that exact moment, he fell from Spike's back in surprise.

"Nice mom, concuss your son's coltfriend." Spike said sarcastically as he picked Macintosh up from the floor with his dexterous tail.

"He set me up, I couldn't resist." She replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get moving. The conference is supposed to start as soon as everypony is here right?" Spike asked.

"Yes, and I do believe you are the last one to arrive. Let's be on our way." Celestia replied as she opened the door with magic.

"You gonna be alright here Mac?" Spike asked the stallion who had already recovered.

"Eeyup." Mac replied as he made himself comfortable on the bed on the other side of the room.

With that, Spike followed his mother into the deepest parts of the castle. This was the only place in Canterlot that led even lower than the crystalline caverns. His mother had spoken of it before, she had once said that if the whole of Canterlot were obliterated you would feel nothing from the depths of the conference chamber. 

Such security was necessary, as all the royalty of the land being in one spot was asking for trouble. After a lengthy elevator ride they arrived in a small chamber with only one door. The walls and the door itself were covered in runes, most likely some form of protection from magic.

Celestia calmly approached the door and touched it with her golden shod hoof. The door's runes lit up, but only specific ones forming a golden sun. It slid open revealing a chamber with a large circle of occupied cushions on the floor. 

Aside from the cushions the room was terribly plain. Rough stone walls, and a stone floor worn down by hooves in metal over time. The other royal ponies, Discord, and Rarity and Trixie were already upon the cushions. Spike raised his brow in confusion before turning to his mother.

"Why are Rarity and Trixie here? I thought only royalty was allowed to know about this place?" He asked unsure of what was happening.

"Normally yes, but we have need of trustworthy unicorns of reasonable skill for a special task today." Celestia said warmly as she took her own seat on an orange cushion between Luna and Cadence. 

Those words stuck in his head. 
Twilight said something about the other princesses and powerful unicorns. Something about the secret project. He was mentally kicking himself for not making the connection until now. 

The royal family is the greatest collection of magic users in the world whether they be alicorns, unicorns, or Discord. Spike wasn't sure what Discord's political role was, but he was here.

"This has something to do with whatever Twilight has been doing with the package Discord sent her, doesn't it?" Spike said looking directly to the young alicorn.

"Indeed nephew, we had our suspicions that you were on to us. I noticed you slipping away during your party. I meant to distract you, but the current bearer of laughter needed to be put in her place." Luna answered with a smug smile.

"Please understand, we wanted to tell you, but Macintosh is the one that thought of this and he wanted it to be a surprise." Twilight said as she levitated a large bag from her side to Spike.

Spike took the bag and opened it, finding a large silvery-white metal chest piece similar to the one each of the princesses wore. It was much too large for a pony, but it was just right for him. Curiously, there was a large circular abscess in the front, as if there was something made to fit into it. He was even more confused than he had been.

"So, Macintosh wanted me to have jewelry? What does regalia have to do with magic?" Spike asked as he donned the unusual armament.

"That is made of magically refined orichalcum, that's what was in the package Discord sent me. Orichalcum is the only material powerful enough to interact with dragon magic directly." Twilight explained.  

"Macintosh informed me that you promised to protect Equestria and it's ponies in the future. Dragons grow to be immense creatures of nearly unstoppable power when they get old enough. We all know you and that you would never intentionally harm anypony. However, in the future you will be far to large to stay in close proximity to civilization and ponies would fear you." Celestia explained sadly.

"Actually, Big Red came to me first. He hoped that since I can use magic to do whatever I want and that I'm part dragon I'd be able to teach you how to make yourself smaller so you wouldn't have to worry. But unfortunately my magic is completely unique and very unlike dragon magic. But I told him that I'd give sparkle butt a big ol' hunk of orichalcum to see if she could whip something up." Discord continued on from where Celestia left off.

"As it so happens, I did manage to make you something to control your size. Orichalcum is the most magical natural element, and reacts well to dragon magic as we saw when you were malnourished after the growth spurt. The issue was how to control the connection, without your magic getting greedy and leeching the power back out of the orichalcum." Twilight lectured from her seat.

"Okay, so I'm wearing it right now, should I be worried?" Spike asked as he looked at the seemingly inactive device.

"No, your magic is mostly inert at the moment. It wouldn't matter until your next growth spurt. I tried using the fire ruby you gave Rarity after she suggested it, but even though you nurtured it for weeks the connection to you wasn't strong enough. After awhile I realized the best way for the orichalcum to bond with you and be recognized as a part of you was to actually bond it with a piece of you before the rest." Twilight explained.

"So... do you need a fang or something? I've got plenty, and they grow back pretty fast." Spike asked as he readied himself to pull a tooth.

"That won't be necessary, your mother provided the perfect conduit to sync you with the regalia." When Twilight finished, she took a pendant with a cog-like design at the base from beneath her wing and levitated it into the empty spot on the chest piece. 

It clicked into place, and turned for a moment before stopping with another click. It still protruded a bit awkwardly from the front, but didn't seem like it was going anywhere.

Spike took a look at the now completed regalia. The pendant was the same metal, but in the center was a smooth rounded stone of purple with darker purple spots arranged randomly. It seemed strangely familiar.

"What exactly is this?" Spike asked his mother.

"That, my son is the lower part of the egg Twilight hatched you from. After you were born I reassembled the pieces as best as I could with magic, to be a keepsake. The lower half was the most perfect. Twilight believes that it can bond with the metal and allow it to bond to you, then the orichalcum will be able to control how much magic you have at any given time. It can contain more power than anything else we could use, more than even a dragon could possess." His mother replied, much happier than before.

"So if it's ready, why do we need everybody's magic?" Spike asked looking at the assembled mages.

"It needs a jump start to bond to you properly, and your body is extremely resistant to magic. We need everybody we can spare to make sure it goes smoothly, after that you won't be able to take it off, but you'll never need to worry about size again." Twilight said gesturing to the others.

"Of course we won't force you into this. It is for your benifit, but the decision is yours." Luna added.

"Well hopefully he goes for it, I've already started making dragon action figures for when he becomes Equestria's newest hero. Gonna rake in the bits." Discord said pulling a colorful box from his ear, inside was a small toy that looked like an over-muscled Spike. 

Spike was silent, he was looking down at his new accesory. Spike had indeed promised to protect future generations of Equestrians, but hadn't considered the facts. He was unsure if he could handle the masses fleeing in terror at the sight of him. He was guaranteed to grow every couple decades, eventually he'd get too big to help with anything but leveling mountains. 

That was probably centuries away, but it was still cause for concern. Macintosh was always worrying about him, he should have known that whatever was going on was for the best. Macintosh had nothing but love for Spike, and now he felt guilty for trying to spoil the most thoughtful gift he would ever receive.

"Let's do it. I never want to leave Equestria, and especially not my family." Spike said with a tone of absolute finality.

"I had hoped that was what you would choose Spike. As the co-rulers of Equestria and It's greatest ally, the Crystal Empire. We declare you Crown Prince Sullivan Amadeus Equestria to be knight protector of our lands and guardian of harmony." Celestia said as she shed a single tear of liquid pride. 

Spike bowed as best he could, his height was greater than his mother's at the moment. The sentiment however did not go unappreciated. Several of the other ponies in the room didn't know Spike's full name until now, but withheld their surprise.

"Now then, let us begin the ritual. Princess Sparkle, as you have designed the apparatus and process to activate it, please instruct us." Luna beckoned. 

"It's quite simple, everything is ready, all we need is for everypony to channel the magic directly into the eggshell pendant." Twilight said as she lit her horn. 

The others all lit their horns as well, and Discord's own aura manifested itself on his pointer talon. The assortment of different colored magics all began flowing into the chest piece, coalescing into white light surrounding the pendant in the center. Spike could feel the device becoming a part of him. 

As he looked at the pendant he saw it turn again as it receded back into the port made for it, leaving just enough protruding for him to grip properly. He felt the incredible amount of power so dangerously close to him, but wasn't worried. He trusted these ponies completely, even Discord. With a final click the pendant stopped turning and shined no more.

"Stop, it's done!" Twilight yelled to the assembled spell casters.

Everypony sighed in relief, the experience had been draining. Even Discord with his massive reserves of arcane energy seemed a tad winded. Celestia and Luna silently hoped that they still had enough stamina within them to exchange the celestial bodies later on. 

Shining Armor was making sure Cadence was alright, and Twilight was doing the same for Trixie. Rarity was definitely tired, but was holding up well. Spike was a bit dizzy and had a strange taste in his mouth, but was otherwise fine.

"Well, that was something." Spike said as he sniffed the air, "Does anypony else smell fudge?"

"That's just the effect of the air being magically charged to such a degree. How are you feeling Spike?" Celestia asked her son in concern.

"Honestly? I've had worse hangovers than this. I was expecting it to hurt or something." He replied with a shrug. 

"Well, you should be set now. Turn the pendant to the your right to shrink, and to your left to grow." Twilight instructed from her seat that was currently shared with Trixie.

Spike instinctively followed her instruction and turned it to his left, to no effect. He tapped the pendant several times experimentally with a claw, and still nothing happened.

"Twilight, I don't feel any bigger." Spike said in disappointment.

"That's because the device only regulates the flow of your existing magic. You won't be able to grow until your next spurt when your magic increases again. Until then, you can only shrink and return to your normal size. 

The size you would be without the device is always going to be your maximum. The device should always change size with you too, so you don't have to worry about it choking you to death when you grow again or anything." Twilight explained.

"Hadn't actually worried about that till now, thanks." Spike replied sarcastically. He turned the device to his right this time and instantly felt odd. 

It didn't hurt like his abrupt spurt of growth had, but it felt different than anything he had ever felt before. The closest thing he could think to compare it to was being wrapped in a very warm, very wet blanket. The feeling covered every inch of his being, until it suddenly stopped. 

He looked himself over, he seemed exactly the same, just smaller. He looked over at the others, he seemed to be about the same size as Luna judging by the small effort it took to meet her eyes.

"Well, that was weird, but pretty cool." Spike said as he gave his wings a flap to be certain they worked properly, "I can go in buildings and stuff again, it's great!" 

Spike stretched his body properly, making sure there were no unusual pains. He even popped the numerous vertebra in his neck out of habit. He marveled at the amazing feat Twilight had accomplished with only a vague idea to go off of.

"I need to go see Mac, without him this wouldn't have happened. Thanks everypony, I can't tell you how happy you've made me." Spike said as he walked to the door with no handle or knob. 

He was immediately struck with the realization that he had no idea how to open it. Luna sensed his plight and trotted up to him, placing her silver shod hoof on the door. Some of the countless runes on the door glowed white, forming a crescent moon. The door slid open.

"We will see to it that you are granted access on your own before the next conference. Go to your stallion." Luna said with a warm smile. Spike nodded before making his way to the lift.

It took much too long for his liking, but eventually he made it back into the castle proper. He took all the shortcuts he had learned in his youth, cutting the time necessary for getting to his lover. Soon he was standing in front of the doorway to the room he spent his earlier years in. 

He froze as his mind seemed to leave him. Now that he was here, he had no idea what to say to Macintosh once he saw him. He took a moment to collect his thoughts.

Hi, thanks for essentially saving my future? No, that's stupid. Thank you Mac, wanna see how small I can get?. Eenope. Ugh, I wish they made hoofmark cards for stuff like this... Wait! I've got it!



-MEANWHILE-



Macintosh was sitting on the bed, staring at the door. He knew Spike had been standing there for several minutes, he could see his clawed feet blocking the light coming from outside of the room. Mac had no doubt that Twilight's crazy magic collar thing would work. But he also knew Spike was probably at a loss for what to say. 

Macintosh couldn't blame him, he wasn't sure what he would say in a situation like this himself. Without warning the door burst open and Spike was seen on his back legs with his arms stretched out to his sides.

"Honey, I'm home!" Spike said with a wide smile.

Mac just took in the scene for a moment. Spike was wearing the thing Twilight had told him about, and seemed much smaller than he had been. He was only a tad bigger than Mac himself now. This combined with the ridiculous pose and unexpected line caused Macintosh to force back the laughter brewing within him.

"Aw come on, I spent like ten minutes on that." Spike said as his smile wavered and the fins that served as his ears fell.

"Nah, sorry. Ah just wasn't expectin that." Mac said as he righted himself.

"Okay, yeah that could have gone better. But either way, I just want you to know that I can't thank you enough for what you did." Spike replied as he walked to the bed where Macintosh lay.

"Ya don't need t' thank me. Ah didn' make the thing, or even think a' it. Ah just gave somepony else an idea." Macintosh said as Spike climbed onto the bed.

"Yeah, and I couldn't live my life in Equestria forever without your help. Not just with this, but everything. If you hadn't told me you loved me I might have left Equestria when everypony passed. 

Now, even when you and the girls pass, me and the princesses will have family to look after. And now, I can take care of Equestria without accidentally destroying anything. I owe you everything, and I'm going to give you myself for as long as I can." Spike said pulling closer to the red stallion, nuzzling him with affection.

"Spike? Do ya mean?" Macintosh said looking to his love with wide eyes.

"Yes, I know it's pretty early to be asking this of you, but given the situation..." Spike said before taking a deep breath and releasing it to calm himself, "Macintosh Apple, would you marry me?"

Big Mac had never been one for words, and often only used one when possible. This was thankfully one of those times.

"Eeyup."