Prologue

An Unexpected Turn of Events

Spike, Lyvia and Sweetiebelle all carried their luggage onto the train as it arrived. Lyvia and Spike were leading while Sweetiebelle was tagging behind a little; her bags were heavy even though Spike was carrying one for her.

They boarded the train and the conductor closed the doors, but something was wrong, it was too quiet, Lyvia could only here the footsteps of two people... and Spike was right next to her. She turned around to see a sight she that shocked even her.

Sweetiebelle had not boarded the train. She hadn’t gotten on because there were about three people, all in cloaks, restraining her. One person had their hand over her mouth and a knife at her throat. The other two people had restrained her hands so she couldn’t go anywhere.

“SWEETIEBELLE!!!” Lyvia yelled, she was about to run off the train when the conductor, oblivious to the kidnapping, closed the door, blocking her from interfering.

Spike turned around as soon as she heard Lyvia yell his eyes widened as he saw what was happening and what happened next.

“LET HER GO... LET SWEETIEBELLE GO!!!” he shouted out loudly, furious by what he was seeing.

One of the cloaked figures put their hands in their pocket and pulled something out. It was round but Spike and Lyvia were unsure as to what it was. Suddenly, the figure threw the object onto the ground, which caused a large, blinding cloud of smoke; it was a smoke bomb.

When the smoke cleared they were gone, and they had taken Sweetiebelle with them, her luggage remained on the station platform as the train began to move.

Feeling helpless and guilty, Spike sat down in a seat and covered his face in his hands; he was disgraced. He had just let the sweetest thing that ever happened to him get kidnapped. He felt empty and hopeless, he blamed himself for what he just witnessed, if only he had noticed that something was wrong then he would’ve been able to save her.

Through all the anger, guilt and sorrow that he was feeling, he began to weep, as tears slowly dripped from his eyes down his cheeks and onto the carpet floor. Sweetiebelle was gone, and there was nothing that he could do about it, he had no idea where they went and no idea how to find them, his dearest girlfriend had been stolen from him, and he was powerless to stop it. Spike felt crushed, his dragon nature couldn’t handle separation like this, dragons were loyal, and he felt as though he just gave up on her.

Feeling sorry for the weeping dragon, Lyvia walked up to him to comfort him; she felt as though it was her fault too.

Lyvia Sounds was a fourteen-year-old Earth-Pony from Fillydelfia with cream coloured fur and short, blonde hair that ended with a long ponytail. She had deep-blue eyes and naturally tinted lips. She wore a red, hooded, un-zipped jumper with her hood down and her white, buttoned-up shirt exposed. She had a brown, leather belt and light blue jeans. On her feet she was wearing black, steel-capped boots that she used to inflict pain upon those she didn’t like.

She went over to Spike and sat next to him, rubbed his back and gave him a soft smile. “Spike, we’ll find her as soon as we get off the train.” she spoke softly and smoothly, “I promise that myself.” She comforted him, this was unusual because to be comforting, was not a trait known for her.

“Really? Do you really promise that we’ll find her as soon as possible?” Spike asked uncertaintly with a slight tremor in his voice, he was sceptical about her since she had betrayed and tricked him and Sweetiebelle all too many times.

Lyvia nodded, “Yes, I would find her myself if I had too.” she replied, and pat his shoulder.

Spike was a fourteen-year-old Dragon who grew up in Canterlot with Twilight but then they later moved to Ponyville on Princess Celestia’s orders. It was in Ponyville that he met his friends, Sweetiebelle, Scootaloo and Applebloom. 6 years after that, both him and Sweetiebelle were sent to a private school in Canterlot called Canterlot School for Equestria’s Gifted which they had only just been expelled from after only attending the school for four days. While in his time at the school he had made two new friends, Lil’ Dew, who had not been expelled, and Lyvia Sounds, who had been expelled for getting into an abundance of fights.

Spike and Sweetiebelle had been expelled from the school for breaking two rules. Both of these were seen as a serious offence in the Headmaster’s eyes; the rules broken were that Sweetiebelle and Spike had been in a relationship with each other and that the two had skipped classes that day. Little did the headmaster know that they skipped class because they had to comfort Lil’ Dew after they thought she had killed a senior; luckily he survived.

Spike had emerald green eyes, same as Sweetiebelle, purple scales and green spike along his back and head. He had fanged teeth and the ability to breath fire; which he abused a few times. He was wearing blue jeans, a white polo and a black, hooded jacket with his hood down.

He continued to sit on the train, with Lyvia trying to comfort him. More tears dripped from his eyes as he kept remembering the fear in Sweetiebelle’s eyes as she was abruptly taken away. He wish he could have done something, he wish he acted faster then he did, maybe he would have been able to save her. If he had been beside her inside of in front of her, than she would still be with him; going back to Ponyville.

“She’s gone...” Spike began to say, “and it’s all my fault.”

“No it’s not Spike, its not your fault; there was nothing you could do.” she sighed, “If anything, it was my fault, I froze up when I saw it.... I was weak...”

“She’s my girlfriend, and I’m a dragon, I have a duty to keep her safe no matter what... you just... don’t understand!” Spike rebutted. “You’re not a dragon, Lyvia... you don’t carry the burden that I do...”

This whole event had hit Spike rather hard, since he was dragon he was naturally loyal and protective over whom he loved and served. Not only that, dragons were also inherently greedy so if they loved someone and were with who they loved, they would never want them to leave; if they did, it would damage them psychologically. Spike was trying to fight these natures away as they caused a constant stream of guilt, hatred, anger and sadness; all of which, were emotions that Spike loathed to feel.

However, doing this proved to be nearly impossible because nobody could completely bury their emotions, especially if they’re as strong as they were with Spike. So he just eventually collapsed into tears; losing someone precious was too much for him.

“Spike, I may not know how you feel, but if you want to save her, you need to be strong. You are a dragon, dragons are strong... and Sweetiebelle needs you to be.” Lyvia explained softly and she stood up in front of him.

“How? How can I be strong after just letting her go?”

“God dammit Spike get a hold of yourself!” she yelled, “ You’re a dragon, you are supposed to be strong. So be strong! I don’t care how you do it, but get over these petty feelings and do what you need to do, because I’m not helping someone who can’t help themselves!”

These words echoed throughout his head. She was right; he was weak. He had let his emotions take control of him; he had let his grief for the loss of Sweetiebelle get the better of him. But how could he just ‘get over it’? It wasn’t as easy as it seemed, Lyvia was tough, she had learned to abandon her emotions when she needed to, she was accustomed to it; and he wasn’t. Yet, he supposed he needed to at least act strong; he only needed to bury his feeling a little bit, right?

Spike sighed and stood up, he wanted to rescue her, and he needed to be strong for that. He was determined to not fail his girlfriend and he never would. He would never go back on his word.

“Alright, I’ll do it for her... I’ll be strong. I’ll do what I need to.” he said confidently, although still feeling guilty.

“Good, now all we have to do is wait until we get off.” she finished.

The two sat down again, they were the only ones on the train and so they only had each other for comfort, although, they didn’t talk. They were still shocked as to what had happened with Sweetiebelle and Spike kept going over in his head how he would break the news to Rarity.

How would she take the news though, well, Spike knew that she would be angry but he didn’t know what she would do? Rarity was slightly unpredictable like that, she would either just burst into tears or isolate herself until the problems over, or she would take it personally and stop at nothing to find her.

Eventually though, they arrived at Ponyville station and both Lyvia and Spike stood up.

“Lyvia, you live in Fillydelfia. Why are you getting off now?” Spike asked curiously, although he had the feeling he already knew that answer. Sweetiebelle.

“I want to find your girlfriend, Spike. Then I’ll go back.” she replied and Spike was right in his assumption. It looked like Lyvia did have a heart, even though it was probably black as night.

“So you do care? That’s not like you, Lyvia.” Spike stated, realising, after he said it, that might be slightly on the offensive side.

Lyvia shot an angered glared at him and growled slightly, “I’m insulted Spike. Of course I care for my first god damn friend!”

“Sorry...” is all he could say, he felt disappointed and this didn’t help to him feeling guilty of Sweetiebelle’s capture.

The two of them slowly walked off the train and Spike immediately saw Rarity and Princess Twilight Sparkle standing on the platform, both of them, had extremely pissed off looking faces. Spike walks up to them but Lyvia stays back, knowing that it wasn’t he place to speak to a princess.

“Rarity, Twilight, me and Sweetiebelle are very so for being expelled.” he apologised, but he didn’t know hoe to break it to them.

“Where is Sweetiebelle, Spike?” Rarity asked. The gorgeous, white unicorn mare looked around as she tried to spot her younger sister. She became a little worried when she could see her anywhere.

“She... she got... she got taken...” Spike announced, looking down and avoiding eye contact with them.

“WHAT?!” both Rarity and Twilight yelled simultaneously. Both were shocked and horrified by this statement, they could hardly believe this.

“Spike! Are sure she didn’t just run away so she would not get grounded?” Rarity asked, she was extremely worried for Sweetiebelle. She just kept thinking to herself that surely what Spike said was a lie.

“No, it’s true... Three cloaked people kidnapped Sweetiebelle at Canterlot School Station. Whether they were child or adult, Male or female is unknown. As is their location too.” Lyvia stepped forward and explained in blatant and simple terms, she spoke in a calm clear voice so all could hear and her arms were crossed; meaning that she was serious, “but I will help you get her back. I promise that.”

Chapter One

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To Seek Help…

Sweetiebelle awoke in a small, dark and damp, stone cell with her hair, and tail in an absolute mess. It took her moment to realise where she was and what had happened; all she could remember was being kidnapped. They had threatened to kill her if she didn’t go quietly, yet, she didn’t know who they were or what they wanted with her.

However, the fact that she had woken up somewhere unfamiliar and unfriendly did not phase as much as what she was looking at. Her vision met the eyes of an all time enemy, someone she hated and someone she had hoped that she would never see again. These eyes belonged to a teenage girl, one of the same age as her, she was an old rival of Sweetiebelle... she was looking at Diamond Tiara.

Diamond Tiara was wearing only her school uniform which consisted of a short, black, skirt and a white, buttoned-up polo shirt with the school’s logo over the heart; she attended the high-school in Ponyville, called Ponyville High-School.

Unlike Sweetiebelle, Diamond Tiara’s hair and tail was in very good condition and obviously very well washed. She had fashioned her hair into a long ponytail and the colour was still, as always, pink.

Sweetiebelle though, was wearing her light pink, short and sleeveless dress that she had donned that very morning before readying for home. She had been stripped of her red sandals and multi-coloured bangles as well as her emerald manticore necklace and her diamond earrings.

Her fur, hair and tail were in an absolute mess and if Rarity were to see her, she would surely be disgraced. He pure-white coat had been stained with brown dirt along the shoulders and feet as well as knees. There was also a small pebble or two stuck in her twisted hair.

She eyes her captor, knowing that this was not going to be a sick joke; Diamond Tiara wouldn’t pull a prank like this... no... Something was happening and this is what frustrated her most.

“What do you want with me, Tiara?” Sweetiebelle questioned strongly, she had a lot of fight left in her and if she weren’t stuck in this cell, she would punch Diamond Tiara so hard, that her eye socket would be too destroyed to fit an eye.

“Oh so you do talk, Sweetiebelle.” Tiara taunted, “So how has my favourite blank flank been?”

“I have my cutie mark, I have for over a year now...!” Sweetiebelle growled and replied, she was annoyed that Tiara didn’t even care enough to know one simple fact.

“You do?” the pink teenager asked. “Hold on for a second.” she said, gesturing for her to stay where she was, clearly to taunt her, as Sweetiebelle couldn’t go anywhere anyway.

She put her hand in her shirt pocket, pulled out a pair off keys and unlocked the cell door. She walked in and rushed over to Sweetiebelle, pinning her against the wall and she held her there tightly.

“Now I suggest that you don’t move or make this difficult. Because you will regret it!” she warned, putting emphasis on the ‘will’ to show that she was serious; she had no intent on letting her captive get away. “Now hold still.”

She ran her hand down her dress and when she got to the bottom of it, she yanked the dress upwards, revealing her high-thigh as well as her underwear. But most importantly, it revealed her cutie mark.

Her cutie mark was deep pink, musical note that was tipped with a love heart covering a flourish of hot pink that curled at the ends. It symbolised her talent and desire to sing as she recognised how beautiful her voice could be.

“When did you get this?” Diamond Tiara asked, infuriated and she dropped Sweetiebelle dress back down and looked her directly in the eye.

“I told you, I got it a year ago.” she replied in an equally annoyed tone.

Diamond Tiara let go of her and pushed her to the floor of the cell, which made dust fly all through the air, causing them both to cough. She left Sweetiebelle on the floor, left the cell and looked the door.

“What do you want with me?” Sweetiebelle managed to ask.

Tiara stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her. Half her face was covered by the shadows of the dungeon.

“We have no use for you. They just got bored and needed some more money.” she replied and turned tail again; disappearing into the shadows and leaving two guards standing by Sweetiebelle’s prison.

– Later that night in Ponyville –

After a long day of hopelessly looking for her sister, Rarity decided that it would be best if she headed to the Ponyville Guard House to report the crime. Along side her, walked Spike who was deeply concerned for his girlfriend and whether or not she was actually going to be okay.

The journey there seemed like it had taken forever and the sun had already set. The moon that rose in its place was full and large; it was bright and clear as there was not a single cloud in the sky.

The door to the Guard House was open, as it always was, and the building itself was tall, large and made of entirely stone. It was where all the guard’s slept, kept prisoners, ate food and organised operations. The windows were well kept and dust free and from the roof, petruded a tall tower that over looked the entire town.

Spike and Rarity entered the building in a hurry and immediately got the attention of a guard nearby who was sitting on a chair, holding a mug of rum. The guard was wearing his typical guard armour, which consisted of golden boots, chestplate and helmet. For his legs he wore black slacks. By his waist was a sharpened sword with a golden hilt and a silver blade.

The guard himself had cyan blue fur and brown hair and tail. He had a line of freckles that went from one cheek to another and arched over his nose. He had deep amber eyes and there was a small scar on the bottom of his lip.

“Yes?” he asked, standing up to acknowledge the arrival of the two distressed people. He placed the mug of rum down on a table to his side.

“My sister’s.... been... kidnapped!” Rarity yelled loudly in grief as she tried to catch her breath.

“Alright. Sit down.” the guard gestured to two chairs and he pulled out a note pad. “What’s her name?” He began to ask questions.

“Sweetiebelle.” Rarity replied, doing her best to answer every question.

“How old is she?”

“Fourteen, but she turns fifteen in two weeks.”

“What school does she attend?”

“She was recently expelled from Canterlot School of Equestria’s Gifted. I’m going to send her to Ponyville National High School.”

“What colour are her eyes, fur and hair?”

“Her eyes are green, fur is white and her hair and tail is pink and light purple.”

“What was she wearing when she went missing?”

“She was wearing a sleeveless, pink dress... umm red heels and blue, yellow and green bracelets.” Spike chimed in, since he was the only one, apart from Lyvia, who saw what she was wearing.

“Who was with her when she was abducted?” the guard continued to ask questions.

“Me and Lyvia Sounds.” Spike answered again.

“Where is Lyvia Sounds now?” The guard was writing everything that was said down into his notebook.

“She’s with Princess Twilight Sparkle, still looking for her.”

The guard smiled and looked at them both, “Thank you, but I have one question left to ask before you can go.” he looked back at his note pad. “Did you see who abducted her?”

“Well no, because I didn’t see their faces... but there were three of them, all of them were wearing black cloaks and one of them was carrying a knife. Another was also carrying a smoke bomb... but that’s all I saw.”

The guard wrote everything down, word for word and placed his note pad in his pocket. “Well thank you, we will conduct our search as soon as possible. Now I suggest you head off home.” he went to walk into another room but instead he stopped and picked up his mug of rum and took a sip of it. “What are your names?”

“I’m Spike and this is Rarity.” the teenage dragon spoke as he introduced the two of them to, hopefully, the saviour of Sweetiebelle.

“My name is Silver Blaze – Captain of Squad 81. We will guarantee the rescue of Sweetiebelle, Spike and Rarity.” he saluted, smiled and walked off into the other room.

After that, Rarity and Spike went separate ways. Spike went back to Ponyville Library where Twilight only occasionally stayed as she lived in Canterlot now. Rarity went back to Carousel Boutique, and on her way home it began to rain heavily. No doubt that this day had been one of the worst that she had ever experienced. She was just glad that she had people like Silver Blaze, Spike and Twilight in her life to help her.

Once she had reached her front door, the sun had completely set and it as now night-time, she was also utterly drenched and her hair and tail had straightened out. She opened the door to her home and the first thing that she expected to be greeted by was her hungry cat, Opal. However, she wasn’t, but she did see a note upon the floor.

With a flourish of magic, Rarity levitated the note out infront of her and began to read….

Dear, Lady Rarity.

We have your sister, Sweetiebelle and if you ever wish to see her again without her being dead. Then we suggest that you comply with our conditions.
1- we want five thousand Bits.
2- a priceless Amethyst Gem that we know you have.
Meet us at the small, run down shack just east of town. From there, we will negotiate a trade. You have four days to agree with this and we shall be waiting for you at noon every day or she will be killed.

Signed: The Black Apple Gang.

Rarity gasped. Sweetiebelle was in the possession of The Black Apple Gang. That gang was a ruthless, merciless group of thugs that became rich by robbing the innocent. They were also wanted for various accounts of rape, murder and grievous assault and now they had Sweetiebelle.

There was no way that Rarity would be able to refuse the deal otherwise her little sister would end up dead. But maybe, she would get a few of the guards to come along and arrest them, or rescue her before anything bad has to happen.

In any case, it would be a safe idea to tell the guards about this. So she grabbed the note and put it in her bag and rushed out the door into the rainy night in a determined haste.

Chapter Two

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The Dragon and The Lady

Rarity soon made it to the Guard House and she barged into the building in a very unlady-like manner.

“Silver Blaze!” she yelled aloud and she pulled the note out of her soaked bag.

“Hmm...?” a different guard came to her response. It wasn’t Captain Blaze but it was just as good for now. “Sorry, the Captain’s a little drunk at the moment. What do you need?” she asked kindly and sweetly; she was fairly short too and stood at the height of Sweetiebelle.

This new guard was a young woman who wore the same armour as Captain Blaze however it was a bit less detailed and not as layered. She also wore a hooded cloak, which symbolised that she was an elite soldier. She had a deep blue coat of fur, purple coloured eyes and cyan tinted hair and tail.

When she showed her teeth, Rarity could see that was missing a few teeth and she had a long scar along her arm and a tiny scar just under eye.

She didn’t have her sword by her side, but instead she had placed it in the weapon rack, feeling as though she wouldn’t need it.

“My sister was taken and I have a note from her kidnappers...” Rarity explained, trying to catch her breath and calm down.

“Ah yes, the captain told us about a kidnapping. Was your sister’s name Sweetiebelle?” the guard asked.

Rarity nodded and flicked her wet hair out of her face so that she would seem respectful and show her entire face.

“Show me the note please.” she held out her hand.

Rarity nodded again and reached into her bag; pulling out the note and handing it to the guard who inspected it.

The guard read it carefully, taking down notes of the conditions and who it was by as well as where they were to meet. “Alright, well we’re in trouble.” she said simply after finishing the notes.

“Why?” Rarity asked uncertaintly.

“Because the Black Apple Gang has your sister. They’re known to murder and to not live up to their promises. I will inform the Captain when he sobers up but I think we will have to send in a squad with you to ensure your sister’s safety as well as yours.” she explained and handed the note back to Rarity. “I want you to come back here tomorrow morning and we will have a plan... things a quiet here in Ponyville so we can devote all of our time to this.”

“Okay.” Rarity simply replied and she walked out of the Guard House to head home. She figured that it would be best to tell Spike about this, but he would surely be asleep at this time of night. So she would inform him early tomorrow morning before heading back to Captain Blaze.

She headed home, placed down her bag, fed her cat and went to bed. She went to sleep with the hope in her mind that they would be able to see Sweetiebelle by tomorrow. However, she would need to give up her Priceless Amethyst in order to ensure her sister’s safety.

That night, she dreamt of a happy ending, where she could hold her sister in her arms again. Without the worry of anyone being kidnapped and where the Black Apple Gang never existed and that they never needed the help of the town guard.

– The next Morning –

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! Sounded the knuckles of Rarity against the wooden door of Ponyville Library that took the form of a large tree.

The sounds echoed throughout the tree and Spike and Twilight awoke with a start. Spike got up and walked down the stairs. He was still wearing his pyjamas, which consisted of a pair of grey slacks and a white undershirt.

He opened walked past the couch that was downstairs in the main compartment, which his friend, Lyvia was sleeping on, and he opened the door to see Rarity.

“Oh, hey Rarity... What are you doing here so early?” he asked quietly and nervously, as he was still sad about the loss of Sweetiebelle.

“Spike, we need to go to the Guard House... we’re going to rescue Sweetie!” she said eagerly and immediately grabbing Spike; running them both all the way to where they needed to go.

The two of them burst into the Guard House in an untimely manner and Spike was still very confused as to what was happening. Did he here right, were they actually rescuing Sweetiebelle? How would they save her... what did she have planned? He hoped that he would be able to see her again, and so soon too. He had expected that they would be parted for weeks, but instead it had only been one night. However, that was still one night that Sweetiebelle was in someone else’s hands, where she didn’t have her own freedom... when she didn’t have the safety and warmth of Spike.

As they entered the building, Captain Blaze immediately noticed them and looked up. He was sitting down at table with four others. One of those others was the female guard that Rarity had spoken to the night before.

“Ah Rarity, Spike. Please, come an’ sit down.” he gestured to two available seats near the centre edge of the table and the two of them sat down.

“Now, before I tell you the plan, let me introduce to my team members.” he stood up and gestured to the group of four guards that were sitting with him. He then pointed to the female guard that Rarity had spoken too. “This is Cloud Heart and second in command to me,” he then pointed to another guard, a man that sat just next to Spike. “His name is Shadow Flash... and his name is Crimson Rush,” he said, pointing to another man. “And finally, we have Dazzle Star.” he finished, by pointing to a small women who sat closely to Rarity.

“All of them specialise in a different field, which is why I chose them. For example; Cloud Heart specialises in Defence and Long-Range Communication, Shadow Flash specialises in stealth and assassination, Crimson Rush is the best at assessing the situation and strategic planning... he’s the one that came up with this plan, and Dazzle Star is the best archer on the team.” he explained and small smile formed upon his face; he was clearly proud of them all. “They are the elites of the elites and serve to be the best that I have commanded... They will not fail.”

Spike sat there in awe, he was thrilled to be near such talented people and to have their help. He felt somewhat honoured and he wouldn’t disappoint them, no matter what an assignment would be.

“So what’s the plan then?” Spike asked eagerly and the sounds of excitement were all to clear in his voice.

“Good to hear that you’re so eager, dragon.” Crimson Rush stated and looked down at his notes and pointed to a map that was upon the table. “Rarity and Spike will be negotiating a trade with the Black Apple Gang at this abandoned house while Dazzle and Cloud will be stationed on top of this hill...” he then pointed to a set of tall hills that were just north of the house, “... Shadow and I will be hiding in the bushes near the house just in case something goes wrong while the captain will be travelling with Rarity and Spike to assert authority over the gang members... is everyone good with that plan?”

Everyone nodded, including Spike and Rarity and so he plan was solid. Hopefully it would work and they would be able to get Sweetiebelle back unharmed.

Spike felt so excited at the thought of seeing her white coat and hearing her angelic voice yet again. As soon as she was ready, he would take her on the most romantic date that they would ever have. He would take her out for a picnic, and if Rarity would allow, he would take her out that night too. They would surely have a great time and things would go back to normal. To him, everything relied on this plan to succeed, and he needed it to.

“Then it’s settled.” began Captain Blaze and he looked at Spike and Rarity, “I will meet you two here at noon while the others will head there now and get everything ready.”

The other guards nodded and all stood up. They got their swords and cloaks that they wore when they left the town as well as for added camouflage. Then, once they were completely ready, they headed out, walking calmly, even though they knew the dangers of dealing with such a gang and that they may not return.

Rarity smiled as she saw them walk out, she knew that it would work and she knew that she would finally see her sister again. She wondered whether or the operation would be a success and if she should have told Twilight and Spike’s friend, Lyvia or whatever her name was. Maybe she would go tell them now, which might be a good idea since they were both concerned about Sweetiebelle’s sudden kidnapping.

“Well, I’ll see you guys here later. Go get lunch, it’s going to a big day.” Blaze said and he stood up and poured himself another mug of rum. “Oh, and I’ll try not to get drunk for the mission.”

“Thank you, Blaze. I appreciate your help.” Rarity thanked and kissed his cheek.

“Don’t mention it, lady. It’s my job after all.”

Spike and Rarity left the Guard House and both ate lunch at Sugar Cube Corner. They then just hung around for a few hours, talking about how excited they were for this and how they would love to see Sweetiebelle again. Rarity also asked Spike how they got expelled and Spike simply replied with, “They don’t like students dating.”

This made Rarity realise how loyal Spike must be to her. To choose the love of her little sister over his own academic success was definitely something to reward, not condemn. She supported their choice, even though she wasted thousands of Bits on that school, which angered her whenever she thought about it.

Once it was time for them to head back to the Guard House and meet up with Captain Silver Blaze, they did so. The two of them walked by the building to see Blaze standing there in a brown cape and fully dressed in his armour. He had an empty mug in his hand and a shield in the other.

“Ready?” he asked, sounding sober, which meant that he didn’t drink enough to get drunk.

Spike and Rarity nodded enthusiastically and when Captain Blaze began to walk, they followed him.

The path would lead them out of town and directly to the house, where Sweetiebelle would hopefully be and where they would get her home. The though of getting her away from harms reach filled the two of them with adrenaline and nothing would stop them.

A dragon, and a Lady would save the damsel in distress with they aid of a heroic knight.

Chapter Three

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The Feeling of Helplessness

Sweetiebelle had awoken earlier that morning on the cold, hard and dirty floor of her cell. She had her hands tied behind her back the day before as she had tried to attack one of her captors.

She had been told that she was going outside today, but she hadn’t been told why or what she was to do. She figured that it was some sort of physical labour; that she was to be forced to work as a slave for the benefit of everyone but her. It seemed most likely that something like that would happen, even Diamond Tiara said that she had other uses than just sitting around and wasting supplies.

However, now, she had already been taken out of her cell and her hands were still tied. In front of her was Diamond Tiara who led her through the deep, dark dungeon, behind her were two guards; both were cloaked and one of them was the one she had attacked. Due to the cloaks, Sweetiebelle couldn’t recognise a single one of them and they never spoke to her so she couldn’t identify anyone by their voice. All she knew was their gender, whether they were a male or female.

The only person that ever talked to her was Diamond Tiara who usually only ever taunted her and made fun of her; which is what she always did anyway.

“So I hear that you have a boyfriend,” she said, sounding slightly curious and as if she was truly showing interest.

“Yes.” Sweetiebelle nodded.

“Who is it then?” Diamond asked.

“...Spike...” she answered.

Sweetiebelle had remained sort of quiet for the past day, she only ever answered questions simply; she tended not to use flowery language or speak more than a few words at a time.

“OOOH! You’re dating Spike. I thought he liked your sister?”

“Not anymore...”

“Why did he go with you?”

“Who knows...”

“My. You are boring today. Why don’t you try attacking someone again?” Diamond complained and a few of the guards snickered. She turned her head to face her captive and still leading her through the dungeon catacombs, “You’re only going to some use to us, so make that use worth while!”

“No...” Sweetiebelle replied simply again; she knew that she was acting rebellious and that’s exactly what she wanted to do.

“Oh great Celestia! You really are pushing it now!”

“Then stop asking questions.” she was speaking in a monotone too.

“Fine, if you don’t want to talk, you won’t get to talk...” she looked away from Sweetiebelle. “Gag her.” she ordered and one of the guards grabbed her while the other wrapped a rag around her mouth; immediately muffling any sort of speech by Sweetie.

“MMMMHHF, MHFFFF MMHFFF!!!” Sweetiebelle was immediately angered and she pouted, she hated having her freedom limited; it was bad enough that her hands were tied... and now the gag.

“Oh what’s that? I can’t hear you.” Tiara taunted and continued to lead Sweetiebelle through the corridors until the eventually found themselves out side.

The instant exposure to the sunlight made Sweetiebelle shut her eyes in pain. She had been in near total darkness for the past two days and now that she has been exposed the sun was pure torture to her eyes.

“Oh don’t be such a baby!” Tiara scolded and continued to walk along.

One of the guard behind her, pushed Sweetiebelle to get her to move and she began to walk once again; but still rather slow.

Over time she managed to regain her ability to see again as her eyes adapted the sunlight and she opened them.

She saw that they were walking along a thin, dirt path, which was next to a small, dirt cliff that was only about one or two metres high. Next to the path was a bunch of grassy hill; the were in a large field. Off to the side she could see a large apple orchid; most likely owned by the Apple Family, and in the distance she could see an old, ruined, abandoned house that was falling apart and there were parts in the walls that had been hollowed out.

Sweetiebelle wanted to ask where they were going; however, she was gagged so that was going to be impossible; so she just kept on walking and hoping that their destination was close.

She was also barefoot and the tiny rocks that were scattered continuously across the ground dug into her soft feet and caused a few tiny cuts and blood began to drip out; trailing along the ground as she stepped. She winced at the pain, she wanted her shoes back just so walking wouldn’t hurt, but she had no choice and with her hands tied she couldn’t do anything.

“Miss Tiara, the Unicorn’s bleeding.” one of the guards said, their face was hidden but thanks to their voice, Sweetiebelle found out that it was a woman.

“Where is she bleeding, and how much blood?” Tiara asked, not daring to look back at a potential grotesque sight.

“Mot much, only a few droplets, but the cuts seem to be on her feet.” the cloaked woman answered.

“Well if it’s not serious then keep walking. Who cares is she gets a little hurt.” Tiara ordered.

“What if it get’s infected?” the woman asked.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. It won’t be our problem if her sister lives up to the deal... “

‘Her sister?’ Sweetiebelle thought to her self, she must be talking about Rarity. What would Rarity have to do with this, did she organise something to get her free or something? Or did she threaten them? Anyway it didn’t matter, Sweetiebelle would be able to see her beloved sister and hopefully she would be able to go home, and see all her friends and see Spike again. Only, she would also have to face Rarity’s wrath for getting expelled from Canterlot School for Equestria’s Gifted within four days.

She now felt even more curious as to where they were going, because surely they wouldn’t be heading to Ponyville, even if they were meeting Rarity. Maybe they were heading to that old house that they were getting closer to, or maybe they were going to the gates of Ponyville, as I doubt they would dare enter the town itself?

“Mmmhhfffff...!” she muffled, trying to ask where they were going but to absolutely no success.

“You won’t be able to speak with a gag, stupid!” Tiara taunted and eventually they all arrived at the old, broken, house that had no furniture and the paint had peeled. The ground was also littered with debris of the fallen in roof. “Go in.” she order to Sweetiebelle and the two guards.

The two, cloaked guards lead and push Sweetiebelle into the building and sit her down on the floor in the middle of the main room. They stood over her and retied her hands, but they also ungagged her.

“What are we doing here...?” Sweetiebelle asked with some sort of interest about her.

“You’ll find out later.” one of the guards stated, not even bothering to look down at her.

Sweetiebelle just sat there and fiddled around with the ropes on her wrists as she tried to release them. If only she could get free of them, then she might be able to do something useful to get away since running would be pointless. She though about using her magic to untie herself, but she didn’t know if she could actually do that; her focus may be out.

She had no choice but to submit herself fully to her captors and hope to Celestia that an opportunity for her to be freed came about.

Moments after having these thoughts, Diamond Tiara came in. “Keep a very close eye on her. There are guards stationed around us.” she looked around nervously, “They don’t know that we’re aware of them. So we have the advantage... don’t go outside and make sure that Sweetiebelle doesn’t move.”

There were guards outside? Maybe Rarity or Spike got help from them and she was about to be rescued? She would finally be able to see her captors get what they deserve, but... they knew about them and it was only a matter of time before whatever plan the guards had, blows up in their faces.

Chapter Four

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The Loyalty of the Loyal

Upon the grassy hill that overlooked the abandoned cabin, under an old, willow tree, sat two elite guards from Captain Silver Blaze’s squad; Cloud Heart and Dazzle Star.

Cloud Heart was stationed next to Dazzle to provide Long-Range Communication between the three groups as well as to protect Dazzle if they are forced to engage the enemy in close-quarter combat.

However, Dazzle Star had been posted here to provide the squad with Projectile Support, as she was the most skilled archer amongst the five of them. She was nearly useless in close-quarter combat though and so that’s why Cloud was with her.

“When’s the captain gonna get here?” Dazzle asked in an almost bored kind of attitude and she leant against the tree and placed her hands behind her head; she was bored and was itching to use her bow.

“Hopefully soon.” Cloud replied and she let out a huge yawn as she lay on the grass. “To be honest, I don’t even know why we’re putting in so much effort to rescue one girl. It doesn’t seem right that we’re putting in all this work for such little output results”

“HEY!! Could you imagine if you were that little girl, how scared would you be? Because, if I were her, I would be wanting as much help as possible!” Dazzle replied angrily as she was getting annoyed with her teammate.

“Not everyone’s as weak as you, Daz.” Cloud scolded, “and don’t raise your voice to me! You’re still only a recruit to us and you shouldn’t question your superior... especially on moral methods like this!” she stood up, “And don’t let your personal opinions get in the way of the mission. We’re in the elite squad!”

Dazzle looked down, she had only been part of this group for a week and this was her first mission. She had previously been stationed in Fillydelfia and that last mission she had was an investigation into the murder of the Sounds family. Captain Blaze chose her when he went to Fillydelfia and noticed her advanced aptitude with a bow; she was immediately recruited.

She trusted all of her teammates but she didn’t know many of them too well. In fact, she occasionally forgot crimson’s name and was constantly trying to avoid Shadow so she wouldn’t get on his bad side.

“I’m sorry...” Daz apologised and sat down, still leaning against the tree.

Cloud sighed, “No... I’m sorry... I shouldn’t be so hard on you...”

“You’re not being hard, you’re being right, I need to learn to think professionally about matters such as this.” upon saying that, Dazzle went back to the position that she was supposed to be in, which was looking out for the Captain and informing Cloud when he arrives. As she did, she saw him, he was walking with Rarity and Spike towards the shack. “The Captain’s here Cloud.”

“Great, he’s on time for once.” Cloud replied and made a whistle that sounded just like a bird’s whistle. This was to inform the others that the operation was in motion. “Dazzle, take aim just in case anything goes wrong.”

“But the captain told me to only use my arrows in an emergency.”

“Just do it!”

“Alright, alright...” giving into her superior’s pressure, Dazzle takes out an arrow and readies it upon her bow. She took aim upon one of the cloaked guards that stood over Sweetiebelle.

The stress of the situation had made her hands sweaty and she wasn’t sure just how long she was going to be able to hold the arrow in place before she would have no choice but to let go. Never the less, she held on and kept her mouth shut.

– Meanwhile down near the shack, along the path –

Spike was following Rarity closely who was following Captain Silver Blaze closely too.

“Do you think that they’ll be there?” Spike asked nervously; he really wanted to see Sweetiebelle again.

“I don’t know, but I think they should be.” Blaze began. “There’s no reason that they shouldn’t. They want that gem and the money no doubt about it... by the way Rarity, do you have the money and gem?”

“Yes, I do.” Rarity replied and held out an Amethyst Gem and a large bag of Bits.

“Excellent... although, if all goes well, then you won’t need to hand that over.” Blaze explained and nodded.

“Lets just hope that she’s alright.” Rarity said, sounding hopeful; not wanting negative feelings to reach her.

“Shhh...” Blaze put his finger to his mouth; we’re getting very close now. Stay quiet and let me do the talking.”

Spike and Rarity followed closely behind Blaze as the three of them approached the house. Spike looked around, he could see Shadow and Crimson hiding in the nearby bushes and Cloud and Dazzle position atop of the hill. He hoped that all would be okay, they were so close now and Sweetiebelle was now in reach, if everything went according to plan, then it would all be alright.

The three of them entered the building and were immediately by the intimidating look of two cloaked people standing over their treasured captive.

“Spike, Rarity!” Sweetiebelle shouted out in excitement as she saw her two most beloved people in her life.

“Sweetiebelle, darling, are you alright?” Rarity asked; sounding concerned.

“I’ll be better when I’m not tied up.” she replied.

“Do you have what we need?” one of the cloaked guards asked in a monotone and flat tone so voice recognition wouldn’t be possible. He held out one hand to accept the deal that had been agreed.

“Do you promise to let her go?” Captain Blaze asked. He sounded serious and he didn’t like it how Rarity and Spike had immediately began to talk. However, he was prioritising the safety and freedom of Sweetiebelle.

The guard nodded in response, “Just hand us the money and the Amethyst and she’s all yours!”

Blaze nodded and looked to Rarity, “Give it to him.”

“Okay.” she walked forward and she looked at Sweetiebelle. She gave her a soft smile and handed the cloaked man what he wanted.

After she did, she knelt down by her little sister and looked up at the man. “Can I untie her now?” she asked; almost sounded desperate.

“Do what you want.” the man said and both him and the woman began to slowly walk out. It seemed that Diamond Tiara had ran off in order to not be caught.

Rarity flared her horn and the ropes are her sister’s hands began to loosen and weave away from the knot. Soon, the ropes fell off and her hands were free.

At the first sign of freedom, Sweetiebelle tightly hugged her big sister without hesitation; she had the largest smile upon her face too as she looked at Spike. “Thank you...”

Spike walked up to Sweetiebelle too and rubbed her shoulder, “Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah... I’m goo...” The screaming of one of the cloaked guard immediately interrupted Sweetiebelle.

“What was that!?” the captain rushed outside to see what had happened; he wasn’t planning on the death or injury on anyone.

He saw an arrow that had pierced the cloaked female through her neck and out the other side. Blood gushed out and started to make a small pool under her, drenching her black robes in a crimson red.

It seems that he wasn’t the only one who saw it either, the other cloaked man had witnessed it, and he wasn’t taking it kindly.

The man brought his finger to his mouth and bit it off, causing the tip of the finger to fall into the pool of blood below. He then began to go into some sort of transformation as his injured had began to grow sharp claws and his teeth became black, long and serrated. Not to mention that his fur had also gone black and his eyes became serpent-like.

“You will pay for this!” he growled, his voice was deep and eerie; he was demonic.

“It wasn’t I who killed him.” Blaze persisted and he unsheathed his sword. “But if you attack me, then I will kill you!” he threatened.

“I know it wasn’t you... “ he spoke, still in his eerie, deep, demonic tone, he glared up the hill and began to rush up; he was charging for Dazzle and Cloud.

Upon the hill, Cloud was silently fretting, she was panicking, she was hoping that that ‘thing’ wouldn’t make its way up the hill. She was pressuring Dazzle to fire again as soon as possible.

“Dazzle, hurry up and shoot already! He’s going to reach us!”

“Shut up, Cloud. You’re making me nervous... I’ll make a mistake!” she quickly loaded an arrow onto the bow and took a shaky aim.

“Fire, Dazzle, Fire!” Cloud yelled. She unsheathed her sword and took up a defensive stance.

“Cloud! Shut up!” Dazzle yelled and she fired her arrow.

The arrow shot from the bow, flew through the air, and stabbed straight through the chest of the cloaked demon. He was knocked down but he was not dead as he stood up once more.

Captain Blaze took this opportunity of chaos to help Sweetiebelle, Spike and Rarity escape.

“Crimson, Shadow... help out Dazzle and Cloud.” he ordered and began to lead the non-combatants out of danger. “Sweetiebelle, you are to stay right next to me. Rarity and Spike you are to stay as close as possible... no matter what!”

Sweetiebelle nodded, right now, she would do anything for the person who helped with her rescue. She went up beside him and he held onto her. Spike and Rarity remained right behind them, they were both elated that they had her back and that she was soon to be out of danger. The four of them started to move away from the fight and along the path to get away.

Captain Silver Blaze was concerned for his teammates safety, they may be extremely skilled and high talented in what they do, but that being that they were up against was not normal. He could only hope that they would be alright and that they would all be safe... especially Cloud; whom he had a crush on.

“Are you hurt anyway, girl?” Blaze asked, softly and he made sure that their heads were down so no rogue arrows could hit them.

“Yes, but my feet do have a few cuts on them... They took away my shoes.”

“We’ll have you checked up on when we get back to town to see if there’s any infections... then I’mma getting a drink.”

Sweetiebelle couldn’t help but giggle slightly at how ironic the situation was and how the captain was taking it.

Blaze smiled at hearing the girl’s laughter, he was trying to make her happy. He strongly believed that as soon as anyone was rescued or helped that they were to be cheered up firstly, before anything else.

Blaze looked behind him to see how his teammates were doing, and what he saw made his pupils contract and his body froze. The demonic, cloaked figure had cut the through of Shadow and left his corpse to roll down the hill, He held the heart Crimson in his hands as he held the Cloud by the throat. His claws had dug into her skin and her neck was bleeding, it was unknown whether she was dead or not.

Dazzle however, was still alive and she was keeping her distance, shooting arrows that the murderer.

“RETREAT!!!” Blaze yelled loudly, hoping that the sacrifice of his beloved Cloud would allow for Dazzle to get away. “RETREAT!!!” he yelled again.

Dazzle heard this order and she immediately sheathed her arrow and began to run towards down the hill. However, the cloaked demon throw Cloud to the ground; she was definitely dead, and he charged towards Dazzle, instantly grabbed the back of head and stabbing his claws threw her skull.

Blaze was shocked and mortified, he had just witnessed the death of his entire team. Cloud Heart, Crimson Rush, Dazzle Star and Shadow Star all lay dead. Their corpses rolled down the hill and the blood dripped behind them.

He focused on Cloud’s body, her eyes were still wide open but her throat had been ripped out. Her armour was in poor condition, which meant that she had fought valiantly and suffered many hits. Everything seemed to be going well, he had trusted Cloud with being the second best on the team and she was slain like everyone else.

He was a poor captain, leaving his team to die as he focused on the safety of those who could easily get away. he felt horrible, if he was there he may have been able to save them... but now, he had to witness the ungraceful falling of his comrades’ bodies.

Chapter Five

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Sweetiebelle's Deepened Emotions

The demonic figure turned around and his attention was drawn from the corpses and attracted to the scent of those who were still alive.

“Running won’t save you!” growled the eerie voice that he projected out of him.

Silver Blaze gulped, he knew that it was his job to protect the helpless, but he also didn’t want to die. He unsheathed his sword and raised it in defence.

The figure laughed and charged at them; moving very fast. His legs were moving at such a speed that caused the dirt to be kicked up and the grass to rip. He flashed his bloody claws in order to strike fear into their hearts.

“Stay behind me.” Captain Blaze said and he pushed Sweetiebelle out of the way of any danger and he kept a close eye upon the charger threat.

As soon as it got into reach, Blaze swung his sword in a horizontal movement and blood went flying. He grinned and stepped to follow through with the attack by spinning around and stabbing his blade deep through the demon’s heart. He was immediately covered in blood.

The demon figure would have screamed, but his head was lying upon the ground, with its open eyes glaring at its former body. The demon was dead and his body softly and peacefully fell to the ground with the head next to it.

“There, it’s dead...” he stated and before examining the body, he went over to his fallen friends; focusing on Cloud. But before he began to walk, he turned to Sweetiebelle, Rarity and Spike.

“Get home... I’m going to stay here a while...” he sounded gloomy, but he managed to do a salute before a small tear broke from his eye and rolled down his cheek. He turned away and walked back to those who had died.

– Later that day –

Spike and Lyvia were walking through town with Sweetiebelle. Instead of doing what most teenage girls do after being kidnapped and crying her eyes out, Sweetiebelle wanted to go out and explore.

Secretly, she just wanted to stay away from Rarity so she wouldn’t get into trouble... well, at least she would delay her punishment.

“So, Sweetiebelle, how are your feeling?” Lyvia asked, looking down at her friend’s bandaged feet.

“Fine.“ she replied, “It only hurts when I walk on rocks.”

They were heading to the park to meet Scootaloo there and tell her all about their adventures that had happened in under a week. She didn’t really know how to explain it all; first she went to school, then she got a boyfriend, then she got expelled, and finally she got kidnapped. All within five days.

In fact, she still had that burn on her cheek when Spike breathed fire at her, it had started to scab and heal up but there was going to be a devastating scar and no doubt Rarity was going to ask her about it when she got home.

“Did they do anything to, Sweetie?” Spike asked curiously, he couldn’t mask his concern either.

“Well they kept me in a filthy cell, but they didn’t hurt or violate me...” she replied, “But Diamond Tiara did she my cutie mark and that was a little embarrassing.”

“Wait, wait, wait... WHAT!?” Spike yelled and held onto her, “Diamond Tiara was there?!” he was furious.

Sweetiebelle held onto Spike’s hands, which were holding her tightly. “Yes... and that bitch is going to pay!”

“You should tell Captain Blaze.” Lyvia suggested, tagging along beside them.

“I will, when he gets back from burying his team...” she immediately felt sad and guilty. It was because of her that they were dead. They died trying to rescue her and if she hadn’t been so weak and careless, then maybe they would still be alive. A tear ran down her cheek... it was all her fault.

Spike let go off her as he saw her crying and he looked at her softly with caring eyes and rubbed her shoulder with his scaly hand.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly and cleary.

“I... I’m just remembering the guards... and how they died...” she gulped out and more tears wept from her face.

Spike didn’t know what to do to cheer her up apart from wipe away the tears and tell her that it wasn’t her fault. So that’s what he did.

Spike wiped away her tears with his clawed finger and held her close to him so she could hear his heartbeat; it was soothing to her.

“It’s not your fault, Sweetie. They died doing their job, and even if you didn’t get kidnapped, no doubt they would have taken someone else and the results would have been the same.”

This didn’t work, not the slightest and Sweetiebelle continued to cry, she fell to her knees and held her face in her palms. She couldn’t help but feeling guilty about what happened... I She guessed that maybe she was like most teenagers who cry after being kidnapped.

Eventually, Lyvia decided to butt-in. She knelt beside Sweetiebelle and moved the hair out of the crying unicorn’s face so that she could stare into her eyes.

“Snap out of it, Sweetiebelle! It’s not your fault and it never will be... it was their choice and not yours... now grow up and get over it! Your friend is waiting and I doubt she wants to see you crying!” Lyvia scolded, but there was some truth to what she was saying, and that trust stuck into the weeping unicorn. :So get up and wipe away your guilt... because it shouldn’t exist.”

“What the hell, Lyvia! She’s allowed to have emotions that you don’t!” Spike began, still holding Sweetie close and he was staring angrily at Lyvia. “Why the fuck are you still here anyway, shouldn’t you be going back to Fillydelfia?!”

“Feeling guilty for something that isn’t your fault is pointless, Spike. So why should I try to support her when I could try and fix her!” Lyvia explained with a harsh tone.

“You can’t fix what isn’t broken.” Spike said simply and looked away from the cream coloured earth-pony and back at her dear girlfriend and he began to wipe away more tears. “We can go back to your house if you want?” he asked softly, because at the moment, he was fine with doing anything that she wanted.

But to Spike’s surprise, Sweetiebelle shook her head and stood up. She wiped away the tears and held onto her dragon’s hand. “No, lets go see Scoots.” she sounded strong but the sense of despair and grief was all to present in her voice.

To be honest, Spike was surprised as to how well Sweetiebelle was taking this, if anyone else had been in such a position as her, they would be locking themselves away for a week or so.

“So you still want to go see her?” Spike asked curiously, still trying to mull over the time that she sunk her emotions.

“Yes, of course.”

Chapter Six

View Online

A Day of Fun & That Orange Pegasus

“Right, well if you’re sure.” Spike said and he began to walk with Sweetiebelle.

“Don’t worry about me, Spike... Lyvia’s right, it’s not my fault so I shouldn’t let it get to me.” she smiled positively and led both him and Lyvia to her friends house.

None of them spoke on the way there, but Spike did hold Sweetie’s hand tightly and was watching her closely, and after watching her for a while he came to the conclusion of; ‘she’s very good at hiding he feelings’. Sweetiebelle wasn’t baring any tears nor did she even look sad, she had a smile upon her face and she acted like she hadn’t cried at all. She was being strong, but not the good kind of strong, she was being the weak kind of strong as she chose to ignore her feelings and bury them instead of facing them.

However, Spike slowly convinced himself that she was going to be okay. After all, Spike knew that she was a brave girl; she had gone on tones of adventures with Applebloom and Scootaloo before that sure, she may have gotten hurt on some of those adventures, but that never changed her. Just because she had her cutie mark now, didn’t mean that she would stop being brave.

Within no time though, the three of them reached the park where they would be meeting Scootaloo. And, with no surprise, the orange Pegasus was laying high up in a tree with her scooter on the ground. She wasn’t moving but she was breathing, so most likely she was taking a nap.

“Hey Scoots!” Sweetiebelle yelled out in order to wake her sleeping friend.

And it worked, Scootaloo woke up with a start and slowly flew down the grass below. She was wearing a purple, shirtless top and white shorts with no shoes. She also still had her helmet on from when she was riding.

Scootaloo was a simple girl; yet, she appreciated the fast and intense things in life that made her adrenaline levels soar. Due to these interesting desires, Scootaloo was nearly constantly covered in cuts, scratches or bruises and it was rare to see her nowadays with completely clear skin.

“How’s my favourite dare devil?” Sweetiebelle asked eagerly. It may have only been five days since they saw each other last, but that was five days too long.

“I’m alright I guess. How are you?” she replied and asked.

“Umm, things have been eventful... yeah, you could say that.”

“Like what?” Scootaloo questioned curiously, eager to hear the stories.

“Well... Spike here is my boyfriend now!”

Scootaloo squealed in excitement. She had Sweetiebelle always had bets to see who could get a boyfriend first and it looks like that challenge was finally over for her.

“Oh. My. GOD!!!” Scootaloo hugged both Spike and Sweetiebelle simultaneously. “When did this happen!?”

“Just a few days ago actually.” Spike answered. “We were on the train to Canterlot.”

“That’s so adorable!” Scootaloo squealed again and let go of Spike and Sweetiebelle to allow them to breathe. “But why aren’t you guys still in Canterlot?”

“Umm well... we uhh... kinda got expelled...”

Scootaloo burst into laughter upon hearing this. She thought that it was hilarious that someone could get expelled within a week. She couldn’t help but wonder what they did in order to receive such a punishment.

“So what did you guys even do?” the orange Pegasus laughed with a little chuckle.

“We dated.” Spike replied simply. He didn’t like it at all that just because he loved someone that they wouldn’t be allowed to receive a good education. To him, old people were stupid.

“You dated? Really, was that the reason?” Scootaloo was utterly confused.

“Yeah, that was the reason, and it’s fucking stupid!” Sweetiebelle grumble as she answered her puzzled friend.

Scootaloo felt kind of angry, she didn’t understand any of this. She just didn’t thing that it as right that to expel someone from such an expensive place because they loved someone. Anyway, she didn’t come to meet Sweetiebelle and Spike here just to talk, no, she wanted to do something; she wanted to have fun.

However, before she could even think of doing that, she couldn’t help but keep noticing Lyvia. She felt as though she needed to know her name.

“So are you going to introduce me?” Scoots asked, nudging herself forward.

“My name is Lyvia Sounds...” she replied simply. She kept eye contact with the overactive orange Pegasus but her stare was cold and uninviting. She had no intentions with making friends with her.

Scootaloo gulped a little and quickly moved her questioning away from Lyvia.

“So what to ya wanna do?”

“Oh I thought you’d never ask!” Sweetiebelle sighed in relief. “I’m feeling energetic, so lets have a race.”

“You where?”

“First one to the other side of the woods is the winner.”

The park that they were currently in was bordering a small forest. It was not, however, the Everfree, it was a small section of forest planted not too long ago and the growth was enhanced with magic. The forested area was only about kilometre long with a small, dirt path going through the middle of it.

However, the path was extremely rocky and so it would be dangerous for Sweetiebelle to go because she would hurt her feet once more.

“But Sweetiebelle, you’ll hurt your feet again.” Spike stated; expressing his concern

“Oh Spiky... I don’t have to run when I have a strong dragon like you to carry me.” she giggled slightly, hoping to charm Spike in to carrying her.

“But you said that you were feeling energetic, so how is me go running for you going to use up your energy?” Spike asked. He didn’t know how fast he would be able to run with Sweetie on his back, even if she was really light.

“It won’t but, but at least I get to ride a dragon for the first time.”

“Sweetiebelle, you do know that I won’t ever be the size of an actual dragon and that I’ll never have the personality of an actual dragon ever again. I’m only taller and stronger than you because of how I was raised.” Spike said, crossing his arms.

“Oh come on Spike. Don’t be a buzz kill...” Sweetie pleaded, and she gave Spike the most adorable look that she had ever given.

Spike gave in, the look that she was giving was just too precious and so it seemed that he didn’t have a choice. “Fine. Get on.” He turned around so that she could climb on.

Sweetiebelle did, and as she was on his back she held onto his shoulders and his waist to hold on to. “Thanks Spiky.”

So once Sweetiebelle and Spike were ready, they lined up next to Lyvia and Scootaloo who were standing at the entrance to the forest. Along side the path run a think and rapid river and on the other side were dense and thick tree that were perfect for climbing. Sweetie and Spike were in the middle of the others, while Scoots was near the riverside and Lyvia was nearest to the trees. Each person had his or her own strategy for winning.
“Three...”

“Two...”

“One...”

“GO!!!” Scootaloo yelled and the three of them rushed off.

Spike was so glad that Sweetiebelle was as light as she was because if she were any heavier than he wouldn’t be able to run as fast. Thankfully, his draconic legs were able to carry him up to fairly high speeds, but he was hindered slightly and so he could only run as a fast as Scoots.

The three of them stayed pretty much neck and neck the entire time, every now and then though did Spike fall behind a bit due to Sweetiebelle’s shifting and wriggling.

Lyvia didn’t use the path as she felt that it wasn’t good enough for vaulting her to the front. Instead, she ran along the tall rocks and tree branches, which only further proved her athletic superiority over all the others.

Scootaloo however, may have had flying lessons with Rainbow Dash and was now pretty good a flying, did not use her wings at all. But she was also able to run fast since Rainbow had trained her in all that too.

Thanks to all of their athletic talents, the race wasn’t decided by how fast they were, but who Sweetiebelle wanted to win; and she wanted Spike to win.

To do this, she tried to distract Scoots by tricking her into believing that Rainbow Dash was in the forest too. It worked and her orange friend stopped right in her tracks to look around eagerly.

Distracting Lyvia though was going to be a lot harder and so after she failed countless to time to distract her. She ended up resulting in throwing rocks.

Lyvia was swinging along branches, jumping from rock to rock and scurrying up trees and she still managed to keep the lead. She was displaying absolutely beautiful parkour skills and it mad Sweetiebelle feel slightly bad when she finally succeeded in hitting her with a rock; causing Lyvia to slip and fall a metre or two onto the floor.

In the end, thanks to Sweetiebelle’s sabotage, did her and Spike end up winning the race as they reached the end of the forest; showing the other side of Ponyville.

Eventually, after a moment or two did Lyvia finally reach them, and she growled at the laughing unicorn. Not too long after Lyvia, Scootaloo caught up with them and she didn’t look too happy either.

“That wasn’t fair, Sweetiebelle!” she pouted and leant against a tree.

“You never stated any rule, Scoots. So I didn’t break anything for it to be unfair.” Sweetiebelle replied with a smug face.

“Yeah... well... UGH!!!” Scootaloo gave up already; she was too puffed out to put up and argument.

Lyvia didn’t say anything, but instead she rubbed her shoulder, which was where the rock had hit her. She just sat adjacent to Scoots and glared out into the beautiful town of Ponyville.

Spike looked at her curiously; he was wondering why she was still here and not back in Fillydelfia where she lived.

“Lyvia, why are you here. In Ponyville I mean, and not in Fillydelfia?” he asked.

“Because I came here to help Sweetiebelle, I’ll be leaving tomorrow whenever I can.” she replied simply, sounding almost happy to be leaving soon.

“Oh well, that’s sort of a shame...” Spike admitted coldly. “but anyway...” he looked a Sweetiebelle who was laying down on the grassy ground looking up at the sky, “...do you wanna go on a date tomorrow night?”

Sweetiebelle didn’t even hesitate to answer. “YES!!!” she replied in full excitement. She didn’t even care if Rarity would let her, she wanted to go out on a date at night with Spiky.

She was sure that it would be a beautiful night, full of kissing, cuddling and partying no doubt. The mischief that they could get up to was endless and it was going to be an unforgettable night... maybe even better than the last date that they went on, and that was going to be hard to top.

Chapter Seven

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Hate, Anger & Regret

“Excellent!” Spike said excitingly and held her hand, helping her to her feet. “What do you wanna do now?”

“I’m not too sure,” she turned to Scoots and Lyvia, “...any ideas guys?”

Lyvia shook her head; she didn’t feel like doing anything with Sweetie right now. Scootaloo however, had to go and she stood up and walked over to Sweetiebelle and gave her a hug.

“I have to go, Rainbow wants me to start training for the Wonder Bolts again. I’ll see you soon...” she let go of the hug; “It was great to see you again.” she smiled and flew off into the sky.

“Oh well... Spike what do you wanna do?” Sweetiebelle asked as she watched her best friend fly off into the sky.

“How about we go into town for a while? We can see if there’s anything good to buy.” he suggested, looking a Lyvia for approval, wondering if she would want to go.

“Ooo That sounds like fun. Lets go!” Sweetiebelle bounced in excitement.

Lyvia nodded, although she didn’t entirely want to go. She was only going to go with them because she had nothing better to do. Also, she wanted to explain herself for why she got them expelled from Canterlot School of Equestria’s Gifted; it had been picking away at her mind for a while and she felt like she was being a crappy friend. In fact, it would be best to ruin there moods before she went off with them, just so she could get it out of the way... after all, she was a crappy person.

“Hey Spike. I need to talk to you two.” Lyvia called out as they had began walking; which happened to stop them in their tracks as they looked around at her; curiously.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I want to tell you the reason why I got you expelled.” she began, looking down as she felt a little ashamed.

Hearing this, Spike immediately got defensive and distrust filled through him. He felt so angry with her for what she did. Yet, he was willing to hear her out, just so he could hear the reason why.

“Well... Spit it out, will you!” Spike growled.

“Please, don’t think bad of me when I say this... I didn’t have a choice...” she sat down against the tree. “You see, I used to work with the Black Apple Gang, and so I knew of their plans. I tried to get you guys out of that school so that you could be safe... but... but that didn’t work and you still got kidnapped... I’m... I’m really sorry.” she apologised and hid her face in her face; she was absolutely ashamed.

What she had just said was spinning through Spike and Sweetiebelle’s minds. They didn’t know if they had heard her right or not, did she just say that she was part of the Black Apple Gang?

Fear and Anger sprouted in Sweetie as she was looking in the eyes of someone who worked with her kidnappers.

“YOU’RE PART OF THE BLACK APPLES!” she yelled aloud and she clenched her fist.

“I’m not part of them anymore... I quit and I had to run away... because you can’t just leave them... they hunted me down, or at least tried too... that senior that Lil’ Dew tried to kill was one of them... it’s also why he didn’t die.” a few tears began to fall from her eyes and drip down her cheek, her sobs were also present in her voice. “I didn’t want to tell you directly because I had only just become friends with you guys, and I didn’t want to destroy that... but I see that I was being stupid...!”

“Yeah! You were!” Spike snarled and he too clenched his fist and he gritted his teeth. He was fuelled with blinding rage that he would surely end up taking it out on Lyvia.

“I’ll leave you if you want... I see that I’m not wanted here at all... I’ll just go back home and be alone again...” she got up and she choked on her sobs when she said ‘alone’. She knew that she had just ruined an already unstable friendship, and she wished that none of it had ever happened.

She was trying to be mature about everything, but she was still only the same age as Spike and Sweetie, she was still only fourteen years old and she couldn’t help but let her emotions get to better of her. She began to openly sob, letting tears stream down and form together on the leafy ground.

“I’m really sorry okay... I never wanted this to happen... I was trying to help you... but I f-failed...” she took her hands away and looked up at them with teary eyes. She was willing to leave if they wanted too, but then she wouldn’t have any friends.

These words made Sweetiebelle reconsider her feelings. She didn’t understand why she would be angry with someone who at least tried to help her, but she didn’t like being kept in the dark, she never did.

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell us.” she said, sounding less aggressive but still a little hostile as she slowly began to step towards the crying, cream-coloured, earth pony.

“Be-because... I didn’t want to lose you as a friend if I told you that I was part of their gang... so I acted distant and mysterious so I wouldn’t give anything away...”

“Likely story!” Spike spoke, sounding unconvinced and he began to pull on Sweetie’s hand; tugging her away. “Come on Sweetie, let’s go.”

“No.” Sweetiebelle pulled her hand away and walked closer to Lyvia; she felt sorry for her and she believed her story. “Lyvia... what you did was brave and selfless... even though I hate you for it.” she said and held her hand out. “Do ya want to come into town with us?”

“Sweetiebelle!” Spike protested.

“Spike! She’s my friend and I understand her reason’s why. I won’t hate her over a failure.”

“It’s not just a failure, she got you kidnapped by not telling us!”

“Are you deaf Spike, she just said that she was scared to tell us!”

“The Lyvia I know isn’t scared of anything!”

“Then you obviously don’t know her!”

“I know her well enough to know how evil she can be and how much of a bad girl she is!”

Sweetiebelle growled as she heard this, from all people, she never expected Spike to be such as asshole to them.

“Then you can just go away... I don’t want to see you!” she yelled back.

Spike’s eyes widened as he heard this; he was shocked. “Wh-what? Are you choosing her over me?”

“You heard me Spike... go away... I don’t want to see you for a while!” she picked up a rock and threw it at him, cutting through his scales and making him bleed. “Come on Lyvia.” she grabs the crying girl’s hand and starts to pull her along and away from Spike who couldn’t do anything apart from stand there.

“Sweetiebelle wait! I...” Spike began to call after her but instead she was immediately interrupted.

“I don’t care Spike... come speak to us when you want to apologise!” Sweetiebelle scowled and continued to pull Lyvia along.

The two girls walked all the way into the centre of the town, Sweetie was pulling Lyvia most of the time though. however, as the turned onto the main street, Lyvia began to walk on her own beside Sweetie and she wiped away her tears; trying to seem strong again. She was utterly shocked and surprised that Sweetiebelle had accepted her as a friend even after what she had done... but now her and Spike were fighting and she couldn’t help but feel guilty for that.

“Are you two going to okay?” she asked softly. She had changed a little and tried to act like her normal self again, which she hadn’t been in years.

“I don’t know Lyvia, if Spike apologises then I’ll stay with him... but if he keeps this up then I’ll just dump him.” Sweetie replied.

“But you two were perfect together and I thought you vowed to stay together...?” Lyvia began to argue, she wanted the two to stay together so she wouldn’t feel responsible for a break-up.

“It’s as you said, Lyvia... Young love doesn’t last.” Sweetie answered simple and the two of them arrived at the markets. “Anything you want?”

Lyvia shook her head. “No... I’m alright, thank you for asking though... I think I just want to sit down.”

“Okay then, anything that’ll make you smile.” she brought her over to a roadside bench and the two sat down next to each other. They had a great view of the markets and they could see everyone who was there; Sweetiebelle even knew some of them. They was Carrot Top selling her carrots, Granny Smith, who was still alive somehow, was buying apple based products, Blossom Forth was there too, but she was just sitting at a café table.

However, someone else caught her eye, and she didn’t know who they were. She could see something rather appealing though, he wasn’t a normal person, no, he was a griffon. Although he wasn’t Gilda, he was the same age as them and he actually looked kind of cute.

She also noticed that this griffon was staring back at her and her had a slight grin on his face. To her surprise, the griffon began to walk over to them.

“Hey babe, whatcha up to?” he asked seductively and he put his elbow on the bench’s armrest.

Sweetiebelle sighed. “I’m not a ‘babe’... and I have a boyfriend.”

“He’s not here right now though...” he stared into her dreamy eyes, which ironically happened to be full of rage and despair.

“I don’t have to be with him all the time. Now leave me alone.” Sweetiebelle warned.

“I don’t have to do what you say, babe. You look too cute for me to resist.” he grinned and put and arm on her shoulder.

“Alright, creep! Get away from her! Right, now!” Lyvia stood up in a fit of rage to protect her only friend and she clenched her fists; readying herself for a fight.

“Or what? You’ll poke me to death?” he laughed and kissed Sweetiebelle on the cheek and grinned at her once more.

“Alright... that’s it!” she stepped forward and grabbed the griffon by a scruff of feathers and she held him in this grip. “I warned you, asshole!”

She used her other hand to hold him by the throat and she used a leg and knee him on the back of his knee, which hit a nerve and slightly numbed his leg.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” he yelped.

To finish him off, Lyvia threw him to the floor and stomped on his stomach, immediately winding him.

“AAARHHH!!!” he screamed in pain.

“Did that put you in your place, or do you want a stomp to your genitals?” she threatened and lifted her foot up.

The griffon shook his head quickly in fear of her. He didn’t expect her to be so strong from how small she was.

“Good.” she turned to look at Sweetiebelle. “You okay?”

Sweetie nodded, “Yeah... why did you do that?” she asked with a slight smile on her face. She wasn’t going to hide it; she quite liked watching that.

“Because I’m not letting my only friend get flirted on by some worthless creep.” she explained. “You accepted me when no one else did, I won’t forget that, Sweetiebelle... Thank you.” she said simply and the two of them began to walk away from the scene, leaving the poor, injured griffon to roll around in agony as some people snicked and others rushed to help him.

Chapter Eight

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Lonely Dragon

“What do you want to do?” Sweetiebelle asked and she glanced back to Lyvia who was only slightly tagging behind her.

She shrugged, “No idea. It’s your home town, you lead on.”

“Yeah... right.” Sweetie said; she honestly didn’t know what to do even though she knew where everything was. However, she was feeling hungry; she hadn’t eaten breakfast after all. “Wanna go get something to eat?”

Lyvia shrugged, “I don’t mind where we go, because as I said, it’s not my town and I don’t know where anything is.” she replied.

“Alright then. I guess we’ll head off to Sugar Cube Corner.” Sweetie suggested.

“What’s that?” asked Lyvia curiously as she tilted her head.

“It’s a bakery of sorts that sells all kinds of sweets and pastries.” she answered and began to lead the earth pony towards her favourite place to eat.

“Sounds interesting.” Lyvia followed her friends as they continued to walk through the bustling streets of Ponyville.

It was a Sunday so everyone had their day off, except of course those who were working at the stall. However, this meant that the streets were crowded and people rushed from one place to another to enjoy, to the full extent of their day off that they got to spend with whoever they wanted.

Only, not everyone had this privilege, Spike didn’t get to spend with his love whom he had upset to the point where they might even be breaking up; and to a dragon such as him, that thought was unbearable.

He had moved away from the forest and was heading back to the library where he guessed that Twilight would be. In his mind, he didn’t even know what he had done wrong, but he had obviously done something bad enough to make Sweetiebelle angry.

He walked through the crowded streets with his hood over his head and his head facing down. To get to the library he would have to pass through the town centre, which was no doubt full of people and it would take him a while to make it through the crowd.

When he did, he saw something unusual; it was a griffon. He was laying and rolling around in pain upon the stone paving. He couldn’t help but smirk a little as he realised that it was probably Lyvia who did this; she did have a talent for injuring those bigger than her.

That was probable one of the reasons why he hated her, the fact that she was used brute force to fix problems and never really her head. And when she did use her head, it was usually to head-butt the person. He may have only known he for a week, but this week had been hectic and he had learned so much about her and he knew for sure that he did not like it.

Eventually Spike reached through the crowd and was able to continue along the main street until he reached his home, which took the form of a large tree and the vocation of a library.

Along the trunk of the tree was lined with windows and at the top, petruded a small balcony that overlooked the town. Above the door was a sign that said ‘Ponyville Library’ and on either side were lit-up lanterns.

Spike entered the tree-building and looked around to try and find Twilight.

Inside, there were four room; the main room, which was much like a living room but so much larger as it also acted as the actual library that was accessible by everyone in town. The second room was Spike’s favourite, it was the sleeping chambers, which not only functioned for the means of sleeping, but there was also a room for Twilight’s study. This area used to only be one room, but the sleeping chambers was soon changed to three room when Spike turned ten-years-old.

The other two rooms were just the kitchen and bathroom, which were both located on the bottom floor. It was compulsory for every house to have such rooms and nobody complained about it... as in, people did like eating and going to the toilet when they needed too.

“Hey Twilight, I’m home.” he announced and walked into the main room, looking around again.

He immediately saw Twilight rushing around the room frantically looking for a book.

“Oh. Hey Spike. Good timing.” she said, but didn’t stop running and rushing.

“What are you doing?” he asked her.

“No it’s alright Spike.” she replied.

“Okay then...” he moved his eyes around the room and noticed a large suitcase in the corner, which was filled with clothes, scrolls and parchment as well as ink pots and quills. This looked like it was for Twilight.

“Hey, Twilight, are you going away?”

“I have to Spike,” the purple alicorn announced, “Celestia wants to speak to me about something and she wants me there A.S.A.P.” she explained. “Sorry Spike. I trust that you’ll keep the library in good hands?”

“Uhh... yeah I can do that. But what does the Princess want to speak to you about?” Spike asked curiously.

“I’m not too sure, Spike. But I won’t be gone any longer than a wee... AHAH!!” she instantly stopped what she was saying as she found the book that she was looking for and she throw it into the suitcase, zipped it up and levitated it with her magic.

“Bye Spike.” she said her goodbyes as she rushed out the door with her suitcase closely following behind her. Spike was left in the library by himself... alone.

He had the entire library to himself, and people weren’t allowed to borrow books while Twilight was away, so he had no idea what to do. He did notice that the sun was going down now, but he wasn’t the slightest bit tired or hungry. He sat down on the couch and began to think of things to do; he thought of reading some books, but he had already read every book here and most of the stories were cliché and rather boring.

Eventually when he couldn’t come up with anything to do, he decided to just have a shower.

He went to the white and blue tiled bathroom and stripped naked. He then turned the taps onto hot and stepped into the shower. Since Twilight wasn’t home, he could have a long shower and not have her yell at him for using up all the hot water.

While in the shower he washed himself, obviously; he washed behind his ears, he washed his spikes and he polished up his scales. He removed the dirt from his fingers and claws and he began to think about Sweetiebelle.

He wasn’t going to lie, thinking about her did make him a little erect, but he didn’t have ant sexual intentions towards her as of yet. He just thought she looked beautiful and he couldn’t get the fanatical image of her being naked out of his head.

However, now wasn’t the right time to think about this, Sweetiebelle was angry with him and thinking about her naked wasn’t going to change that simple fact. The small grin left his face as he came to this realisation and he decided that it would be a good time to get out of the shower since he had already washed himself.

Once out, he changed into only his underwear and pyjama pants; again, since Twilight wasn’t home, he could get away with walking around shirtless. Also, it wasn’t like anyone was just going to walk in, the library was closed to visitors anyway. Yet, with that said, as soon as he walked out of the bathroom, he is immediately greeting by a nervous and slightly broken Lyvia Sounds.

“LYVIA!! What the hell are you doing here!!” Spike yelled furiously with rage burning through him as he saw her.

Lyvia blushed a little as she saw Spike shirtless and she avoided eye contact. “Twilight said I could stay here as long as I needed, so...” she justified but her voice had gone quiet and still. She didn’t have that hostile vibe about her anymore, in fact, she sounded peaceful and innocent.

“...So what?” Spike replied, “Twilight’s not here, so I’m in charge.. and I say no!”

Lyvia winced a little at hearing this; she didn’t want to go and sleep outside.

“But Spike... I have too, Sweetie’s sister won’t let me sleep over at their house and I don’t have anywhere else to go...” she began to plead.

Spike was a little shocked about Lyvia and how she was reacting. She sounded to soft and quiet; she wasn’t acting like her usual self... or maybe she was trying to trick him into doing something.

“And you want to stay here, with me...?” he rolled his eyes “You know I don’t trust you the slightest now, and I don’t want you near me...?”

Lyvia nodded in shame, “I know... but I have nowhere else to go... and I’m leaving tomorrow anyway...” she looked down at her feet nervously; deep down, she wasn’t a strong girl... she was just a regular, nervous, teenager who has only one talent.

Spike sighed. He didn’t know what to do; he didn’t want her to stay here because he absolutely despised her, but on the other hand, her couldn’t just let someone sleep out in the cold. Also, Sweetiebelle wanted him to make it up with her and he might as well start doing that as soon as possible. It was just his hatred for her that got in the way.

After a few moments of pondering to himself, the purple dragon finally came to a calming decision and slowly nodded his head.

“Alright, you can stay the night... but you’re sleeping down here okay!” he agreed and began to walk away.

Excitement and Gleefulness suddenly flooded through Lyvia, it was a feeling that she had not properly felt in a long time. The feeling of generosity was one that she tried to cherish and repay if possible. She only had to try and make it up to Spike who let her stay here despite his absolute hatred.

But what and how would she do it?

Chapter Nine

View Online

Redemption

Spike went into the bathroom and opened the small closet; in there were some bed sheets and a pillow. Both of them the colour white. He brought them into the living room where Lyvia was still standing.

“Here.” he threw the sheets and pillow at her. “I’m going to make dinner. Do you have an allergies?”

Lyvia shook her head and began to set the couch up like a bed, “I’ll just eat whatever you make.” she spoke in a quiet and nervous tone still.

“Okay.” Spike replied simply and went into the kitchen.

He began to search through the fridge and pantry and gathered pretty much anything he thought would go well together; he had no idea what he was going to cook.

“What are you going to cook? If you d-don’t mind me asking.” Lyvia asked cautiously; she didn’t want to push her luck and seem annoying.

“Stew... or Soup... or anything.” he replied without even looking at her.

“So you don’t know?” she was sceptical but she tried not letting it evident within her voice.

He nodded. “Whatever happens, happens.” he glanced at her, “Now why don’t you go read a book or something? You know, away from here.”

Lyvia hesitated for a few seconds before moving out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. However, she stops herself at the door and looks a Spike again. “Can I have a shower?”

“Might as well, I don’t like foul smells in my house.” he replied coldly.

Lyvia took this directly as an insult and even though she would rather be a pushover than some heartless bitch, she still didn’t want to be someone worthless. The words of what Spike said ticked her over.

“HEY!! Don’t you dare treat me like this and expect Sweetiebelle to fucking take you back!” she yelled and slammed the door behind her as she entered the bathroom.

She then turned on the hot water, stripped naked and got in. She would wash herself with the small bar of soup until she became clean. Meanwhile though, Spike was still standing in the kitchen with these words echoing throughout his head. She was right, he was being an asshole to her, he was treating her as nothing less than a worthless pushover that he pretended to feel sorry for. This wasn’t like him, it wasn’t like him at all and he couldn’t stand to realise this. He had to change his attitude.

He came to the conclusion that as soon as Lyvia left that bathroom that he would sit down with her and get some answers. He would ask her why she acted the way she did. But not only would he ask questions, he would also apologise to her, he needed too. He was loyal and nice and he was denying both traits. For now though, he would continue cooking.

He had filled a pot up with water and after a few minutes of placing the pot over an open flame the water began to boil. Once it did, and the water was boiling, he began to cut up some potatoes.

Once he had done that, he had about two cut up potatoes, which was about twenty-four slices, which he poured into the pot. He then decided to chop up some carrots. He grabbed two carrots and small, sharp; knife to begin cutting them into small circles. When he had finished he was able to pour quite a lot of pieces in, which was well over forty.

He continued cutting up various other fruits and vegetables such as tomato, cucumber, pumpkin and onion. He then waited for them to properly boil before he added an entire pack of cubed pork slices and poured a bag of stock as well. He then began to stir and slowly add seasoning, which included of Salt, Pepper, Tyme, Rosemary and Chilli. To be honest, Spike had no idea what he was cooking but it smelled extremely good.

At that moment, Lyvia walked out of the bathroom wearing only a towel wrapped around her and she was looking around frantically with a very worried expression on her face, which Spike noticed all too clearly.

“What’s wrong, Lyvia?” he asked softly.

“I accidently splashed my clothes with water and now they’re soaked...” she admitted and blushed slightly.

He sighed and chuckled slightly, “don’t worry, I’ll grab you some clothes that’ll probably fit someone as small as you.” he put down the wooden spoon and went up stairs to search through his drawers to see if he could find any of his old clothes that he hadn’t thrown out. “Ah hah!” he shouted as he found as slim pair of grey jeans and a fairly small black shirt.

“Here, catch.” he warned as he threw the jeans and shirt down at her. It was then that he noticed that the shirt might be too big for her, but that didn’t really matter anyway.

“Th-thank you, Spike.” she called back and entered the Bathroom to get changed.

This move of kindness would not be unnoticed by Lyvia; which made her curious as to why he would do something like this after acting the way he did before. Was he feeling guilty or was he just finally trying being nice to her and making up with Sweetiebelle?

Spike went back down stairs and on his way to the kitchen Lyvia left the bathroom. “Spike?” she asked, “can we talk?”

“Uhh sure... but can it wait until I’ve finished cooking? It shouldn’t take too much longer.” Spike asked with a small smile upon his face, he was determined to show her kindness, as he did feel bad for what he did.

“Oh umm yeah. Sure thing....” she replied and sat down upon a leather chair. Spike was right, the black shirt was way to big for her, but it suited her and her small, feminine body.

Within the half hour, Spike had finished cooking what he liked to call soup. Although whether or not it was actually soup was debatable. On the plus side though, it smelled delicious and the herbs and spices seemed to give it a lot of flavour. He scooped up the meal into two bowls and placed a spoon in each bowl before he placed the food down in front of them on the table.

“Eat up.” Spike said as he began to scoop up a spoonful’s into his mouth; he was starving.

Lyvia nodded and began to eat too, but she was still restless to speak with him; it was urgent.

“Hey Spike?” she spoke and got his attention. “Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?” she asked curiously; she knew how stubborn dragons could at times.

Spike put his spoon down and faced her, “Because, I can’t possible hope to make up with Sweetiebelle without befriending you again, and to do that, I sort of need to be nice to you.” he explained.

“I guess so... but is that really the only reason?” she glared at him in disbelief.

“Well no, I don’t like being mean to people. It’s not my nature.”

Lyvia looked down in shame, “I don’t know what my nature is...” she said blankly.

“Well if you want, we can try and figure it out after dinner, how about that?” Spike offered; he didn’t want something like this to chew away at the mind of a friend.

“Really?” Lyvia asked, again in disbelief.

Spike nodded.

“That would be great.” she replied with glee.
After that, the two of them both ate their bowl of soup-stew quickly in order for them to talk. By the time they finished, it was already 7 pm and Spike placed the two bowls and spoons in the sink so that he could wash them later. He then walked back into the main area and sat on the couch next to Lyvia who had set it up to be a bed.

“Is it alright if I ask you a few questions before you begin to ask me?” he asked; not wanting to seem rude.

“Yeah, of course... I think I need to explain myself for my actions...” she admitted but felt ashamed at the same time.

“Great.” Spike spoke confidently and looked at her hopefully. “Alright, first question. You said that you were part of the Black Apple Gang... why?”

Lyvia hesitated before answering, usually, her first instinct would be to lie and cover up anything bad that she had done, however, she was trying to change and be a better person. To do that, she couldn’t lie to her friends when she needed their trust.

“Well I...” she began to explain. “After my family was dead, I couldn’t go anywhere so I had to live in the streets... A few weeks later a man comes up to me and offers me a helping hand in exchange for joining his gang... I didn’t even know what I was getting in to until about a month later when guards started to stop and ask me questions... I left before the ritual...”

“Ritual? What ritual?”

“The ritual to turn you into a demon... every Senior Gang Member is a different kind of demon, you have to be there for over a year though and the powers are extremely dangerous...” she explained.

Spike immediately remembered the demonic figure that killed Silver Blaze’s entire elite team. He was a Black Apple Gang Member; he must’ve gone through the ritual, which would explain his sudden powers.

“Is that why they wear cloaks to cover themselves completely?”

“Yeah, but also just to conceal themselves from anything or anyone really... They tend to like not getting caught.”

Spike stopped to think of what he was going to ask next, then he remembered about the annoying and brutish senior he uncounted at Canterlot School for Equestria’s Gifted who miraculously survived a stab to the neck. Did he possess demonic powers too, or was it something else?

“What about that senior in Canterlot, is he part of the gang too?”

Lyvia nodded simply, “He and I were friends, until I decided to leave and he began to hunt me down. I bested him every time we got into a fight and he then tried to keep his distance... but he’s not very smart.”

“Is that why he was able to survive the...”

“Yes.” Lyvia cut Spike off with a simple and dull answer. “Is there anything else you need to know?”

“Yeah, why did you adopt a different personality?” he wondered curiously.

“Because in order to remain undetected, and as well to keep my secrets kept hidden, I needed to not be so easy to predict. The Lyvia that the gang knew was a happy yet quiet girl. But the one that they had to find was a quiet, brave and mysterious brute. I also, didn’t know how to act when I first met you and Sweetiebelle, so I had to go along with what I was acting.”

“It’s a good thing that we only knew you for a week and not for longer. Otherwise I would have felt a lot more threatened... and... I’m sorry for yelling at you by the way, It’s not like me...” he apologised softly and smiled a little; he understood her reasons for joining the gang and he did trust her now. Hopefully she would trust him back too.

“It’s alright Spike, I would be mad too if I discovered my new friend deceived me.” she accepted his apology and returned him an equally warm and soft smile.

The two of them sat in a sort of awkward silence for the next few moments, wondering if it would be a good idea to bring up their next planned discussion. Eventually, Spike opened his mouth and blurted out the first things that came to mind.

“So do you want to talk about who you are?” he asked quickly and a little nervously.

“No. I’ve been thinking to myself for a little bit, and I know who I am now. I’m me, a girl who cherishes her friends and who would fight for their well being. But I’m also soft and shy, who needs to be protected from things I can’t physically fight. I’m a teenage girl who has only one skill, and that is to fight, and that is what my life revolves around.” she clarified and blushed slightly, “but I’m only young, and I’ll probably change like a caterpillar changes into a butterfly.”

Spike just sat there and smiled at her, taking in every word she said. What she said was beautiful and inspiring; he loved the way she described both her strengths and weaknesses and what her life revolved around. “So is that what you were like when you had a... you know... a family?” he asked politely.

“Yeah... well, not the fighting part... but as I said, I will change.” she smiled at him and yawned. “I’m going to go to sleep now. And yes, I am aware that it is only 7.30.”

“Okay.” he stood up, “Well sleep well.”

“Yeah, you too,” she replied, and before closing her eyes she said one more thing, “Oh and you should probably put a shirt on.”

Chapter Ten

View Online

Together Again

“I think you should just sleep, then you don’t have to look at me.” Spike said and he turned off the light to the main room.

He headed to the kitchen to begin washing the dishes, he looked out the window and saw that the sun had gone down and that only the town guards were walking around the streets; everyone else had gone off to their home. Spike turned on the hot water and poured detergent into the filling sink. Once it was full, he grabbed a sponge and began to scrub the dishes clean.

It only took him about a quarter of an hour to wash them, but he had nearly cut himself on the sharp knifes a few times and he too, was now feeling tired. It may only be around 8pm but the yawns that escaped his mouth grew ever more frequent and the lids of his eyes felt heavier and heavier with every minute passed. So with his cunning intuition that he did not possess, he came to the conclusion that he would go to sleep for the night.

Spike climbed up the stairs and pulled himself into bed, tugging the sheets over him. Twilight had a room built for him so he wouldn’t have to sleep in the same room as her and so she would be able to avoid the awkward sounds of a teenager as they ‘slept’. Never the less, he was happy that he had his own room where he could put all of his stuff in and not sleep in a pet bed.

His bed was comfortable and big enough for him to grow into adulthood with since it was a king-size. The softness and stillness of both the mattress and the night carried him softly to sleep.

That night, he dreamt of what went through his mind whilst in the shower and the fanatical images of a naked or semi-naked Sweetiebelle popped into his head. She began to dance and prance around the imaginary room; showing her entire body that would make any man pay money to see. Her pure white body was so jaw droppingly sexy and Spike felt so lucky to be able to see.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know that this was all a dream and so he had no idea that his mind was just making illusions. Never the less, what Spike saw was enough to give him a raging boner.

After a night of his head full of perverted images of his girlfriend, Spike awoke the next morning with the lack of energy that teenagers always seemed to have no matter how long they slept for. He slowly managed to climb out of bed and walk over to his dresser to open the drawers and see what he wanted to wear.

Just like most boys his age, he didn’t really care what he wore, as long as it was enough to cover himself enough to appropriately go outside without others complaining about his fashion choices. That usually turned out to be difficult due to the fact that he preferred to go shirtless, mainly because that it was easier that way and he liked it. However, people in Ponyville don’t like seeing half naked dragons so he wasn’t allowed to do that.

But still a problem remained; he had to wear something that made his look smart, handsome and sophisticated as tonight, he was hopefully going on a date with Sweetiebelle. After all, he had proved himself with Lyvia and it was making him quite sad that she had to leave today.

Never the less, he tried to not think about that undeniable fact and focus of getting dressed. He had eventually chosen to wear a checkered, blue shirt and black jeans. The shirt’s sleeves were rolled up above his elbows and it showed off his strong arms.

He got dressed into them and slipped on black, leather shoes too. He glanced into the mirror and checked himself out; he looked fine, but there was something missing. Jewellery, girls loved jewellery, and what girl loved jewellery the most; Sweetiebelle.

He walked over to the other side of his room to a nightstand and began to rummage through the drawer.

“There’s a necklace somewhere in here.” he reassured himself and after pulling out a tremendous amount of crap, he found what he was looking for. It was a black and gold necklace that was centred with a green amethyst. The jewel was shaped in the form of a flame, but the flame to the shape of a love heart.

“Perfect.” he said as he pulled it around his neck, and clipped it on as it dangled from nape.

He had finished getting ready for the day and surely Sweetiebelle would like it, he had a lot planned for tonight and he hoped that everything would work out just like last time. He smiled to himself after looking in the mirror one last time and began to head downstairs. To his right, he saw that Lyvia was wide awake and was standing by the doorway with her bags.

“Hey, are you leaving already?” Spike asked and her began to hurry over to her in case that she actually was.

“It’s 10 o’clock, I might as well. I did say that I would be leaving as soon as possible today, and th next train leaves within twenty minutes.” she replied, keeping eye contact with her host.

“But you haven’t even said goodbye yet.” Spike complained and held her arm, trying to stop her from going.

Lyvia pointed to the dining table, “I left a note for you. I thought you were going to sleep in for a while since it’s a public holiday today.”

“I was, but I usually don’t get to sleep in much so I automatically wake up after a while... also, shouldn’t you be saying goodbye to Sweetiebelle too?” Spike stated and frowned slightly.

“I was going there now, that’s why I’m leaving twenty minutes early. Do you want to come along, I can tell her how nice you were?” the cream coloured girl tempted.

Spike grinned and nodded eagerly, “You bet.” he replied and let go of her arm. “But, have you had anything to eat yet?”

“I was going to get something on the train.”

“You shouldn’t skip breakfast Lyvia, it’s not good for you.” he grabbed her arm again and pulled the small girl inside. “I’ll make you a sandwich at least.”

Lyvia let go of her bag and closed the front door; sitting down in a chair at the dining table. Her blonde hair wasn’t in the small ponytail that it usually was in and it was hanging loose around her shoulder. Spike had no idea how long her hair usually was since she always wore it in a ponytail and it always appeared short.

“Just make a simple ham sandwich then. I’m not too hungry.” she said and looked around. She was still wearing the clothes that Spike had given her, but she had also packed away the clothes she had wet within her bag.

“You sure?” Spike asked and he started to make what she had asked for.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Okay then.” he buttered the bread that he had placed in front of him upon a chopping board and then laid a slice of ham onto the bread. From there, he sandwiched it by laying another layer of bread upon the ham and he wrapped it in plastic wrap. “Here you go.“ he smiled and handed her the food.

“Thanks.” she replied simply and stood up, “Shall we go now?” she asked impatiently and took a hold of her bag again.

“If you really want, we can go.” Spike nodded and led her out the door.

The two of them walked through the quiet streets of Ponyville; everyone was still either asleep or only just waking up. People tended to sleep in on public holidays and all markets were usually closed, except for the usual exceptions like the bakery or nightclubs.

Since there wasn’t anyone to have to push passed, Lyvia and Spike were able to make haste to Carousel Boutique, which was also closed on days like today.

Eventually, the two of them got there and Spike knocked on the door. After only a few moment’s wait did the door open and stood in the doorway was the most gorgeous Sweetiebelle.

“What is it?” she asked curiously, but also sounding rather impatient.

“Morning Sweetiebelle, I’m just here to say goodbye, I have to go today.” Lyvia sounded sad as she spoke, but she did try and stay a little happy for her.

“Oh.” Sweetiebelle looked down, “I forgot about that... Are you sure that you don’t want to stay here in Ponyville?” she asked softly, hoping that the answer was no.

“No, I want to stay here, but I can’t. I only have enough money for the train ticket and a bit of food. There’s no way that I’ll be able to rent an apartment.”

“Well if you’re sure then I’ll come along with you to the station.” she said gloomily.

Sweetiebelle went inside her house to grab a coat from her room and she came outside again. She was wearing denim short shorts and a white, baggy shirt. She was also wearing her golden manticore necklace and multi-coloured bangles around her wrists. Her coat was the colour of red, but it was a rosy red, the same colour as her strapless sandals. It was also hooded, waterproof and the pattern of flowers were scattered across from the hemline to the accents to the coat itself.

“Ready to go then?” Spike asked.

Sweetiebelle ignored him and looked to Lyvia, “Ready?” she asked in Spike’s place.

“Yeah, I shouldn’t be late.” she turned around and began to walk, but she left the leading to Spike who was ahead of them, that’s when she remembered, “Oh Sweetiebelle, you know how you sent me to Spike’s house last night?”

“WHAT!” Spike yelled in surprise.

Simultaneously, Sweetiebelle replied to Lyvia as well, “Yeah, what happened?” she asked.

“Well he was nice and hospitable, and we’re friends now again. We just needed to have a little talk and all, but we’re all good. Hence why he’s here now.” Lyvia happily answered and she pet Spike on the back.

“Wait! You set this up?” Spike questioned, becoming serious and angry suddenly; he hated being deceived.

“Well, yes. Sweetiebelle and I planned on this, but every think said and done wasn’t planned. We only hoped that we would be friends again.” explained Lyvia. “We didn’t want to set you up and so the final decision of what happened was yours, the only thing planned was me going to your house.”

“But didn’t Rarity not allow you to stay at Sweetie’s?”

“We never asked her, otherwise she could get suspicious and the plan wouldn’t be able to go ahead.” Sweetiebelle said and walked beside Spike; wrapping an arm around him.

“So all that plan making as a Cutie Mark Crusader paid off, huh?” Spike was trying to remain positive and not let the deception get to him.

“I guess so.” Sweetiebelle gleefully replied; she was glad that Spike had finally come to his senses and was acting nice with Lyvia again.

So, the three of them continued to chat about what happened that night as they walked through the still quiet streets of Ponyville to the train station. It was already 10:15 and Lyvia’s train was going to leave in five minutes.

When they got there, Lyvia pulled out the only money she had and bought a child ticket, which was five Bits less than an adult ticket. She then said her goodbyes to Sweetiebelle and Spike; giving them both a huge hug and thanking them both for their kindness. She also promised to write to them both at least once a week.

As the train to Fillydelfia arrived, Lyvia got on, wheeling her bag behind her. She glanced back at them once again and smiled; she was going to miss them. After she disappeared on board, that was the last that Spike and Sweetiebelle would see of her for a while.

“I wonder if she’ll be alright?” Spike said to Sweetiebelle; he was worried for her sake.

“She’s a tough girl, she’ll be alright.” Sweetie reassured.

“Yeah you’re right I suppose. I’m just a little worried for her and all.”

“She’s be alright, I know it. But, what do you want to go and do now?” Sweetiebelle asked with a playful smile donned upon her face.

“I’m not too sure, wanna just walk around for a bit and do whatever comes to mind?”

“Yeah sure.” Sweetie agreed.

And that’s what the two of them did for the next hour and a bit. They just walked around the streets and slowly watched Ponyville come to life more and more as time went by. It wasn’t until just before midday that Sweetiebelle remembered something that she really wanted to tell Spike.

“I got a letter from Lil’ Dew today?” she announced joyfully and held the note in her hand.

“Really, can I read it?” Spike asked eagerly, he loved Lil’ Dew; but not in a romantic way of course, he just thought that she was a really awesome and joyful friend that he could always count on. To him, she was like a little Pinkie Pie. So if Sweetiebelle ever got a letter from her, he would want to read it too.

“Sure.” she said simply and handed Spike the letter.

Dear, Love birds.

I hope you’re enjoying yourselves at home and I hope that you didn’t get into too much trouble from your parents. Everything is fine here, and that senior is keeping is distance from me which is all good. Also, no one suspects anything so we’re safe for now.

But I was just writing to you two mainly because it’s really lonely here without you guys and you were my only friends. It’s boring here and I hope that you can write back as soon as possible because I really am missing you two. I want to here everything that you guys have been up too, I don’t want to be spared a single detail.

Also, say “hi” to Lyvia for me if you can and can you also give me her address so I can contact her, I would love to speak to her too.

Anyway, that’s everything that’s been happening here. I hope you can reply soon.

Yours Sincerily, Lil’ Dew.

Chapter Eleven

View Online

A Night to Remember

After reading the letter from Lil’ Dew, Spike began to feel as though things were going back to normal. He was with Sweetiebelle again and Lil’ Dew and Lyvia were friends with him. Only thing is, Lyvia had to go and he didn’t know how they would get into contact with her at all, he could only hope that she would come and visit every now and again.

Today however, was still a special day and Spike and Sweetiebelle were about to have their second date. Spike couldn’t wait, he was way too excited but unfortunately they had all day until the sun set.

For the rest of that day all the way until sundown Spike and Sweetiebelle hung out. They went to Sugar-Cube Corner, the Markets and they even went to speak with Applebloom. On various occasions did Sweetie talk about he up coming birthday and that she was inviting, as many people as Rarity would allow, and that Spike would most definitely be one of those people.

However, just before dusk, Sweetiebelle had to leave to go home and get ready, she hadn’t planned on staying out all day and so she hadn’t changed into her attractive attire.

“Meet me at my house in half an hour. I’ll be all ready by then.” Sweetiebelle smiled and kissed Spike on the cheek, then left to go to her home.

On that note, Spike just hung around for a while by himself and smiled to himself, he had a very successful day and he wanted nothing more than to finish it off holding the girl he loved. He had planned to take me to the lake for a picnic under the moonlight, then he would do anything that she wanted to do.

For the time being he just wandered around town, glancing at the many thing he could buy if he had money. That was another thing that he wanted to do sometime, he wanted to get a job.

After some time, he decided to go to Sweetie’s place, he had no idea what the time was or how long he had been wandering about, but he assumed that it would be close to the half an hour mark.

As he walked, he picked up the pace; he was eager to get there and see what Sweetiebelle was wearing. He wasn’t going to lie, he always loved her fashion style and the clothes that she wore, and he new that that sounded kind of perverted in a certain sense but he wasn’t bothered by it. He would just never tell her that so he could avoid creeping her out.

In no time at all did he reach the home of her beautiful girlfriend, Carousel Boutique. The wonderful store of stunning fashion had left it’s door open even though there was a sign on it that read ‘closed’. No doubt this was just too get some air flowing through the store but Spike couldn’t help his curiosity.

Spike walked up to the door and looked inside the shop, he new that he was welcome in but he preferred to ask first, being the polite thing to do.

“Oh hello, Spike.” spoke a sophisticated sounding, white, unicorn, mare with the most beautiful purple mane. “Are you here to pick up Sweetiebelle?” the fashion mare asked.

Spike nodded, “Yeah I am. Is she ready yet?” he asked, still standing just outside the door but keeping himself visible.

“I’ll check for you darling.” she replied. “Sweetiebelle! Are you ready yet?” she called out loudly, standing at the base of the stairs.

“Just a minute,” the fourteen-year-old girl called back, “I’m just putting my earrings on!”

Rarity turned back to Spike, “She’ll be down in a moment.” she said calmly and disappeared out of view, no doubt to get back to work on further designs.

On that note, Sweetiebelle came graciously walking down the stairs with a thin, red dress on that defined the curves of her body. From her ears hung blue crystal earring and around her neck was the golden manticore necklace that she nearly always wore. Covering her delicate feet were red heels with the insignia of a butterfly thread with purple yarn.

“Wow!’ was all that Spike could say as he stared at the girl he was so lucky to have.

Sweetiebelle giggled and met with him at the door, “You ready to go?” she asked.

“Yeah, lets be off then.” Spike said, but just before they left, they were halted by Rarity.

“Now I want you to be back before 9.30, Sweetiebelle. You two have school tomorrow.” she reminded and let them be off.

“Of course, Rarity. I’ll have her home by then.” Spike reassured and the two were off. The night of memories had begun.

Spike began to lead Sweetiebelle to the lake where had planned for the picnic to be. While he was out and about he had bought a few things with the little money that he actually had. He had bought a variety of food including of bread, chocolate, a few muffins, some flowers and other things to make sandwiches out of.

“So where are we going, Spiky?” Sweetie asked curious and she tilted her head ever so slightly.

“To the lake... we’re gonna have a picnic?” he replied with a soft smile.

“Oh cool. I haven’t had dinner yet so I’m starving.” she squealed, “I’m so excited for tonight. Last time was so perfect, I hope tonight is too!”

“It will be, Sweetie. I’ll make sure of that.” he reassured and stroked her heavenly hair.

The two of them continued along their journey until they reached the park where the lake was. By this time the sun was beginning to set and the soft, orangey light from the sleeping sun glistened through the canopy of threes and shone upon Sweetiebelle as though she was an angel.

“Wow... you really do look beautiful tonight.” Spike admitted with an awkward glare.

Sweetiebelle giggle. “Aww. Thanks Spike. This didn’t take very long at all to do, so it could be way better... but it’s not.” she explained; preferring not to go into the ‘girl talk’ as Spike would surely not understand. “Anyway, should we set up?”

Spike snapped out of his trance and looked around slightly. “Yeah we’re close enough.” He placed the bag on the grass and sat down. “Sorry, I didn’t have enough money to get a picnic blanket.”

“Meh, that’s okay. We don’t need one.” she smiled and dived her hand directly into the bag. She pulled it out and within the whiteness of her fur she held a muffin. “Ooh! Blue Berry.” she immediately took a bite without hesitation.

“Is it good?” he asked and he also dived his hand into the bag.

“Yeah!” her words were muffled as her mouth was still full of the mush that used to form a muffin.

Spike couldn’t help but chuckle. He just witnessed a girl that prides herself on being a lady do the most unlady-like gesture; speaking with her mouth full, which caused a few crumbs to fall onto her lap.

He pulled out his hand from the bag and he too, had grabbed a muffin. This one was just a regular chocolate one but it was sure to be delicious. He too quickly took a bite and moaned in delight.

“These are good,” he agreed and took another bite. He also hadn’t eaten since lunchtime so he was quite hungry too.

Sweetiebelle took another bite and received a mouthful of blue berries, which gave her a moist surprise. Never the less, she kept eating, one bite after another until she eventually finished. She reached her hand back into the plastic bag and pulled out some bread, ham and some cheese. She was going to make herself a sandwich and most likely this would fill her up; she didn’t have a very big appetite no matter how hungry she was.

She formed her ham sandwich and took a bite of it. The ham was juicy and the cheese was soft and delicate, the bread was fluffy too and so she had created and lovely sandwich.

“So Spike, what have you got planned for tonight?” she asked eagerly.

“Well...” he took a bite of his second muffin that he had just grabbed. “All I planned was this picnic and I was going to do whatever you wanted. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good, because all I wanna do is lay back and relax.” she answered and continued to eat her sandwich.

She eventually finished eating and her small stomach was filled. She sat back and rest her back against a tree. The sun had completely gone down now and the moon had taken its place. The white unicorn then watched and waiting for Spike to finish, she looked up at the sky to see that the stars were out and they left the night glistening. She smiled to herself and began to softly sing.

You’re the one
I love with all my might,
The one
I’m thinking of every night,
The one
That helps me make things right,
The one
I dream of when I sleep at night,
The one
I think of when I hug my pillow tight,
The one
I love with all my delight.

Touch your heart,
Close your eyes,
Make a wish,
And say goodnight

Sky so wide,
Stars so bright,
Off the lights,
And sleep so tight.

You’re the one
I want all night,
The one
Who I need to hug so tight,
The one
Who makes my heart beat right,
The one
Who won’t stop loving without a fight,
The one
Who make me smile in plight,,
The one
I love with all my delight

Touch your heart,
Close your eyes,
Make a wish,
And say goodnight

For it’s you,
I love so much,
Please never go,
For I need you so!

Spike was struck into another trance and had been trapped just by how beautiful she was and how angelic her voice sounded. “That...” he begun, “was stunning!” he praised.

Sweetiebelle beamed a large smile, “thanks Spiky. I’ve been thinking about that little melody for a while. Well, ever since last time I sung for you.” she clarified and began to hum a little.

“You right, dragon. That cutie was stunning.” said someone who has standing just a few metres away from them. To Sweetiebelle, the voice sounded annoyingly familiar. She turned her head to face the direction of the voice and sighed as she saw whom it was.

Leaning against a tree was a griffon; it was the same griffon that had harassed her yesterday.

“What are you doing here? Go away!” Sweetiebelle shooed and shot him a hostile glare.

“Sweetie, who is this guy?” Spike asked worriedly.

“He’s just some horny fuck who get flirting with me yesterday... then Lyvia beat him up.” she explained and growled at him.

The griffon smirked. “That probably the nicest description anyone had ever given me. Thank you.” he moved closer to Sweetiebelle.

“Asshole, why don’t you use your eyes and look at who’s with me?” she groaned and pointed at Spike.

The griffon looked at him. “Who’s this, you’re boyfriend?” he asked sarcastically and broke into laughter.

“Yes.”

The griffon’s eyes shot open and he stopped laughing. “Wait WHAT!?” he looked at Spike again who looked back at him looking extremely pissed off.

“Yeah I am! And you’re intruding on our date, so would you be so kind and fuck off!” Spike threatened, “Or I swear, I’ll make your face so unrecognisable that not even your parents will know that you’re even a griffon!”

Sweetiebelle grinned and took a step backwards. She was about to see Spike fight for her love and put that griffon in his place. Hopefully he would just stop bugging her with his stupid and pointless flirts.

The griffon puffed himself up and stood taller and stronger than Spike, he leaned up close to Spike face and said, “Nah!”

Spike growled and ‘POOF’ a few feather’s on the griffons face were lit on fire.

Enraged, the griffon puffed his feathers at the dragon and pats away the flames with his wings as if he was never on fire. Black spots were scattered across the corner of his face were the flames had singed him.

“You’re going to regret that, dragon!” the griffon threatened and pecked to skull of his nemesis.

“Ow!” Spike rubbed the area where he had been pecked and stared the griffon in the eyes. “How about we fight fair?”

“Fight fair? That’s a stupid idea!” the griffon chuckled and lowered his guard; his hands were down by his waist, leaving his torso wide open.

“Well we either fight fair... “ He gripped the griffon by his shirt and aimed his claws on the other hand at the lower abdomen. “Or I can make you realise how much a stab wound hurts!”

The griffon laughed again and looked down at the dragon’s claws.

“Those aren’t even sharp!” the griffon pointed out and poked his hand. “Besides, threatening me isn’t a very good idea, dragon!”

Spike hesitated slightly, he was right. Spike didn’t pose much of a threat to him. He had already pat away the fire that he was lit on and pointed out that his claws were deemed useless in lethal combat. But he needed the upper hand other wise he would appear helpless and weak to Sweetiebelle and that was the last thing he wanted right now. That’s when an idea popped into his head; he smirked and pressed his dull claws against the tummy of the griffon.

“It would hurt a lot more if I forced them in, now wouldn’t it?” the purple dragon threatened.

“You’re going to do that just for a fight fair?” the griffon asked confused and slightly afraid; although he didn’t entirely show that.

“Worth a shot. If you won’t fight fair, then I won’t fight fair. It’s something that a friend taught me. And what better time to put her words into practice then now?”

“Just forget this! We’ll stop fighting... I’ll go away. Just leave me alone you little shit!” the griffon submitted and moved away Spike’s hand; slowly backing off.

“Do you promise to fuck off and not come back?”

“Yeah... I-I promise,” the griffon nodded quickly and continued to slowly advance backwards. “Deal?”

“Then leave already!” Spike roared and stomped the ground.

With that the griffon ran off quickly; flapping his wings to make him go faster. He may be big and strong, but deep inside, he was a coward at heart.

Spike turned and looked at Sweetiebelle with a soft smile planted on his face.

“There, now we can get back to it.” Spike said and placed a hand upon her small shoulder. He then moved close to the little, white, unicorn that stood at least two heads shorter than Spike. He leaned in and kissed her deeply; wrapping his hands around her warm body.

Sweetiebelle blushed deeply at this instant reaction and she held the kiss. To her pleasure, he tasted good and she would have no problem with keeping this kiss going for as long as they wanted. She felt Spike’s arms around her tightly and his firm grip on her made her smile. She was glad that she had a strong, brave boyfriend like Spike. To her, it didn’t matter whether or not he was different race than her. Love was love, and she loved him as much as he loved her back.

The kiss was deep and passionate; both were enjoying it as much as they did on their last date. On top of that, the kiss was wet and lasted for a while. Sweetiebelle loved the taste of his lips and the sensation of that feeling triggered her feministic seductivity.

When the kiss was broken, it was only to catch their breath before they went straight back at it. They kissed again and again ad again; each time getting progressively longer and more passionate. The two teenagers were enjoying themselves almost too much and when they had finally finished their kissing they looked each other in the eyes, standing only a few feet away from each other holding hands. There was a long, string of spit that went started from one mouth and ended at the other.

“What do you want to do now?” Sweetiebelle asked softly, staring deep into his eyes with a starry expression.

Spike smiled and caressed her hip, which his had lain upon. “It’s a beautiful night? How about we lay on the grass and stare up to the stars?”

“Sounds lovely, Spiky.” she waited for Spike to lay down first, and when he did, she soon followed and lay her head on his chest. His heartbeat was like a lullaby to her; it was soothing, calm and heavenly.

With that, the two of them looked up at the stars, glancing at the mane constellations that dotted the skies and spotting the various nebulas that could be seen on this clear night. They broke into small talk for a while; enjoying each other’s company and warmth. Then, a question came across Spike, he wanted to know more about Sweetiebelle’s birthday.

“Hey Sweetie?” he asked?
“Yeah?” she replied, changing her view from the sky to him.

“What do you want for your birthday?”

Sweetiebelle had to think about this for a while, she would ask for a dress but Spike wouldn’t really know where to look and plus, she had tonnes of dresses. She thought that maybe she wanted more jewellery, but again, Spike wouldn’t really know where to look. She couldn’t really think of what she wanted that she didn’t already have or new that Spike would have too much trouble finding. In the end, she just decided on letting him surprise her.

“I don’t know, surprise me.” she answered his question finally.

“I can do that, beautiful.” the handsome dragon said.

“Thanks handsome.”

Spike felt a tint of crimson fall upon his cheeks as he heard what she said. Not only did he blush, but he couldn’t help but feel a stupid grin appear too. Her words always had the power to move him and to affect his feelings in a certain way. I guess that was love... true love.

In a few hours, the date was over. Spike promised Rarity to bring Sweetiebelle back at a reasonable time as they both had school the next day. So, that’s what he did; he didn’t plan on upsetting Rarity in any way, nor did he plan on having Sweetiebelle and himself listen to a lengthy lecture about being late.

Spike, like the gentleman he was, brought the lady home as they walked the quiet and cold streets of Ponyville. Today had been very uneventful in terms of a regular day in Ponyville. People barely left the house today.

Upon reaching Carousel Boutique, Spike walked the unicorn all the way to the front door.

“Thank you for walking me home, Spike.” She smiled, then planted a final kiss on his cheek. “Have a good night.”

“You too, lovely.” he watched her as she went inside for the night and once she closed the door he decided that it was time for him to head home. The thought of Sweetie’s birthday rushed through his head. It was only a week and a bit away and he would surely have to get something great for her. It was to be her 15th birthday and so she deserved the best one. He was a big part of her life and he wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Back inside Carousel Boutique, Sweetiebelle slowly climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She was tired but tonight was worth it. The place was dark and quiet, meaning that Rarity had gone to bed. She thought that it would be a good idea to do the same, so, she stripped out of her clothes and pulled on her pyjamas. She turned around to face her bed and saw that Opal had curled up in a perfect circle at the foot of her bed.

“Good girl.” Sweetie whispered and slowly ran her hand over the soft cat’s fur before climbing into bed for the night.

Images of Spike, the date and, strangely enough... the griffon, even though she wasn’t even asleep yet, raced through her head. She couldn’t deny that the griffon looked kind of cute, but the way he acted was childish and rotten. She hoped that he took Spike’s warning well, and that she wouldn’t have to see his horrible sight again.

Never-the-less, the night was wonderful and the taste of Spike’s lips still remained on her lips. She closed her eyes and softly faded off to sleep with a soft smile perched on her face. That night, she dreamt of Spike... and Spike only.

Chapter Twelve

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Sweetiebelle's 15th Birthday

Over the next couple of days that led up to Sweetie’s birthday, Spike and her attended the local Ponyville High-School. The work load and ethics standard was considerably lower than Canterlot School of Equestria’s Gifted meaning that they could relax in their spare time and not have to spend it on homework. Their teacher was Miss Cheerilee who had her hands full since she was now teaching teenagers and not children anymore.

As well as going to school, Spike spent his time after school trying to find a perfect present for Sweetiebelle and only a few days before her birthday did he find one that he knew would surpass any expectations.

On top of that, they received a letter from Lyvia saying that she arrived safely and has found an abandoned home that’s he could call home. They also sent a few letters to Lil’ Dew and replied to Lyvia’s one of course. Sweetiebelle felt so happy that she was able to keep in touch of her friends that she didn’t know whether or not she would see again.

Another thing that happened that was important to Spike was the return of Twilight. She had only just gotten back on the day before Sweetiebelle’s birthday and Spike was too busy to ask Twilight what the princess wanted to speak to her about. He figured that he would ask her after the party.

With that said, it was time for Sweetie’s birthday and she was getting ready for her big day. It was around ten in the morning and she was wearing an elegant, blue, dress and she had tied her hair back slightly so she had a small ponytail.

“Sweetiebelle, darling. Can you help me put up those balloons?” Rarity asked and pointed to a small collection of around 12 balloons.

“Sure, sis. Where do you want them?” Sweetiebelle wondered as she picked a few of them up.

“Just attach them to tables or chairs for now, Sweetie.” Rarity replied.

“Okie dokie,” she was so glad that it was her birthday; she had already received her present from Rarity. It was a pure diamond and silver bracelet that she was wearing now. It was little heavy but it was simply gorgeous.

With that, Sweetiebelle hung the balloons where they were to be and it took a little longer than thought, as the balloons just wouldn’t stay on the string; she wasn’t too good at tying knots.

After an hour or so of tedious tasks of preparing the party that included of cooking, cleaning and hanging of balloons and streams, did guests start to arrive. The first was a fairly sturdy build of a yellow girl with red hair and a stunningly large bow, it was Sweetie’s best friend Applebloom. The next guest was the orange Pegasus that her, Spike and Lyvia raced against, Scootaloo. Other people also soon came along such as, Button Mash, Pip Squeak, Feather Weight and a girl named Cinder who had a golden mane and light yellow fur with amber coloured eyes.

Lastly to arrive was Spike, but he had a good reason. He has spent a lot of time this morning trying to make himself look handsome enough to be a stand out in the crowd of friends. Clutched in his hands was a present wrapped in pink with a red bow tying it off.

“Spike, you’re here!” Sweetiebelle rushed up and hugged him.

Spike chuckled, “Of course I am, what kind of boyfriend would miss his girlfriend’s birthday.” he hugged back then presented her the gift.

“Thanks Spiky!” she took the present and slowly pulled away the bow on the top. From there she peeled away the tape and tugged off the wrapping paper to reveal a diary surrounded by the insignia of butterflies and flowers.

“I didn’t really know what to give you, so I got you something that you could do anything with. Twilight’s taught me that you can do so much with books.” he smiled, “but you should open it up and see what’s inside.”

“Okay?” Sweetie said uncertainly and grabbed the book’s hard cover and carefully opening it. When it was open the first thing to happen was a small envelope of Bits to fall out; she picked it, “Aww thanks Spiky.”

“That’s not all though, keep looking.” he said and Sweetiebelle flicked through some of the pages to see that on the first few pages was nothing but love messages from Spike as well as photos to accompany them.

Sweetiebelle looked on the photos and messages with clear glee and she squealed to herself.

“Thank you Spiky!” she hugged him tightly again, “I love it!”

“You’re welcome, Sweetie.” he replied as he hugged her back, equally as tight. “You look very beautiful today.”

She smiled and felt a soft wave of blush flushed over her cheeks, she loved it when Spike held her as he did.

The hug broke away when a crackly, young voice broke through the silence. “Hey, Love Birds! How about we get the cake?” the voice belonged to the orange Pegasus, Scootaloo.

Sweetiebelle nodded and walked over to the cake that was placed in the centre of them room on a glorious silver plate. The cake was large with two layers of creamy, spongy and chocolaty goodness. As you may have guessed by now, the cake was a large chocolate sponge cake with white coloured icing cream coating the edge Along the sides were pieces of candy in the shape and colour of diamonds. Underneath the table where the cake was sat upon was a pile of nicely wrapped presents that soon ended up as a simple pile of crunched paper.

She had received a variety of presents, whether it be from family or friends, some of them were as simple as money or as valuable as a jewelled piece of jewellery.

After the presents, Sweetie decided to abide by Scoot’s suggestion and gave everyone a piece of the delicious sponge cake. That melted in their mouths and soon enough, most of the guests were hyped up on sugar. The excitement and energy made the party more entertaining and enjoyable for everyone, except Rarity who would have to clean everything up.

However, the fun was soon called to a halt when the light yellow mare names Cinder spewed up and the chunks of puke sat on the floor.

“So Sorry, Sweetiebelle...” she apologised quietly and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Sweetiebelle had met Cinder only recently within the week and they instantly became rather good friends due to the fact that Cinder loved singing and fashion, which were pretty much some of Sweetie’s favourite things too.

“It’s alright Cinder, just take a seat and relax for a while.” Sweetiebelle smiled and lead her over to the sofa that was cover in streamers and pizza crumbs. “You’ve just eaten too much cake I think.”

Cinder laid down on the couch and Rarity placed a bucket next to her, she groaned and closed her eyes. Sweetiebelle then went away and over to Spike.

“Who was that?” he asked curiously.

“That was Cinder, I met her a few days ago. I... don’t think she’s very good with sugar rich food.” Sweetiebelle explained, looking over her should at Cinder with a concerned expression and tone.

“I see. Will she be okay?”

“Yeah I think so. I think she just needs water and some time to relax.” Sweetiebelle continued, “She’s a little embarrassed so try not to bring it up if you speak to her.”

“Alright, I won’t bring it up... does she need anything though, like more water or some comfort?” he asked politely.

“I think she’ll be alright, Rarity’s with her now.” Sweetie replied.

Progressively over the next few hours and after dozens of bottle of water did Cinder begin to feel better. She was feeling well enough to begin partying again but she was going to take it easier than before. After that, she was spotted dancing with Button Mash on occasion.
Spike and Sweetiebelle also danced together too, whether it was a slow paced song or fast paced, they had fun for hours and eventually it came to the time where people had to picked up and leave the party. It had been a fun day and no one had any regrets, except for Cinder who regretted eating so much cake and candy. In fact, she was one of the first to leave as Rarity had contacted her parents early.

It may have only been 5 pm but since it was Sunday, there was school tomorrow and Rarity didn’t want to keep it going too late.

Sweetiebelle had loved every part of the day, the dancing, the presents, the guests and of course the cake. She was so happy that everyone was able to make it and that herself and Spike were able to dance with each other; to her, it was so romantic.

Eventually, everyone had left and Spike was to head home too, he kissed her good bye and left Carousel Boutique.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Spike!” Sweetiebelle called out and waved him goodbye. As he began to walk away, Sweetie went back inside and immediately saw Spike’s black jacket.

She walked over and picked it up, deciding that it would be a good idea to return it to him. She didn’t think that he would be too far away, probably not even across the road yet. She ran outside, calling. “Spike!”

What she saw next was horrifying.

Spike was halfway across the road and the last things that were heard before chaos broke out was the screeches of a panicking car and the screams of pain from a mangled purple dragon...

“SPIKE!!!”

Hearts of Class II: Lights of Love

by ImAPonyXY

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve