> How He Truly Feels > by N7_Spartan117 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh Spike. How could you ever understand what it like to be in love with somepony only to find out they are in love with somepony else?" asked Rarity through her tears as she cried over her shrine to famous traveling writer Trenderhoof. Hearing those words felt like acid to Spike's heart. "How.. how could I? Why would she say something like that? I...I thought she knew that I liked her." thought Spike. He was trying to hold back his tears and be mature about the situation, but the pain the words caused was to much for the young dragon. As he watched her cry a tiny flame of anger started to burn inside his heart, he tried to suppress it but the more he tried the bigger the flame grew. "Is that what you think?" asked Spike looking at the floor. "What?" asked Rarity as wiping the tears from her eyes. "I said is that what you think. That I don't know what it is like to love somepony and have them not love me back." answered Spike still looking at the floor, showing no emotions when he spoke, Rarity just stood there in silence. "Well you know what? I do know what it feels like, probably better then you." Spike then looked up at Rarity with an expression of both anger and pain on his face. "What?" asked Rarity looking at Spike whose whole body was starting to shake. "You heard me, I know what it feels like. I have been living with this feeling for years and every day that pain grows more and more." said Spike, sounding more angry. "Well why don't you just talk to this pony about how you feel, darling?" asked Rarity, saying this only made Spike more angry. He then started to walk over to the door of her boutique. "Why should I!? It's not like you ever noticed my feelings before!" yelled Spike before he slammed the door behind him. The boutique quickly fell silent after he stormed out. "What did he mean I never noticed his feelings?" asked Rarity out loud to herself or so she thought. Then the small glass dome that contained a lock of Trenderhoofs mane began to shake and the mane started to speak. "Well that took longer than I expected." said the mane, Rarity started looked at the mane strangely. She then came to the conclusion that she was just hearing things, and turned away from the mane and started to walk away from the shrine when the mane spoke again. "Seriously. I thought the little guy would have blown his top along time ago." "What in Equestria? Now I know I just heard this thing talk. Ugh Sweetie Belle if this one of your little pranks, it not funny." said Rarity. The lock of mane then began to change shape into the filly in question. "Yes sis." said the mini Sweetie Belle. Rarity was very confused and was trying to comprehend what was happening. She then realized who it was. "Discord." said Rarity through her teeth. Discord then began to laugh and change into his normal draconequus self. "Hahahahahahaha oh this is to good. It really took you this long to see past my disguise and here I was thinking you were smarter than this." said Discord still laughing. Rarity was starting to get irritated with the draconequus that had somehow gotten into her shop. "Why are you here?" asked Rarity in a irritated tone. "Well I was in the neighborhood and I thought I would stop by and say hello." answered Discord as he teleported out of the small glass dome and appeared in front of her. "I appreciate you coming by, but I am very busy. So if you would kindly see yourself out." said Rarity as she opened the door for him to leave. "Why, so you can continue to wallow in your own self pity?" "I was doing no such thing." argued Rarity as she tried to look at anything that wasn't the draconequus. "Really? What do you call this?" asked Discord as he snapped his fingers to summon a screen that showed Rarity sobbing over she shrine, with a timestamp marked five minutes ago. "You saw all that?" asked Rarity. "The whole thing. You crying and the dragon's little outburst. I have to say that was quite a show, watching him lose it like that. It was worth me losing fifty bits to Luna over how long till he snapped." said Discord as he and Rarity watched as Spike yield at her on the screen. "Why should I!? It's not like you ever noticed my feelings before!" yield Spike on the screen. "They don't make entertainment like that anymore." laughed Discord as the screen disappeared. "Let me guess. You're trying to figure out what he meant." "How..How did you know that?" "It's written all over your face." said Discord as he made a mirror appear with a reflection of Rarity with the words "What does he mean I never noticed his feelings?" written on her face. "So what if I am. What is it to you?" asked Rarity. "Well what if I told you I can show you what he meant." "How?" "Why time travel of course. I can send us back in time and show you what he means." answered Discord as he played with a tiny blue police box in his hands. Inside the small box could be heard two faint screams crying for him stop shaking the box. "Oi! Stop shaking my Tardis!" yelled a tiny brown earth pony from inside the police box. "Make it stop." yelled a gray mare with crossed eyes. Discord then made the box disappear and waited for Rarity answer. Rarity was deep in her thoughts, trying to decide whether she go with him or not. "Why would you do this?" asked Rarity. Much like her, most ponies were still cautions to trust him after the whole Tirek incident. "I just want to help a friend." answered Discord with a grin on his face. "What do you get out of this?" "Why do you think I would get something for doing this?" "What do you get out of this?" asked Rarity again. "I promised the princesses that would help them with their jobs, in penance for betraying them." confessed Discord with a tone of sadness in his voice. "While I will commend you for trying to rebuild their trust. I on the other hoof still do not trust you, so why should I trust you? How do I know this is not some type of sick game of yours?" "You have no reason to trust me, but I promise you that is no game. I Pinkie promise" said Discord as he did the motions for the promise. "NEVER BREAK A PINKIE PROMISE!!!!" yelled Pinkie Pie in the distance. "Ok, but how do you plan to take me back in time?" asked Rarity "With magic of course. I will send us back like I did with Twilight when I tried to take over Equestria the last time." "And how do you know where to go?" "Oh I have a list." answered Discord as a scroll appeared. He then unrolled the scroll causing the bottom of it to fall to the floor and roll out of the boutique. "Oh my. Wherever did you get this list?" asked Rarity as she looked at part of the list that was on the floor. "Luna gave it to me." answered Discord as he rolled the scroll back up. "So, are you ready to go?" Rarity looked at his extended lions paw, trying decide if she should go or not. She then started to remember the last words her Spikey-wikey said. "Why should I!? It's not like you ever noticed my feelings before!" "Ready." She then put her hoof in Discords paw. As soon as she did he cast his spell and started to send them back in time. > Friendship is Magic > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The light from Discord's magic was blinding to Rarity, she had to cover her eyes just to keep the light from blinding her. She could feel the whole area around them spinning faster and faster, as they traveled through time. They eventually stopped spinning and found themselves inside of city hall, which was being decorated for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. "I remember this. This was the day I first met Spike and Twilight." said Rarity as she looked at the decorations. She then spotted her past self, standing on the stage going through different colors of ribbon. She then ducked underneath one of the tables, in fear of being seen. "What are you doing?" asked Discord. "What am I doing? What are you doing? Get down before I see you." whispered Rarity as she pulled him under the table. "We don't need to hide Rarity. They can't see or hear us, watch." said Discord as he teleported in front of the past Rarity and changed into a futuristic black suit of armor. "No. I am your mother." said Discord in a deep raspy voice, but Rarity was unable to see or hear him. "See." "Ok, if you say so." said Rarity cautiously, as she stepped out from underneath the table. "So why did you bring me here?" "To show you how this all started. Speaking of which, it should be starting in three, two, one." counted Discord, as he did Spike and Twilight enter into the main hall. "Decorations. Beautiful......" said Spike dreamily. "Yes, the decor is coming along nicely. This should be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed." said Twilight. "Not the decorations, her!” exclaimed Spike as he pointed to Rarity. "How are my spines? Are they straight?" "Ooooooh he was so cute back then." said Rarity. " Is she really this oblivious?" thought Discord as he face palmed himself. "Good afternoon..." said Twilight. "Just a moment, 'I am in the zone', as it were. Oh yes, sparkles always does the trick." said past Rarity as she tied a ribbon to a column. "Sparkles? Please, everypony knows that sequins are the new thing." said Rarity, appalled that her past self would use something three seasons old. "Focus Rarity, remember why we are here." said Discord trying to get her back on track. "Oh my, darling! What ever happened to your coiffure?" asked past Rarity, surprised by Twilight's messy mane. "Oh, my mane? It a long story. I am just here to check on the decorations, which look...." "Beautiful." said Spike looking at Rarity with hearts in his eyes. "Yes, what he said. So we will be going now, so we can get out of your hair." said Twilight. "Out of my hair? What about yours? Come with me, I will have you looking gorgeous in no time." said past Rarity as she pushed Twilight out of city hall. "Spike, help Me." begged Twilight, but Spike could not hear her. He was too focused on Rarity to notice anything else. "Awww look how cute he was when he first met you. So smitten by you that he levitated off the ground." said Discord mocking Spike. "Oh hush now. I think it's quite adorable that he thought I was beautiful." defended Rarity. "Thought you were beautiful? Oh my dear Rarity, you have much to learn." said Discord. He then teleported them into Rarity's boutique, and watched as past Rarity made Twilight try on different dresses, while Spike held the discarded dresses in one claw and grabbed the dresses Rarity would ask him to get with the other. "Oh, Spike was it? Will you please hand me that yellow dress?" "Yes most beautiful one." said Spike as he handed the new dress to Rarity. "Thank you. Oooh aren't you just the cutest little thing I have ever seen." complimented past Rarity, as she patted Spike's head. "Oh good heavens no, that is way too much yellow." She then proceeded to pass Twilight another dress to try on. "And so began the four long years of you using him as your own personal servant." said Discord as he made a small butler's outfit appeared on Spike. "I do not use him as a servant. He always volunteers to assist me." protested Rarity. "Sure, you keep telling yourself that. You'll see how much pain you cause him." "Whatever do you mean? I have never have harmed him." protested Rarity. "You'll see what I mean soon enough." said Discord, sinisterly. They then turned their attention back to Spike, who was still in a love sick trance. "Emeralds?! Whatever was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!" said past Rarity as she walked over to her jewel chest. "Quick! Before she tries to dye my coat a different color!" said Twilight as she galloped towards the exit, but Spike just stood there and sighed as he watched Rarity search for some rubies. "Spike. Spike!" yelled Twilight trying to pull him out of his trance, but he did not respond. She then levitated him with her magic, and placed him on her back and galloped out of the shop. Discord then teleported himself and Rarity to the Golden Oak Library, during Twilight and Spike's welcome to Ponyville party. Twilight had already retreated to her and Spike's room, to avoid socializing with the other ponies, but Spike stayed and tried to talk with Rarity. Sadly she was too oblivious to notice him, unlike Fluttershy who wanted to know more about the dragon. "It's kind of sad, the one pony he really wanted to talk too wouldn't even acknowledge him." said Discord, a bit sympathetic towards Spike. "I was distracted with everything going on. I didn't mean to ignore him." said Rarity, trying to justify her actions. "Right, whatever helps you sleep better at night, speaking of sleep." Discord then teleported both of them into a large library. "Discord, where are we?" asked Rarity. "We are in Spike's brain, the Hippocampus to be precise. This is where all his memories are stored, he must have organized all of them so it would look like a library." said Discord as he looked around the 'library'. "Why did you bring me here?" "To show you something, follow me." Discord then lead Rarity down a long aisle of filing cabinets, until they reached a large cabinet marked Rarity. He then teleported on top of it and began to search through the papers inside. Discord eventually found what he was looking for and jumped down to show Rarity what he was searching for. "This is his first dream he had ever had in Ponyville. This was what he dreamed about while you and your friends where off trying to find the Elements of Harmony." said Discord as he showed Rarity the image on the paper. "It was about me. But who are they?" asked Rarity as she pointed to the image of a large purple dragon who had his tail wrapped around her, while fighting a tall black alicorn mare. "That is Spike. He was dreaming of protecting you from Nightmare Moon." answered Discord. "Awww that so sweet." said Rarity, oblivious to the true meaning of the dream. This caused Discord to facepalm himself again. "You still don't get it, do you?" asked Discord, he then sighed and started to cast the spell, to take them to their next destination. "This going to be a very long day." > A Dog and Pony Show > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As they traveled through time, Rarity continued to study the image from Spike's dream and started to question the true meaning behind it. Discord's magic was starting to wear out and stop at their next destination, the Golden Oak Library. The library was completely empty, aside from Twilight who was reading at her desk, with a large stack of books beside her, and Spike who was dusting the book shelves. "Discord why are we here?" asked Rarity. "To show you how eager the poor little dragon is just too spend time with you." answered Discord. He then turned his head to the entrance of the library. A few seconds later, past Rarity burst through the door and galloped over to Twilight. "Twilight you must help. Sapphire Shores has asked me to design her entire wardrobe for her upcoming tour, and I am completely out of jewels to use for her outfits. Will you please help me find some?" begged Rarity with a sad expression on her face. "I would love to help you Rarity, but Princess Celestia just sent me a ton of books to read, and I really need to finish reading them. Maybe Spike would....." said Twilight. "I'll help you!" interrupted Spike. "Splendid. Go ahead and get your wagon Spike. Twilight, we will be at the gem field if you need us." said Rarity "Mhmm" said Twilight already back to reading her books, and paying little attention to what Rarity had said. "Come along Spike." said Rarity as she walked out of the library. "After you milady." said Spike following behind her. "He looks so happy to help you." said Discord. "Whatever do you mean? He is always happy to assist others." said Rarity "That maybe true, but he likes to assist you and Twilight the most. Probably you more than Twilight." said Discord. "Why in Equestria, would he like to assist me more than Twilight?" "Because, he likes being with you." answered Discord. He then teleported both of them to the gem field so they could watch Spike and past Rarity hunt for gems. "Oh, I will need to find more jewels than ever before to decorate her costumes." said Rarity as she scanned the ground with her horn. "Aha!" "Did you find some?!" asked Spike excitingly. "Yes, right here." answered Rarity as she marked the spot where the gems were. Spike then began to dig into the dirt, with his claws, as fast as he could. "Really? You couldn't give him a shovel to dig them up with?" asked Discord, looking at Rarity sternly. "Well.. I... uhmm.." said Rarity, trying to come up with an excuse. "That what I thought." said Discord, he then turned his attention back to Spike who was drooling over the pile of gems in his waggon. "You have been very patient today, Spike. For that you get the finest gem. This is from me to you." said Rarity as she handed Spike a gem. He then looked at the gem that was given to him and then at Rarity. "Is something wrong, Spike?" "No. it perfect." said Spike, holding the gem close to his heart. Rarity's horn then began to glow and pull her in the direction of more gems. "Ooo, bring the cart, Spike. There are more over here." "For me. From Rarity." said Spike, as he held the gem tighter in his claws. "He was never going to eat it you know." said Discord "Why would he not eat it? Did I give him one he didn't like?" asked Rarity. "No. It's because you gave it to him. If anyone else gave it to him he would have eaten it in a heartbeat, but because you gave it to him, he chose to cherish it." "Awwww, Spikey-wikey." said Rarity happily. They then watched as the Diamond Dogs appeared to kidnap Rarity, and as Spike tried his best to protect her from them. "Sorry, scaly one." said one of the dogs as he stuck Spike on a nearby tree and grabbed Rarity. "Wait! Rarity?" said Spike as he freed himself and watched as the dogs took Rarity down one of there holes. "Unhand me this instant, you ruffians. Stop! Put me down, you thugs! You brutes!" yelled Rarity as she tried to free herself. "Hold on Rarity!" yelled Spike as he ran to the pit. "Spike! Ah, dirt! Aaaaah, Spiiiike! SAVE ME!" yelled Rarity as she was pulled down the pit. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Spike. "He tried his very best to protect me." said Rarity as she watched Spike pace back and forth, trying to think of a way to save her. He then came up with an idea and started to run back towards Ponyville. "Yes he did. He was also determined to rescue you, listen." said Discord as he made an old ham radio appear and tuned it so they could hear what Spike was mumbling. "Must save Rarity. Must save Rarity. Must save Rarity." said Spike repeatedly. "While you were in those cave, whining worse then Prince Bluebood to those dogs, Spike had..." said Discord before Rarity interrupted him. "First off. I was not whining, I was complaining. Second, I am nothing like that royal pain." said Rarity sternly. "True. At least I haven't had to get rid of you, like I did with him." said Discord "What do you mean get rid of him? You didn't..." asked Rarity cautiously. "Oh no. He is being carefully watched by top creatures." "Who?" "Top. Creatures." repeated Discord. Meanwhile in the depths of Tartarus, Prince Bluebood was sitting in his cell, complaining to his cell mate. "How could you take my magic from me? Me, a stallion of royalty." said Blueblood. "Oh will you be QUIET!" yelled Tirek. "Your magic was not as special as you think it was. I gained more magic from a newborn foal, then I did from you." "My magic was special, and just to make things worse those selfish mare didn't even bother to give me my magic back. Now I am no better than an earth pony peasant." complained Bluebood. "You want to be compared to an earth pony? Ok, come here!" Tirek then grabbed Blueblood and snapped his horn off his head and tossed it out of the cell. "Here Cerberus have a treat." said Tirek. Bluebood was now laying on floor in the fetal position, with his hoof in his mouth. "As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted. Spike had gathered your friend together and brought them back to the gem field to help rescue you. He even sacrificed the gem you gave him, so he could save you." said Discord as he transported both of them further in time to when Spike was fishing for the Diamond Dogs. "Watch." "Spike, it is very noble of you to sacrifice the gem Rarity gave you." whispered Twilight. "Oh, Lady Rarity. My damsel in distress." said Spike as he started to daydream. A few seconds later, Applejack walked over to where Spike was to see what was down the hole, and was almost kissed by him. "Whoa there, lover boy." said Applejack, stopping him before he could kiss her. Seeing this made Rarity very mad and a vain started appear on her forehead. "Is that a hint of jealousy I see?" asked Discord with a grin on his face. "Ladies do not get jealous." protested Rarity as she started to blush. "Says the mare who's blushing and has a vain sticking out of her forehead." said Discord as he turned into what Rarity looked like. "Stop that this instant!" ordered Rarity as she turned redder. Seeing this only made Discord laugh. "Why? You look hilarious when you're jealous. Besides, it's not like it the first time you've been jealous of another mare paying attention to Spike." said Discord as he changed back to his normal self. "Whatever do you mean?" asked Rarity. "You know what I am talking about." said Discord. "Would you like to see what he was think of when he was about to kiss Applejack?" "Yes, please." said Rarity. Discord then changed the channel on the screen to show what Spike was thinking. It showed Spike as a tall dragon knight holding a lance and standing in one of the Diamond Dogs caves. "I shall save you, Lady Rarity. Show yourselves you dogs." said Spike. As he called them out, the Diamond Dogs that had taken Rarity appeared out of the shadows. "There you are you mutts." "Hey, who are you calling mutts?" asked one of the dogs. "Unleash the hounds!" ordered another one, as he blew a whistle to call more dogs. A large pack of dogs appeared started to charge at Spike, but he quickly defeated the them and ran over to the dogs that had taken Rarity. "Now, where is Lady Rarity?" asked Spike as he held his lance at the dogs, they then pointed to a nearby door. Spike then kicked down the door to find Rarity standing in a cell. "Spike! I knew you would save me." said Rarity. "Nothing could stop me, milady." "Ohohohoh, Spike. You are my... hero." said Rarity as she move closer to kiss him. "Awww that so..." "Weird." said Discord, interrupting Rarity. Saying that earned him a smack in the back of the head. "I was going to say sweet." said Rarity sternly. "Fine, but still look at all he did just to save you. Gathering your friends together, sacrificing his gem, and venture into those dark caves just to save you. He was so relieved to see that you were safe, but even after all he and the others went through, you didn't even thank them." "I had everything under control. They did not have to risk their lives just to save me." said Rarity "Yes, but still you could have at least thanked Spike for his efforts to save you." said Discord. "I suppose I should have, but he knows I was grateful. It's not like I hurt him by not thanking him." "It funny you should mention hurting him," said Discord with a sinister look on his face as he cast his time spell. > Green Isn't Your Color > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Hurt him? I have never harmed a scale on his precious little head!” protested Rarity in anger. She felt insulted that somepony would think that she would harm her Spikey-wikey. Discord gave her a sideways glance. “Sure you haven’t,” said Discord sarcastically. His time spell was starting to wear out and they appeared at their next destination, Carousel Boutique. They found past Rarity trying to help Fluttershy get ready for her photo-shoot with Photo Finish, while Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Spike were helping Rarity finish her dress for Fluttershy. “So you think you’ve never hurt him?” Discord asked. “I know I haven’t, and how dare you think otherwise!” said Rarity. “Show me one time I have hurt him.” “Why do you think we’re here? There’s proof number one,” said Discord as he pointed to Spike, who was being used as a living pincushion. Spike had several pins sticking out of his back and had a look of discomfort on his face, but a dopey, contented grin showed itself every now and then as he walked on all fours to Rarity. “Really, you couldn't use a regular pincushion? You had to use him as one?” “I did not ask him to do that. He did so willingly,” answered Rarity. “Still you could have told him not to and get you a regular one.” “I was busy getting Fluttershy ready. Besides, he’s a dragon: he has thick scales,” said Rarity. “He’s a baby dragon Rarity, his scales are not as thick as you all think. He can still get hurt, just listen,” said Discord as he cast a spell that would allow them to hear what Spike was thinking. “This really hurts, but it’s worth it. Anything for Rarity,” thought Spike as Rarity took some of the pins off of his back and placed more of them back on him. Discord gave Rarity a stern look. “I…I didn't know it was hurting him. I would have told him to stop if he had just said I was hurting him,” said Rarity. “He should not have to tell you in the first place. How would you like it if somepony stuck pins in your back?” asked Discord as he made several large pins appear and began to stick them on Rarity back. “OW!” yelled Rarity in pain as he started to stick them harder on her back. “OK, I see what you mean, but I promise you if he would have told me it was hurting him I would have stopped.” “I am sure you would have. Quick question, do you know what happens to a baby dragon when its scales are punctured?” asked Discord. Rarity shook her head no in response. Discord transported them to Spike and Twilight’s bedroom the day after Fluttershy’s photo-shoot. Twilight had just started to wake up as the light from Celestia’s sun peeked through the window. Twilight climbed out of her bed and started to walk over to Spike’s. “Spike, it’s time to get up,” whispered Twilight as she got closer to his bed, but Spike did not respond, he just rolled over on his side. “Spike, you need to get up. We have a big day today.” “Just five more minutes Twilight,” said Spike. A small frown appeared on Twilight’s face, and she decided to pull his covers off of him. “No, Spike, you need to—” Twilight stopped when she saw the scales on his back. Some of them had fallen off of his back, and those that remained were either about to fall off or had holes and tears in them. Rarity and Twilight both screamed at the sight before them. Spike jumped out of his bed in alarm. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” asked Spike. Twilight just stood there shaking in fear. She raised his blanket with her magic and showed him the scales that littered it and pointed to him. “Your… Your scales,” said Twilight nervously. Spike took the blanket and looked at the scales stuck to it. “It’s just a couple of scales, Twilight. No big deal,” said Spike as he knocked the scales of the blanket. “Your back,” said Twilight as she pulled a mirror out to show him his back. Spike took a look in the mirror, getting the first clear look at his back. “AHHHH! Twilight what’s happening to me?!” “I don’t know. Just hold on a second and let me write a letter to the Princess. Maybe she knows what’s wrong with you,” said Twilight as levitated her quill and parchment over to herself and began to write down a letter. “Spike, do you think you can send this?” “I…I think so,” said Spike nervously as he took the letter with his claw. He breathed his dragon’s breath and sent the letter. A few minutes of anxious waiting and hoof biting later he burped up Celestia’s reply. Twilight began to read the letter out loud. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I am happy to say that you do not have to worry about Spike. His scales will grow back in time. Just help him remove the remaining scales that can be pulled off and have him bathe in cold water for a couple hours and he should be fine. I am quite curious to know how his scales became damaged in the first place. I would advise you to keep him away from whatever harmed them in the first place. Further damage could be very hazardous to his health. Your caring teacher, Princess Celestia. “Well, that’s a relief,” said Spike as he started to pull the scales off his back. “Yes it is, but Spike think back to yesterday. Do you remember doing anything that might have caused this?” asked Twilight as she started to help him. “No, not really. We spent all day helping Rarity,” said Spike. “That’s it,” Twilight said as comprehension dawned on her face. “When we were helping Rarity you used your back as a pincushion for her. She must have poked you too hard when she put the pins in you,” said Twilight. She then took a deep breath and prepared herself for what was about to happen next. “Spike, I know you are not going to like this, but you are no longer allowed to help Rarity.” “WHAT?!” yelled Spike, causing Twilight to accidentally yank one of his good scales off. “But Twilight!” “No but’s Spike. If this is what happens when you assist her, then no more helping her,” “What if I promise not to let her use me as a pincushion?” “No Spike. You will just find a way to harm yourself again,” said Twilight. “No I won’t. You just don’t want me to be around her!” protested Spike. “That’s not true, I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” “Funny she should say that,” said Discord. “Why do you say that?” asked Rarity. “Because, of all the abuse that Twilight put him through,” “What abuse did Twilight put him through?” asked Rarity. Discord snapped his talons, and a screen appeared that showed the times Twilight had abused Spike, like slamming him against a podium, knocking him off a two story ladder, opening a door on him, and other various clips of abuse. Discord couldn't help but laugh. “It’s amazing that neither of you have killed him yet,” said Discord as his boisterous laughter died. “I did not know he went through all this,” said Rarity as she turned back to watch Spike and Twilight, who were still arguing. “How about this, I just help her make dresses and that’s it. Please Twilight, I just want to spend time with her,” begged Spike. At the mercy of Spike’s best puppy dog eyes, Twilight finally caved. “Ok, as long as she does not harm you, you can still assist her,” said Twilight. Spike ran up to her and gave her the biggest hug he could. “Oh thank you Twilight. I promise not to let her hurt me like this anymore. I Pinkie promise!” said Spike as he went through the motions. “Never break a Pinkie promise!” said Pinkie as she appeared out of Twilight’s ink bottles. “You’re welcome, Spike. Now let’s finish cleaning you up,” said Twilight. Discord then started his time spell again, but before he took them to their next destination, Rarity took one last look at Spike’s back and at all the scales she had damaged. “I did that to him?” asked Rarity to herself. “Yes you did,” answered Discord. “How did you know?” “Mind reading spell,” answered Discord. “I never meant to hurt him,” said Rarity as she looked at the floor. “I know you didn’t, but do you see the consequences for your thoughtlessness towards him?” asked Discord, hoping that this was it, that Rarity might open her eyes and see what he was trying to show her. “Yes I have,” answered Rarity. Discord jumped in the air for joy, but his joy was short-lived. “I see that I should not abuse Spike like I have and should find something less harmful for him to do for me,” hearing this made Discord’s head exploded into confetti. “WHAT!” yelled Discord as his head reappeared. “That’s all you got from this, to find something less harmful for him to do? Do you not see that he doesn’t care what he has to go through as long as he gets to spend time with you?!” Discord was starting to turn a violent red, from his face to his tail. “This is pointless. Why in Equestria am I still doing this?” asked Discord to himself. “Oh yea, that’s why,” remembering why he had to help Rarity, Discord started to calm down before speaking again. “Ok, let’s try showing you another way you hurt him,” “What could be more painful to him than that?” asked Rarity pointing to Spike’s broken scales. “There’s more than just one kind of pain Rarity,” said Discord as his spell started to take them to their next destination. > Best Night Ever > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Discord’s magic started to wear out, Rarity was trying to understand what he had said.“What does he mean I have hurt Spike? Sure I may have harmed him physically, but that has just been it; right?” thought Rarity. The spell started to stop when she noticed where Discord had taken her, the Royal Canterlot Castle on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, but instead of the main hall, Discord had taken her to one of the royal gardens that were closed off. “Discord, while this garden is dazzling, what exactly are we doing here? There’s nopony around,” asked Rarity as she looked around at the gorgeous garden’s landscape. The garden may not have been decorated for the gala, but it was still beautiful, with various flowers planted in different patterns like the sun and moon, with a large fountain in the middle. “I said I was going to show you another way you have hurt him,” answered Discord as he lead her towards the fountain. As they drew closer to it, Rarity could hear a faint sob and saw a small plume of green smoke coming from the other side of the fountain. Rarity was shocked to discover who was crying, it was Spike.“Here is the second piece of evidence,” said Discord as he made a sign appear with a giant number two and arrow pointing to Spike. “Why is he here? Shouldn’t he be inside with everpony else?” asked Rarity as she watched as Spike cried. “Why should he? It’s not like he had anypony to be with in there,” answered Discord as he watched Spike pick up a flower and burn it. It seemed as if he had been doing this for quite some time due to the small pile of burnt ashes sitting beside him. “Whatever the matter with him? Why is he crying and burning those flowers?” asked Rarity concerned for Spike. Discord gave her a look of disbelief. “Really, you seriously don’t know why he is crying?” asked Discord, he could not believe that she could be this blind. “He's upset that you and your friends just abandoned him at the entrance of the castle and never once bothered, in the entirety of the gala, to check on him. You girls just left him behind like you always do.” “Why did he not just go with Twilight or one of the others?” “Oh he tried, but you all pushed him to the side so he decided to come here,” answered Discord with a bit of sympathy in his voice. “You know out of everypony, you were the only one he wanted to be with that night.” “Why me? He said all he wanted to do with me was just show me the royal jewels.” “That was just a lie so the others wouldn't make fun of him. What he really wanted to do is dance with you, but instead you left him behind to go find your ‘Prince’,” said Discord as cast his mind reading spell again, to hear what Spike was thinking. “I don’t know why this should surprise me,” thought Spike as he picked up another flower. “They always leave me behind, I wouldn't even be surprised if I didn't get to go to Twilight's birthday or meet some of Pinkie's family”, Rarity started to feel a small pain in her heart after hearing this. A few seconds later a white unicorn mare with a red mane and tail with a purple stripe going through both and a crescent moon and three stars as her cutie mark walked into the garden. “Spike? Is that you?” asked the mare. Spike quickly wiped his tears and turned to see who it was. “Moondancer? Is that really you?” asked Spike trying to get a good look at the mare. “It is you!” Both Moondancer and Spike quickly ran and hugged one another. “It’s so good to see you again, Spike. I have missed seeing you around here.” “I have missed you too Moondancer. How have you been?” asked Spike. “Good until tonight, how about you?” “Same here, so bad night as well?” asked Spike as they sat on the edge of the fountain. “Bad does not even begin to describe it. I just finished breaking up with the pride of the royal family, but it seems he has already found some other mare to fall for his title as prince,” answered Moondancer. This made Discord snicker at Rarity for her being the other mare. “How about you, what happened to make you so upset?” asked Moondancer. “How did you know I was upset?” asked Spike, surprised that she was able to figure it out so quickly. “Spike, anypony could tell you're upset, you have a small pile of burnt flowers beside you, and you look like you have been crying.” “No I wasn’t! Dragons don’t cry!” protested Spike as he began to blush due to embarrassment. “It’s ok Spike, I won't tell anypony you were crying,” said Moondancer as she patted him on the head. “Ok I admit it,” said Spike. “I was crying because Twilight and her friends kind of left me behind.” “That’s awful; I thought you would be with Twilight.” “Yea, well that did not work out, so I decided to come here.” “Awww you poor thing, come here,” said Moondancer as she pulled him in for another hug. Seeing this started to make Rarity angry. “Looks like somepony is getting jealous again,” sung Discord with a grin on his face. “I am not jealous. I…I just think she has hugged him for too long,” said Rarity nervously as she started to blush. She quickly turned her head away from Discord to hide her face and watched as Spike and Moondancer sat on the side of the fountain. Moondancer had just started to notice some of Spike’s damaged scales sticking out of his collar. “Spike, what happened to your back?” asked Moondancer. “Oh, I was helping Twilight and a stack of books fell on me and wrecked some of my scales,” said Spike, hiding the real reason behind his damaged scales. “Oh, does it hurt?” “It did when I pulled them out, but not anymore,” answered Spike. “Well that’s good to hear. I hate to see my little dragon get hurt,” said Moondancer as she scooted closer to him. “Hey, I'm the only dragon you know!” said Spike, they both chuckled at this “That’s close enough,” thought Rarity. “Yea, so I'm sorry I didn't make it to your birthday party. I was going to go, but Twilight and I was sent to Ponyville, and then that whole thing with Nightmare Moon happened,” said Spike as he started to ramble on. “It’s ok Spike, I knew you if you didn’t’ come you had a good reason.” “I got you a gift, but Twilight kind of destroyed it by accident,” said Spike. “It’s ok Spike it’s the thought that counts. So what did you get me?” asked Moondancer. “I think it was a stuff teddy bear,” answered Spike. “AWWW thank you Spike,” said Moondancer as she started to nuzzle Spike causing him to blush. Rarity starting to become more and more angry and began turn twenty shades of red because of this. “Stop that right now!” thought Rarity “Wait!? Why am I getting upset?” “So Spike, are you seeing anypony right now?” asked Moondancer. The question took Spike by surprise. “Uh, no why?” asked Spike cautiously. “Well how would you like to come up here and visit me sometime? Maybe we could go out and have dinner together,” said Moondancer as she started to blush. Hearing this made the muscles in Rarity’s jaw stop working altogether and Discord caused to do a reverse spit take with both lemonade and grape juice. “WHAT!?” yelled Spike and Rarity in unison. “You heard me. Would you like to go on a date with me?” asked Moondancer. Spike sat there for what felt like hours, to him the whole world had stop spinning. He could not believe it, his old friend Moondancer was asking him out. He soon came to a decision and took a deep breath, and prepared for what was going to happen next. “Oh wow, I would love to Moondancer, but you see. There is a mare I have been talking to back in Ponyville and I really like her, and it would not be fair to you if I dated you while I like somepony else.” said Spike letting her down as gently as he could. “Oh I see,” said Moondancer sadly, depressed that she was rejected. “I am really sorry,” said Spike, but quickly after he had apologized, Moondancer began to cry. “Please don’t cry Moondancer. You'll find somepony who likes you.” “No it’s…its ok Spike I understand. I shouldn’t have asked,” said Moondancer as she wiped her tears. “No, it ok you asked me. At least you have the guts to ask somepony out, I still can’t.” “Oh Spike, sure you can,” reassured Moondancer. “No I can't, I just get so nervous that I mess up and run away,” said Spike as he started look at the ground remembering the times he tried to tell Rarity how he felt, but failed. “You just need some confidence, Spike. I am sure whoever she is would say yes to you.” “You think so?” asked Spike with a bit of hope in his voice; Moondancer nodded her head in response. “Well I hope whoever she is will treat you right,” said Moondancer as she started to stand back up. Rarity felt a slight pang of guilt just then. “It’s been a long night. I think I will head home, it was nice seeing you again Spike.” “You too, and I am sorry it did not work out,” said Spike as he gave her a goodbye hug. “It’s ok Spike,” said Moondancer, but before leaving she quickly gave Spike kiss on the cheek making him turn a deep shade of red. “I'll see you around,” “I sure hope she didn't see that,” thought Spike as he rubbed his cheek, think of Rarity. Discord then started his time spell again, but as he did he noticed Rarity watching Moondancer exit the garden. “Let me guess. You're jealous of her,” said Discord grinning. “I am not jealous. I am just curious,” answered Rarity. “Curious about what?” asked Discord cautiously. “About who’s the mare is that Spike likes,” answered Rarity. Discord could not believe what he was hearing. “Seriously?” said Discord with a straight face. “Why yes, can I not wonder who is the lucky mare that has stolen his heart?” asked Rarity. Discord began to bash his head against Canterlot Palace do to her stupidity. “HOW CAN YOU BE THIS DENSE!?” screamed Discord between blows. “Whatever do you mean ‘dense’? I just asked who Spike was in love with,” said Rarity, confused by Discord’s antics. “It seems that he must really like her, why else would anypony turn down such a gorgeous mare like Moondancer". A shining light bulb then appeared above Discord's head, giving him an idea. “Would like to see who the mare is?” asked Discord. Rarity nodded her head response, Discords spell started to engulf them and take them to their next destination. > Secret of My Excess > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Oh can I guess who she is before we get there? Please, please, please, please,” begged Rarity as they traveled through time, passing a strange carriage with a young stallion driving and an older stallion beside him yelling something about eighty-eight miles per hour. Rarity was starting to get more and more excited to see the mare who won her little Spikey-wikey's heart. “Sure, knock yourself out,” said Discord as he rolled his eyes. He was starting to really rethink the idea of helping her. “Ok is it…..Applejack?” asked Rarity with the image of Spike trying to kiss her still in her head. The image strangely caused Rarity to feel a small pain in her heart that she could not identify. “No,” answered Discord blatantly, causing the pain in Rarity’s heart to go away for a bit. “Fluttershy?” asked Rarity, as the pain returned stronger. “No.” “Pinkie Pie?” the pain returned once more. "No." "Uh, Twilight?" Discord quickly put a paw to his mouth to keep himself from puking at the thought of Spike dating his sister. "NO!" "Rainbow Dash?" The pain returned yet again. “No,” said Discord in an irritated tone. “How blind is she? She will probably go through every mare in Equestria until she finds out it's her,” thought Discord, but sadly he was right; Rarity had gone through every mare she could think of by the time they reached their destination, Golden Oaks Library. “Discord why are we here again?” asked Rarity as she looked around the library. The only ones there were Twilight, who was re-shelving the library again, and Spike, who was polishing his Fire Ruby. Discord face palmed and shook his head in despair. “Just watch the door,” said Discord as he pointed to the door, and just as she turned her head; Rarity saw the pony in question and was shocked to see who it was. “ME!?” yelled Rarity seeing her past self. “I… Uh… Bwuah?” She started to faint due to shock, but Discord quickly grabbed her. “Oh no you don’t, you are not fainting on me,” said Discord as he stood her back up. “But it’s me! I would have never guessed it,” said Rarity, causing Discord to face palm once more, but this one was so hard that somewhere a star went supernova. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU NEVER GUESSED IT WAS YOU!?” screeched Discord at the utter stupidity he was hearing. He started to turn red from his tail to the tips of his horns and he had to resist the urge to rip his goatee off and burn it, “Who have I been wasting my time with showing these things to?” “I thought you were…” said Rarity before Discord interrupted her. “No! Do not speak! You will probably say something that will give me a migraine,” said Discord. “I have been wasting enough of my time doing this anyway. I’m really starting to think it’s not worth it anymore.” “Whatever do you mean? What is not worth it?” asked Rarity cautiously. “Never mind what I mean. That is classified, top secret, no nosey ponies allowed,” said Discord as he changed into an overcoat and slipped a large brown envelope inside the coat. “Besides we are here for you, not me. Do you remember what happened here?” “Yes, this is the day Spike generously gave me my precious Fire Ruby,” answered Rarity as she placed her hoof on her neck where the ruby would sit. “Given to you, or was it taken by you?” asked Discord with an accusing tone and a stern expression. “I did not steal it from him! Watch! He gave it to me willingly,” pointed Rarity to her past self and Spike. “You really like it huh?” said Spike as he looked at the ruby and then at Rarity. “Like it? It's magnificent,” answered past Rarity as she batted her eyes at him. Spike was conflicted about giving it to her. His stomach wanted to eat the gem while his heart wanted to please Rarity, but in the end his heart won the battle. “Then you should have it. This beautiful gem was meant to be with you,” said Spike as he placed the ruby in her hoof. Rarity was taken back by his act of kindness. “I don't know what to say... This is so thoughtful. Oh, my little Spikey Wikey!” said past Rarity as she kissed him on the cheek, causing him to pass out. “See, he gave it to me willingly,” said Rarity, proud to be proven right. “Oh really, is that what you think?” asked Discord sarcastically, Rarity nodded her head in response. He then conjured up a remote control and pressed the rewind button. “Let try this again,” said Discord as he cast his mind reading spell on both Spike and Rarity. “I really want to eat this, but look at her. She just too beautiful to resist,” thought Spike with hearts in his eyes. “I. Want. It.” thought past Rarity with the ruby being the only thing she could think about. “Typical, you were greedier then he was when he went on that little rampage,” said Discord. “He gave it to me willingly! Everypony knows he did,” protested Rarity in anger. “Really?” asked Discord as he snapped his talons and took them to the day of Spike’s birthday party. He then focused his mind reading spell on everyone in the room as past Rarity showed off her new Fire Ruby and cape. “Cheap move Rarity, stealing his birthday gift,” thought Rainbow Dash. “That no good varmint, she scammed him right outta it,” thought Applejack. “Poor Spike, giving his gem away to her. Oh I hope I can find him a new one,” thought Fluttershy. “Rarity that was a meanie pants thing to... Hang on, itchy tongue, dry throat, and rumbly tummy? Discord, stop listening to my thoughts! Oh but before you go, please, please make it rain chocolate milk,” thought Pinkie Pie, somehow able to know that Discord was listening to her thoughts. “Did I really take it from him?” asked Rarity quietly in disbelief. “I don’t know, but it doesn't matter. Spike made you happy and that’s all he could ever ask for,” said Discord. “You know when he was turned into a full grown dragon, a tiny part of him was still thinking of you.” “Really?” “Yes, why else do you think he foalnapped you when he was on his rampage?” asked Discord as he transported them back into Spike’s brain and to the cabinet marked ‘Rarity’. Discord opened the cabinet and quickly found what he was looking for and showed Rarity what he had found. It was an image of Spike as a full grown dragon lying in a cave with all the stuff he had collected off to the side, but Rarity was the only thing he held close to himself. “Was this what he was going to do if he had reached the top of that mountain, horded me instead of this stuff?” asked Rarity as she studied the image. “Yes, and he would have protected you from anypony that dared to come near you,” said Discord as he teleported them inside the image. They now saw Spike sleeping while holding Rarity gently in his claws, and piles of charred pony skeletons at the entrance of the cave, but there was one particular pile that caught Rarity’s attention. A pile of skeletons made up of two alicorns, a unicorn, two pegasi, and two earth ponies. “But why me? Out of all the mares in Equestria, why am I the one he likes?” “What are you disgusted by the idea of him being in love with you?” asked Discord sternly in an accusing manner. “No never!” said Rarity, flabbergasted at the accusation. “I am flattered, truly I am, but I am also quite curious to know when he started to like me,” said Rarity. Hearing this was the last straw for Discord as a tiny expanding mushroom cloud appeared over his head. After all his efforts it seemed that Rarity had learned nothing, absolutely nothing. “Ok, that it I am done,” said Discord in an irritated tone as he brought Rarity back to her file. “I have been trying to get you to see that he loves you and when I finally do, you start to question when it all started!?” yelled Discord as he started to become infuriated once more. “If you can't see how he feels with my help, then maybe you be better off figuring it out on your own.” “What do you mean? You're just going to leave me here?!” asked Rarity in a mixture of anger, shock, and fear. “Yes, I can, I will, and I’m just about to. So here’s the list of places to go and here is the mind reading and time spell,” said Discord as he handed the scrolls to Rarity. “I will be back in a couple of hours. Please do try to figure this out while I am gone,” said Discord before he disappeared, leaving Rarity alone and confused. “Ha-ha. Discord very clever, now come on out,” said Rarity thinking it was just another one of Discord’s pranks, but Discord did not respond. “Discord, come out this instant!” ordered Rarity, but still no answer. “Oh dear...” said Rarity as the reality of the situation finally sank in. “How can one pony be that blind, it’s impossible!” thought Discord as he traveled to his next destination. “Of all the ponies to choose from, I just had to pick her,” moaned Discord, “If I had known it would be this hard I would have picked somepony else. Well at least this next pony should be easier to deal with,” Discord finally reached his destination and saw the pony he was talking about, a bald middle aged earth pony stallion with a red coat and black and gray tail with a black hole in his chest, standing in a white void. Discord quickly changed into a unicorn form, wearing a solid white robe, and approached the confused stallion extending his hoof to shake his. “Welcome, Jean-luc. You're dead,” said Discord with a straight face. “D!?” said Jean-luc, surprised to see him. > Hearts and Hooves Day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Oh Dear. Oh Dear. Oh Dear. Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the! Worst! Possible! Thing!” panicked Rarity as she galloped back and forth. After a few deep breaths and a hoof to the face, she eventually calmed down and started to collect herself, “Calm yourself Rarity. Remember, ladies do not freak out.” As she finally calmed herself down, she started to look over the scrolls Discord had left her. “Discord!” snarled Rarity, “How dare he leave me here! What gives him the right to leave me here anyway? All I did was ask when Spike started to fall in love with me.” Spike; remembering his name somehow managed to calm Rarity. “Well,” she said, “he did leave me with a job to do, and I suppose I might as well get started.” She turned her attention back to the scrolls, picked the scroll labeled ‘wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff’ and began to read over the various locations she had to go to. “Now let’s see. We have been there and there, that one as well,” said Rarity as she skimmed the list. She soon found one place they had not visited yet, marked ‘Hearts and Hooves Day Incident’. “Oh I remember this,” she said, “This was the time Sweetie Belle and her friends gave Spike and me that love potion. Well this looks like a good a place to start.” She rolled the scroll up and read the scroll with the time and mind reading spells. After she studied the spells, she learned they were very simple to cast. Soon she was quickly sent back in time to the CMC's clubhouse after the crusaders had finished all of Big Mac’s chores. “Boy, do my hooves hurt,” said Scootaloo as she collapsed on the clubhouse floor. “You're tellin' me! Worst Hearts and Hooves Day ever!” said Apple Bloom as she entered with Sweetie Belle following behind her. “Hey, it’s not over yet. We still could try to get our cutie marks in matchmaking,” said Sweetie Belle optimistically. She was quickly given two bitter stares. “Sweetie Belle, have you not learned anything from this? We are not going to get our cutie marks in matchmaking,” said Scootaloo. “Maybe we didn't this time because we did it wrong,” said Sweetie Belle. “What do you mean?” asked Apple Bloom. “I mean, what if there were two ponies, and one is already in love with the other, but is too shy to admit it? Why don't we try it on them?” "That….. just might work,” said Scootaloo as she thought about the idea. It was true, they did try to ship two ponies that had no feeling for each other and failed, so maybe if they tried it this way it would work. “Ok ah'm in. So who do we try it on?” asked Apple Bloom. The three crusaders started to throw out names but no ponies seemed to work, until Apple Bloom thought of the perfect couple. “I’ve got it! How about we try Spike and Rarity?” “WHAT!?” yelled Sweetie Belle in shock. “Why do we have to pair my sister with Spike?” “What do you have against Spike?” asked Scootaloo defensively, raising her small wings in an intimidating fashion. “Nothing, it's just that... I want to know why it has to be my sister.” “Well, since we tried to pair mah brother with Miss Cheerilee, it's only fair we try it with your sister,” said Apple Bloom. “I guess...” “Then it’s settled. And look on the bright side, Spike is already in love with Rarity anyway,” said Scootaloo, with a bit of irritation in her voice as she started to get the love potion book from the bookshelf. “SPIKE'S IN LOVE WITH MY SISTER!?" yelled Sweetie in shock, causing Scootaloo to almost drop the bookshelf on top of herself. “Wait, Sweetie Belle knew that Spike liked me, but I didn’t?” asked Rarity to herself. “Seriously?” asked Apple Bloom sarcastically, Sweetie Belle nodded her head in response. “How did you not know that? Everypony in town except Rarity knows,” said Scootaloo. “Well, I didn’t. Hey, look at this!” said Sweetie Belle as she found a new potion to try. “This one only lasts for five hours! And the two can look at each other as long as they want, and it will still wear out.” “That’s perfect! Let see what we need to make it,” said Apple Bloom. Rarity cast the time spell and started to move forward in time to her boutique where she and Spike were busy making various outfits. The CMC soon barged into Rarity’s workroom carrying a tray with two cups filled with the new love potion. “Sweetie Belle, please leave. Can’t you see my precious Spikey-wikey and I are very busy?” asked Rarity as she galloped back and forth between dresses. “But, we brought you guys something to drink. See?” said Sweetie Belle as they sat the tray on a small coffee table. “That’s very kind of you, Sweetie, but I am not thirsty. Maybe Spike would…” “NO!! BOTH OF YOU!!!” yelled the three crusaders in unison, earning strange looks from Spike and Rarity. “Why does it have to be both of us?” asked Spike quizzically as he looked at past Rarity and the girls. “No reason,” answered Apple Bloom quickly as all three gave the biggest, soul-wrenching, heart-crushing smiles they could. “Okay, if you say so,” said Rarity cautiously as she raised her cup with her magic. Spike quickly grabbed his cup while beads of sweat started to roll down his face. Something was on Spike’s mind that seemed to be bothering him, so Rarity cast the mind reading spell to see what he was thinking. “Come on, Spike, you have been in here with her all day and you still haven’t given her your present. It’s just a rose, what’s the worst she could do? Laugh at you?” thought Spike. Rarity felt a small tug at her heart because of his gift. Her past self and Spike then drank the potion and felt a sudden change course through both of them. Rarity then started to stare at Spike with hearts in her eyes like a little filly, while all of Spike’s feelings for Rarity seemingly vanished. “Uh Rarity if you don’t mind I think I am going to head home now,” said Spike, uncomfortable with the way she was staring at him. “WHAT!?” yelled both past Rarity and the crusaders. “Yeah, I am kind of tired, and you’re kind of creeping me out.” “Oh, I am sorry, my special somepony,” said past Rarity as she started to blush and look deeper into Spike’s eyes. “Uh…did you say 'special somepony'?” asked Spike cautiously while the CMC giggled in delight. “Yes, I did, my little Spikey-wikey-poo-bear,” answered past Rarity as she tried to move closer to kiss him, but Spike quickly rejected her advance and ran out of the boutique as fast as he could leaving his rose behind. “Spikey wait, don’t g…” past Rarity stopped when she saw the card attached to the rose. “For the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria.” “Aww, Spikey-wikey,” said both past and present Rarity. “Girls, I think we messed this one up too,” said Sweetie Belle as she watched her sister chase after Spike. “Oh, really?” asked Scootaloo sarcastically as they followed after Rarity. “I do not get it. Why would Spike not accept my love for him?” asked Rarity to herself, “We were both under the potions control. Shouldn't he have been deeply in love with me?” Rarity started to cast the time spell and was sent to Golden Oak just as Spike entered. “Oh, Spike, your home early,” said Twilight greeting him. “So, how did your little Hearts and Hooves Day with Rarity go?” she gave a light giggle. “Awful. Rarity tried to kiss me,” answered Spike as he looked out of the peep hole of the door to check for Rarity. “WHAT?!” yelled Twilight as she dropped the books she was holding with her magic. “Yeah, and she called me her…….. ‘Spikey-wikey-poo-bear’,” said Spike as the words made him cringe, “I hate to break it to her, but I don’t like her like that.” Hearing this caused the small pain to return in Rarity’s heart, but this time it was stronger than before. “WHAT?!” yelled Twilight as her right eye started to twitch. She was starting to have a hard time trying to comprehend what was happening. For as long as she and Spike lived in Ponyville, Spike had always had a crush on Rarity. “Okay, good one Spike. You got me,” said Twilight as she started to laugh, thinking it was a joke. “I am not kidding, Twilight. I don't like Rarity,” said Spike in an irritated tone, causing the pain in Rarity’s heart to grow stronger. “Whatever is this strange feeling in my heart? And why does it keep doing this every time I think of Spike with somepony else?” asked Rarity to herself. “Could I be..... jealous? No! Ladies do not get jealous. Besides what do I care if Spike likes somepony else?” The pain quickly returned as she thought about him being with someone else. She quickly turned her attention back to Spike and Twilight to ignore the pain in her heart. “Oh no, she found me! Hide me, Twilight!” yelled Spike as he ran to Twilight’s underground lab. Twilight could not help but giggle as Spike ran to hide from his so called 'former' crush. She started to open the door to welcome Rarity in, but was quickly knocked to the side by Rarity as she searched frantically for Spike. “Oh, Spikey-wikey-poo, where are you? I have yet to give you your Hearts and Hooves Day present,” said past Rarity in a singing tone. Twilight could help but laugh as Rarity looked for Spike in their room, the kitchen, and in several books. “Uh, Rarity, I think Spike's hiding in there,” said Twilight as she pointed to the entrance to her lab. Rarity quickly galloped over to the door and nearly ripped it off of it hinges, surprising Spike. “There you are!” yelled Rarity as she grabbed Spike with her magic and stared to kiss him all over his face. Spike tried his best to pull away from her, but she was too strong. Twilight stood in shock of the sight before her. “Spike, what is going on?” asked Twilight, but Spike was too busy trying to avoid Rarity's lips to answer her. The CMC soon galloped into the library to find the same sight as Twilight. “Yup, we messed this one up too,” said Apple Bloom as they watched Rarity caress Spike. Twilight turned her head to the three fillies, giving them a stern look. “What did you do?” asked Twilight. “Nothing, why do you think we did something?” asked Scootaloo defensively, looking at anything that wasn't Twilight. “Applejack already told me that you poisoned your teacher and Big Mac,” said Twilight sternly, “So I ask again, what did you do?” “WE GAVE SPIKE AND RARITY A LOVE POTION!” yelled Sweetie Belle, the pressure finally getting to her. “You did WHAT!?” yelled Twilight. The three crusaders then began to explain what had happened. “Okay, first thing if you going to take a book from me again tell me what you’re going to do with it first. Second, what potion was it that you used? Was it the same as last time?” “No, it was a different one. It only lasts five hours and they can still look into each other’s eyes and it will still wear off,” answered Apple Bloom. “Okay, let me see the book,” said Twilight with her hoof extended out. “We left it at the clubhouse,” answered Scootaloo. “Okay, let's go get the book,” said Twilight, “Spike, Rarity, you two stay here, and,” she giggled a bit as she and the girls exited the library, “try not to get married while we're gone.” “MARRIED?!” yelled Spike and past Rarity in unison. “That sounds marvelous! Wait right here, my Spikey-bear,” said past Rarity as she galloped out of the library and back to her boutique to prepare for her wedding. Spike was left horrified at the thought and went to hide deeper in Twilight’s lab. “I still do not get it. If Spikey likes me so much, then why did he not want me to kiss him?” asked Rarity as she watched Spike hide, “And why did he say he did not like me?” She started the time spell again and found herself back in the CMC clubhouse, with Twilight and the crusaders going over the potion they used. “Girls, did you even read the instructions for this potion before you used it?” asked Twilight as she finished reading it for the twentieth time. “We kind of skimmed it,” admitted Sweetie Belle. “Girls, it said you do not have to use it on somepony who is already in love with somepony, only the pony who isn’t. If you do, the pony in love will start to hate the pony they were in love with.” “Ah reckon that's why Spike doesn't love Rarity anymore,” said Apple Bloom. “I would imagine so,” said Twilight, “It also says if one pony has a little bit of love for the other, then that pony will act more in love than they would if you had used the other potion. That might be why Rarity is acting the way she is.” The thought of Rarity being in love with Spike made her heart start to flutter a little for some reason. “Yeah right, Rarity in love with Spike. That’s hilarious!” laughed Scootaloo. “Hey what wrong with that!?” said Twilight, trying to defend the relationship between her friends. Rarity also started to give the filly a hateful look. “Yeah, last ah checked, you made Spike a Hearts and Hooves Day card asking him to be your special somepony,” whispered Apple Bloom in Scootaloo's ear, causing her to cover her face with her wings to try and hide her blushing. “Well, we better get back and make sure the two lovebirds haven’t done anything drastic. They only have an hour left,” said Scootaloo trying to block out the thoughts of her crush on the dragon. They then started to make their way back to the library, unaware of what they were about to see. “What did Twilight mean by, ‘If somepony had a small amount of love for the other, it would make them act more in love then if they used the other potion’?” thought Rarity, She started to cast the time spell again and was sent back to the library, just as Twilight and the fillies entered. “What happened to my library?!” asked Twilight as she looked at the entire library; it was completely decorated for what appeared to be a wedding. It was covered with flowers and streamers connecting to the center of the ceiling; It looked as if it was thrown together rather quickly. “Oh, girls, you’re here. Excellent! Now we have witnesses,” said past Rarity, who was wearing a gorgeous wedding dress and her Fire Ruby, as she chained Spike to a chair. “Witnesses for what?” asked Scootaloo cautiously. “For Spike and Rarity’s wedding, silly,” answered Pinkie Pie appearing in front of the poisoned couple. “WEDDING!?” yelled Twilight and the fillies in unison. “Yes, which we really should be starting now,” said past Rarity as she motioned for Pinkie to start. “Wait! You don’t have a minister,” said Twilight trying to buy some time until the potion wore off, in fifteen minutes. “I am one!” said Pinkie in excitement. “Since when?” asked Sweetie Bell. “As of five seconds ago. See?” said Pinkie as a minster certificate came out of her mane. The certificate had all the right dates, signatures, and everything. It was legit; Pinkie was a minister. “Okay, but Rarity, you don’t have a Maid of Honor, and Spike doesn't have a Best Pony,” said Twilight. “Simple, you shall be Spike’s Best Pony and Sweetie Belle, you shall be my Maid of Honor,” said past Rarity as she pushed them into their respected places, “Now, if there is nothing else, we can begin. Pinkie, would you be so kind?” "Hang on! Spike's underage, he can't get married!" said Twilight as she started to panic "Dearie, the Equestrian law says nothing about what age dragons have to be to marry,” said past Rarity, “And for that matter, it says nothing about marrying dragons at all. And besides, he is only four years younger than you. So now, will you please be quiet so we can start my fabulous wedding. Pinkie?" “Okie-dokie!” said Pinkie, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to witness the marriage of Miss Rarity and Mister Spike. If anypony here thinks they should not be together, and whoever thinks that is wrong, Meghan McCarthy, please speak now or forever hold your peas.” Everypony other than Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike (the latter's arms were bound with unbreakable chains forged in the heart of a dwarf star) raised their hoofs, but past Rarity quickly used her magic to lower their hoofs. “Nopony? Okay, then,” Pinkie nodded, “Do you, Rarity, take Spike as your husband?” Rarity’s heart started to beat faster after hearing those words, but she was unable to figure out why. “YES! I love my little Spikey-wikey-muffin-lovin'-truffle-wuffle-hugly-wugly-poo-bear,” said Rarity, making the other cringe at the words. “Yay! Now, do you Spike, take Rarity as your wife?” “NOOOO!! I hate Rarity and I will never, ever love her!” yelled Spike. A dead silence fell upon the library, no being dared to say a word. The pain in Rarity’s heart returned and this time it felt as if somepony had stomped on it. Past Rarity then started to cry profusely. “You don’t love me?” cried past Rarity through her tears. “That’s right. I guess you should find someone else to marry,” said Spike as he tried to free himself again. Rarity continued to cry more and more until a small pool of her tears surrounded her. Then out of nowhere she stopped crying. “Why am I standing in a pool of water in a soaked wedding dress?” asked past Rarity. “And why am I chained to a chair, and what happened to the library?” asked Spike as he looked at the decorated library. “Oh, the CMC poisoned you, and you two were about to get married,” answered Pinkie. Both Spike and past Rarity shared a look of shock. “And Rarity, you were in love with Spike, and Spike you didn’t love R….” “Did we finish the ceremony?!” interrupted Spike, hoping that his lifelong wish would be fulfilled. “No, you said you didn’t love Rarity,” answered Twilight, relieved that everything seemed to be back to normal. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” yelled Spike in disappointment as an ocean of tears ran down his cheeks. “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!” yelled Pinkie, oblivious to Spike's pain, thinking it was a yelling contest. “Well, I do believe I have had an interesting day. Sweetie Belle, come with me so we may discuss your punishment,” said Rarity as walked to the door. “Oh Spike, you will still be by tomorrow to help me finish the dresses? I doubt we ever finished them before this whole fiasco.” “Yeah sure, I'll be there,” said Spike as he looked at the floor, still disappointed by not being able to marry Rarity. Past Rarity did not notice his sadness and continued to leave the library. “Cheer up, Spike. This might help,” said Pinkie as she handed him a photo of Rarity showering him in kisses, the photo brought a smile to both Spike and Rarity’s faces and made Rarity’s heart flutter more. “Best Hearts and Hooves Day ever!” said Spike as he held the photo close to his heart. Rarity took one last look at Spike and took note of how happy he was. Even though he did not get to fulfill his dream, Spike still had a photo to remember one of the greatest things to happen to him. As Rarity cast the time spell she noticed that Spike’s roses for her past self that had been left behind, with the card attached to it. “He thinks I am the most beautiful mare?” thought Rarity; the thought had brought a smile to her face, causing her to blush and her heart to beat even faster. “Wait, why is my heart doing this? When I see him with another mare, I start to get angry, and when he does something sweet for me or talks about me, my heart starts to flutter like a school filly. And what did that book mean that if I had a small amount of love for Spike, it would make me love him more than if they had used the regular potion? Does a small part of me really love him?” asked Rarity. That thought ran through her mind as she read the list for the next place to go. She then started to cast the spell and was sent to her next destination, which unknown to her, would help her find the answer to that question. > Dragon Quest > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “The most beautiful mare in all of Equestria.” Those words ran around in Rarity’s head, causing her heart to beat even faster than before. “Why can I not get those words out of my head?” asked Rarity. “The words are really sweet, but surely that's all they are, just words. I am sure he will find a nice, sweet….little dragon…….or mare….to…” The thought of Spike liking somepony—or dragon—else seemed to trouble Rarity to no end. “Why do I keep doing this? Surely I am not jealous of somepony else being in love with my little Spikey-wikey? Sure I may have acted a little upset when Moondancer asked him out, but….she came on FAR too strongly,” said Rarity, trying to justify her actions and ignore her own feelings. “How else was Spikey to react? He has not sorted out his feelings for me and realized it's just a crush. It is just a crush, right?” Meanwhile Discord, who was still in his unicorn form, was observing Rarity’s progress through a tear in reality; Discord could only shake is head in disbelief. “Oh come on, you finally get to the place I wanted you to be and now you want to ignore it!” said Discord, as if she could hear him. “If only I could talk to her, but I can’t yet. She is so close, I can feel it. She only needs a nudge, or shove, if it really comes down to it, in the right direction.” Discord started to reach through the tear, almost hitting a young blue coated unicorn mare with a broken horn and a brown earth pony with a band wrapped around his right hoof running though the tear, and gently tapped on the distracted Rarity, knocking her into her own mind. “That should do it.” “D, who are you talking to?” asked Jean-Luc cautiously as he tried to look into the tear. “Mind your own business. Hey should you really be back in your younger body?” asked Discord as he quickly closed the tear in time and space before Dr Whooves did it himself. “Where…..where am I?” asked Rarity nervously as she looked around at area surrounding her. It seemed she had landed in her version of paradise, a placed filled with all the latest fashions and fabrics that she could only dream of. “I am in paradise!” screamed Rarity as she looked back and forth. “Just look at this place. It’s …..it’s fabulous! Come along Spike, we have... Oh that’s right, he’s not here...” Rarity’s heart began to sink at the thought of Spike. Suddenly, a bright purple and green light began to shine from a slot in one of the storage shelves. As Rarity approached the shelf, she began to see what was shining; it was a green and purple fabric with images of Spike on it. “What is this? Are these my memories of Spike?” asked Rarity as she started to rub the fabric. As she rubbed the fabric, Rarity’s hoof accidentally hit one of the images, which magically pulled her into the image. Rarity soon found herself back in Twilight’s library at the time when Spike had announced to Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and her past self, his quest to join the dragon migration. “Spike, all I'm saying is that you could get hurt,” said Rainbow Dash, trying to talk Spike out of leaving. “Darling, this time I really do have to agree with Rainbow Dash. I don't want those nasty dragons to hurt one little scale on your cutesy-wutesy head!” said past Rarity as she patted Spike on the head. “I am sorry, but I've made up my mind,” protested Spike as he walked towards the door, but as he did Rarity could hear him mumble something under his breath. She quickly cast the mind reading spell to see what he was thinking. “Hey, maybe if I figure out how real dragons are supposed to act, Rarity will stop treating me like a kid,” thought Spike. “Oh, Spikey,” thought Rarity as she watch him exit the library. The pain in Rarity’s heart returned, but this time she was able to identify it—it was raw guilt. “I never meant to make you feel like a child.” Rarity turned her attention back to her past self, who was deeply worried for Spike’s safety; she then cast the mind reading spell on her past self. “Please don’t go Spikey,” thought past Rarity as she started to bite her hoofs. “Quick, stop him before it’s too late!!” Rarity watched as Rainbow Dash tried to pull Spike back into the library, and as she did, a part of her wished that Rainbow Dash would win the fight. But she knew that it was not going to happen. Rarity watch as Twilight reassured Spike he could go, and she began to hear the voice of her past self thinking: “Twilight, if anything happens to him, I. Will. Hurt. You.” “Agreed,” replied Rarity without even thinking. “Wait! Why did I just say that?” Rarity started to grow suspicious of these involuntary feelings and acts. Just as Spike started out on his quest, Rarity was then taken to when she, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight were following closely behind Spike as he made his journey to migration. “Whatever is wrong with this spell?” she asked, “I want to follow Spike not myself.” As Rarity questioned what was wrong with the spell, Discord was snickering to himself. “She never said I couldn’t give her a little push,” said Discord as he read over a large contract. Rarity quickly turned her attention to Spike; he was not far ahead of Twilight and her past self. “Oh Spikey, why did you not turn back and come home,” said Rarity as she followed close behind him. She soon started to hear the voice of her past self complaining to Twilight. “Twilight, why did you let him leave?” asked past Rarity as she held the folded dragon costume in her magic. “Yeah, you obviously didn’t want him to go,” replied Rainbow Dash as she flew above the others to see how far away the drake was. “I couldn't have stopped him. He was going to leave even if I wouldn’t let him,” confessed Twilight, leaving past Rarity and Rainbow Dash where both shocked to hear this. “What do you mean he was going leave?” asked Rainbow Dash and past Rarity in unison. Twilight started to reach into her saddle bag and pulled out a rolled up scroll. “He was going to leave this for me to find,” Twilight handed the letter to Rainbow Dash and past Rarity, who both shared an expression of shock as they read the letter. Dear Twilight, If you are reading this, then that means you said no to me leaving to join the dragon migration. I know you are probably worried sick and are on your way to stop me. Please do not try and find me I need to do this. I need to find out what I am. I promise to be back soon and when I do, I will even watch that movie with the boat sinking and the stallion being too stubborn to get a new piece of wood to float on. I love you. Your number one assistant, Spike P.S. If you found the other letter, please do not show it to Rarity. “Hey, Twilight, what did the other letter say?” asked Rainbow Dash as past Rarity studied the first letter. Twilight quickly pulled out the other letter and handed it to Rainbow Dash for her to read. Dear Rarity, I just wanted to tell you, if I do not come back, that I will always be thinking of you, and that I… I… lov that I will miss you. Sincerely, Your Spikey-wikey “Awww Spikey-wikey, I would miss you too, but it will not come to that,” said past Rarity as she read over Rainbow’s shoulder, oblivious to what Spike wanted to say. This caused both Twilight and Rainbow to facehoof. Unfortunately, they misjudged how hard to hit themselves due to Rarity's blindness, and both rectified this with a cry of "ouch”. “I know Spike told the big awful dragon that he might stay with them, but… but I never knew he had already thought about actually staying,” said Rarity. The pain in her heart returned, but this time it brought images into her mind of Spike staying with the dragons and falling in love with another dragon. The images started to make her angry and scared; she tried to ignore the pain they were causing, but the more she did the more pain they caused. As the images became more realistic and 3D, she was then magically pulled back into her mind and was able to see and hear what the images in her mind where saying. “I love you Spike. Will you promise to stay with me and never return to that awful unicorn?” asked a small dragon with white scales and purple spines. “I promise never to leave. I don’t love Rarity and want nothing to do with her. I love you,” answered Spike as he moved into kiss her. Even though it was just her heart and mind playing tricks on her, her mind decided to put more fuel on the fire as time slowed down when the two kissed. Rarity was absolutely heartbroken. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me?” asked Rarity as a single tear rolled down her cheek. It may have been her heart and mind playing tricks on her, but to Rarity, it was real, and it caused her to fall into a deep depression, until she remembered the rose he meant to give her. “No, this is not real! My Spiky would never leave me. He loves me, and I love him!!!” yelled Rarity pulling herself back out of her mind. She quickly put a hoof in her mouth and stood there in shock after hearing herself. She slowly removed her hoof. “What did I just say?!" > A Canterlot Wedding > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Am I in love with Spike?” asked Rarity as she tried to comprehend what she had said. “I mean, he is certainly very sweet, kind, hardworking, generous, and adorable…..Why am I saying these things?!” Rarity was very distraught over the situation. It seemed the pain in her heart finally made sense to her; she was indeed jealous of Applejack, Moondancer, Scootaloo and anypony else that she thought was in love with Spike. “But even if I am, how come I'd never noticed it?” Rarity started to think back to all the time she had spent with Spike, and as she did she thought of all the times she had used or abused him, like using him as a pincushion, making him carry her stuff, giving her the Fire Ruby, and even when he almost drowned during Winter Wrap Up because of her and her friends. But despite everything, he still stood by her side. “Spikey, why do you still like me, after everything I have done to you. You still like me?” As she tried to find an answer, a terrible thought crept into her mind. “What if he doesn't like me anymore?” asked Rarity, the thought started to cause Rarity to fall back into depression. What if he had stopped loving her a long time ago, but still helped her so she would not suspect something was wrong? As a tear started to roll down her cheek, the scroll that held the list of places to go unraveled in her hooves, showing the next place to go: Shining Armor and Cadance’s wedding. “The wedding? Why there?” asked Rarity as she wiped the tears from her eyes. As Rarity cast the time spell, Discord stood aghast at Rarity’s half-realization. “I…I don’t believe it. She said she loved him, without my help?” As he stood in shock, a small tear opened, and a pink hoof appeared, belonging to the Princess of Love. Cadance appeared out of the tear, shaking and expecting to be handed something. Discord conjured twenty bits and placed it in her extended hoof. “Thank you,” said Cadance as she closed the tear. Discord quickly turned his attention back to Rarity, who had just arrived in the royal gardens in Canterlot during Shining Armor and Cadence’s reception. Rarity frantically searched for Spike, and as she did, she spotted her past self talking to Fancy Pants near one of the entrances to the garden. She then saw Spike walking over to her past self, seeming nervous over something. Rarity quickly cast the mind reading spell on Spike. “Ok, Spike, here’s your chance to ask Rarity for a dance,” thought Spike, as if he were trying to prepare himself for the most important thing is his life. “Come on, just a few more feet, and …… Wait who is that?” asked Spike as he spotted Fancy Pants. Spike was quickly able to recognize who the stallion was from all the Canterlot magazines in Rarity’s shop. As Spike moved in closer to the two, he able to hear the conversation they were having. “Oh Fancy, that sounds delightful! I would love to have dinner with you,” said past Rarity as she tried to hold in her excitement. Hearing this seemed to caused Spike’s heart to shatter into a million pieces, and Rarity quickly started to feel the pain return in her heart as she watched Spike run out of the garden in tears. He didn't catch the other half of past Rarity’s conversation. “Yes, but I do need to mention that my fiancée, Fleur de Lis, will be joining us,” said Fancy as he pointed to Fleur, who was just walking in, past Spike. “Why yes….Of course your….. fiancée,” said past Rarity in a depressing tone. Rarity felt a bit embarrassed of her past self for trying to date Fancy Pants, but was quickly pulled back into reality after hearing her little sister’s voice. “Spike, where are you going?!” yelled Sweetie Belle as she chased after him. Rarity started to follow Sweetie as she chased Spike back to the garden where he spent most of the Grand Galloping Gala. “I'm through! It’s over! I've lost her forever!” yelled Spike, thinking no one could hear him, “Game over man, game over! I can’t compete with him!” Spike’s eyes began to water and tears started to roll down his face. “Spike, are you okay?” asked Sweetie Belle in a concerned voice. Spike quickly turned to see who it was and wiped his tears the best he could, “Sweetie….what…..what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with the others?” “I saw you run out of the party and wanted to check on you,” answered Sweetie Belle. “Well, I'm fine! You can head back now,” said Spike in a hateful tone. He did not mean to sound cruel; he just wanted to be left alone. “Spike, something is obviously wrong. Come on, you can talk to me,” said Sweetie Belle as she sat down on the fountain's side. “Pinkie Promise you won't tell anyone?” asked Spike, and Sweetie nodded her head and did the motions. Out of the blue, there was a loud BANG, and Pinkie Pie shot out of the castle from her party cannon. “FOREVEEEEEEEEEEEEERR!!” she yelled as she flew past. “Okay…Rarity just got asked out by some stallion named Fancy Pants.” “Oh Spike, I'm sorry to hear that. I know you had a crush on Rarity,” said Sweetie trying to console the drake. “You were right Sweetie, I did have a crush on her. But not anymore,” said Spike, shocking both Sweetie and Rarity, and causing Rarity’s heart to sink again. “He…he doesn’t like me?” whispered Rarity as she started to cry. “What?! Since when did you stop having a crush on Rarity?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Since I found out that I was truly in love with her,” answered Spike as his tears returned, but as his returned, Rarity’s stopped at Spike’s sudden declaration. “But I'm too late now.” “How did you find out you were in love her?” “I asked Cadance and Shining Armor how to know when you are in love,” explained Spike, “They told me that it's when you're willing to do anything for them, when you're willing to suffer any hardship for them, when you're willing to do anything to make them happy, and no matter what, you will always love them, in spite of their flaws. I love Rarity, Sweetie. I am willing to anything for her. I would go to the moon for her if I had to, but it doesn't matter anymore. I lost. She found somepony else to make her happy, but….” Spike was no longer able to finish his sentence. Sweetie Belle and Rarity were taken aback by his declaration. Rarity was shocked by what she had heard. She had never heard anypony say anything like that about her. “Oh Spikey,” whispered Rarity as her eyes began to water. “But, what?” asked Sweetie Belle cautiously. Spike just looked at the ground in sadness. “But…I want her to be happy, but what about me? I know it sounds selfish, but I want her to be happy with me,” he said as his tears hit the ground, “I do everything she asks, and it's like she doesn’t even notice! I want to be happy, but…but...” “I understand, Spike,” interrupted Sweetie Belle as she put her hoof around Spike to hug him. Rarity, with tears in her eyes, tried to reach out to Spike to comfort him, but her hoof just passed through him. “It's not selfish, Spike. You’re a great dragon, and anypony would be lucky to be with you. Rarity…Rarity can be a bit dense sometimes, but trust me, she appreciates everything you do for her. Maybe it’s not too late. You could still win her heart.” “I don’t think so, Sweetie Belle,” said Spike as he wiped his tears, “I think she found someone that can make her happier than I could.” “You want to bet?” asked Sweetie Belle sarcastically. “Sure,” Spike retorted without flinching. Sweetie Belle then pulled him back into the party. “Look over there.” Sweetie pointed to past Rarity crying her heart out to Applejack, who was trying to find a way out of the situation. “And….and then he told me he had a fiancée!!!!” cried Rarity through her tears. “Yeah, that’s…. mighty terrible,” said Applejack as she tried to walk away. “I…I still have a chance?” asked Spike in disbelief. Sweetie Belle nodded her head in response. “YES!!!” Spike pumped a fist in celebration; his hope was restored and he was now more determined than ever to win Rarity’s heart. “I think I won the bet,” said Sweetie with a grin on her face. “Okay, what do you want?” asked Spike, too happy to care what it was that she wanted. Just then, the next song started to play, giving Sweetie Belle an idea, “How about a dance? I know I am not Rarity but….” Sweetie Belle was unable to finish her sentence before Spike pulled her to the dance floor. Rarity started to smile, seeing how happy Spike was in having his hopes restored. She started to cast the mind spell on Sweetie Belle, who was giving a stern look to past Rarity, “You have no idea what you have, Rarity. Please don’t ruin this.” Rarity’s smile quickly faded after hearing this, and was replaced with a sad expression. Suddenly, the last words Spike had said to her before leaving entered back into her mind. “You never noticed my feelings before!” “Spikey, I am so sorry,” said Rarity as her tears returned. Rarity started to think about what Spike had told Sweetie Belle about how he knew he was in love with her, causing her to remember everything he had done for her. He gave her his Fire Ruby, did everything she asked, comforted her when she came back from a bad date, and even risked his life to save hers. Rarity had never had a stallion as loyal as Spike; he was everything she had hoped for in a prince, but she was too blind to see it. “I am sorry….” She started to unravel the scroll to see where to go next, but as she did, she caught glimpses of what appeared to be a transparent Luna standing next to a large transparent dragon with purple-scales and green-spines and wings wearing a tux, standing a foot taller than Luna. “Princess Luna?” asked Rarity as she tried to look closer at the two, but they quickly disappeared into thin air. “Was that Spikey with Luna?” Rarity turned her attention back to the list and found the next place she was to go. “The moon?!” > Nightmare Rarity > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Rarity traveled through time, all she could think about was what Spike had told Sweetie Belle. “He loves me. He really, truly loves me!” said Rarity with excitement. “How could I have been so dense? It is true? He really does everything I ask him to do without question. He even risks his own life just for me.” As the time spell wore off, Rarity was able to see that she had landed on the surface of the moon. She quickly found Spike, Princess Luna, and her friends as they searched for her past self. “Thank you so much, Twilight,” said Spike as he hugged Twilight for eighth time. “Spike, I said you don’t need to thank me,” said Twilight as Spike released her, “Why did you even bring that Fire Ruby anyway?” “Because I think it will help save Rarity,” answered Spike as he held the gem close to his heart. “Or maybe he thinks it will make Rarity see that he likes her,” whispered Rainbow Dash in Applejack's ear. Hearing this made Rarity’s heart sink again in regret. As she watched her friends search for her, Rarity noticed a large dark mist quickly rushing towards them. “RUN! I have no power over the Nightmare Mist!” yelled Luna as the mist closed in on them. Although they tried to outrun the mist, one by one each of Rarity’s friends were caught in the cloud. Spike was the first to be pulled in. “SPIKEY!!!” yelled Rarity as she watched the drake get pulled in. She quickly galloped into the mist to try and save him, forgetting she could not touch him. She was able to quickly find Spike, but he was on the ground crying. “Spikey? Spikey, what's wrong?” she asked him desperately. “No…No….No…let her go,” mumbled Spike. Rarity quickly cast the mind-reading spell to see what was haunting him, but what she found was most…unpleasant. Rarity soon found herself back in Ponyville with Spike and a large, nightmarish creature holding her in its claws. “NO! Give her back!” demanded Spike as he stood up to the creature. “If you insist,” said the creature in a sinister tone. The creature released Rarity from its claw and placed her back on the ground next to Spike, but as soon as her hooves hit the ground, the creature began to stomp on her until she stopped moving. “NO!!!!” yelled Spike as his tears started to roll down his face. As soon as the illusion Rarity stopped breathing, the creature disappeared. “Spikey, it's okay, it's not real,” said Rarity trying to talk to him, but to no avail. “Rarity, please wake up. Please…please,” cried Spike, but the illusion did not respond. Spike soon began to hold her lifeless body in his arms and began to rock back and forth. “Please don’t go. Please don’t go.” “Spikey….Spikey, wake up! It's not me! I'm alive! See?” asked Rarity as she walked in front of the drake, but like before, he could not hear her. Rarity began to worry as she watched Spike began to shake; it was as if he had lost all purpose to go on as he held onto the illusion. Rarity was on the verge of tears herself, until she heard the voice of Princess Luna calling out to Spike. “Young dragon, this is not real. Your friend is still alive,” said Luna as she approached the grieving drake. “No, she’s not. Look at her!” replied Spike as he showed Luna the dead body. “Young one, listen to me. She is still out there, and need you to save her.” “No, she’s not! She's dead! Don't you get it?! Gone! Dead!” “No, Spike, she lives! But she will be gone if you don’t wake up!” said Luna. As Spike turned to look at Rarity; he saw that the body was no longer there. “She…she’s not dead?” asked Spike as he looked around for the body. “Of course not. Now please, wake up,” said Luna. “Yes, please wake up,” Rarity repeated. Seeing it was all a dream, Spike began to wake up. “I WILL SAVE YOU, RARITY!!!!” yelled Spike as he began to regain consciousness, loud enough for Nightmare Rarity to hear him from her palace. “Spikey?” asked the small part of Rarity, still inside of Nightmare Rarity’s mind. With Spike now more determined than ever to save his love, he and Luna began to help wake the other ponies up. Rarity watched as Spike rushed to each of her friends with a stern expression on his face. “Spikey never told me what had happened to him when they came to rescue me,” said Rarity, still in shock over what she had seen. “I understand why he chose not to tell me, but he….he… It’s my fault. If I had never let my insecurities get the better of me, he would never have had to face this nightmare.” As the guilt for her actions finally sank in, Rarity began to cast the time spell to her next destination. “Oh Spikey, you never should have come after me,” said Rarity in a depressed tone. “You do everything for me, and all I do is give you meaningless gems. What is it, Spike? What is it about me that you love so much?” As the time spell stopped, Rarity could see two of the Nightmare creatures holding Spike up to eye level to her wicked form—Nightmare Rarity. “But…But Rarity, I lov…..I lov..” said Spike, choking on his words. “Aww, poor Spike can’t even say it to her,” said Nightmare Rarity, mocking Spike. “Tell me, dragon, why do you think some self-respecting pony like her would ever love you?” Rarity was lost for words; she had never seen anypony make fun of her Spikey for his feelings. “I don’t,” said Spike in an emotionless tone as he looked at the floor, taking Rarity by surprise. “What was that?” “I don’t expect her to ever love me,” answered Spike, now looking the mare in the eyes. “I don’t know if she will ever love me, and you want to know the truth? I am afraid, but not of you. I'm scared of what she will think if I tell her.” “Spikey,” said Rarity with tears in her eyes. “I…I…you shouldn’t be afraid, Spike. I…I...lov-AHHHH!” Rarity was magically pulled to the next destination: Ponyville during her Nightmare self’s invasion, when her friends were trying to save her. “That's it! Keep thinking of what made her special to you,” said Twilight as she and the rest of Rarity’s friends used their memories of her to save her. It was long before Rarity noticed Spike walking over to the weakened Nightmare Rarity, holding the shattered pieces of her Fire Ruby. “I love you, Rarity. I love you so much,” whispered Spike, just quiet enough for Rarity to hear him. “You mean so much to me. You’re smart, generous, caring, kind, loving, and so much more. I love you! Please…..please come home.” Spike started to put the ruby to his head as he spoke, causing it to magically repair itself. As soon as the gem was fixed, Rarity started to appear out of the dark clouds, and was promptly pulled out by her friends. As past Rarity reunited with her friends, Rarity stood amazed at what Spike had said. “He really thinks that of me?” asked Rarity, the tears returning to her eyes—not tears of sadness, but of joy. Never had anypony ever said anything like that about her. Most would say she was beautiful and talented, but all that paled in comparison to Spike’s words. “Oh, Spikey, when I get back…..I promise I will never treat you as a servant ever again! I'll never take advantage of you, and I'll be sure to tell you that I lov—oh, I wish I could see you now!” exclaimed Rarity in frustration. As she continued to watch her past self and Spike, the scroll containing the mind reading spell unraveled, revealing a new spell. “What is this?” asked Rarity as she began to study the spell. The new spell would allow her to travel to the present, but like the time traveling spell, nopony could see or hear her. “I suppose it’s close enough,” Rarity sighed, “At least I'll get to see my Spikey again.” As Rarity started to cast the new spell, Discord was beginning to leave his friend Jean-Luc and return to Rarity, when he noticed he was missing a scroll. “Now where did I put that present spell?” asked Discord as he checked his red and white striped hat, pulling out a tall, black-and-white cat. “Hey, that's my hat! I'll be taking that!” rhymed the cat as he disappeared into the future. “Did I leave it with Rarity?” asked Discord as he scratched his head. He soon remembered that he did in fact write the spell on the same scroll as the mind-reading spell. “I did. Oh well, what’s the worst that could happen?” It did not take Rarity long to travel into the present. Luckily for her, the spell took her directly to Spike, who was drowning his sorrows at Sugarcube Corner. “Spikey!!” yelled Rarity with glee, able to see his green spikes at the entrance of the shop. She quickly galloped over to him, only to be devastated by what she found. The sight before her brought tears to her eyes. “No!” whispered Rarity in horror. Once again, tears started running down her face. What she had found was her Spikey-wikey kissing a violet maned mare. > What Have I Done > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity quickly galloped out of the shop with tears in her eyes as Spike and the mare’s kiss ended, leaving Spike horrified by the mare he had just kissed. It was not long before Rarity made it back to her boutique; phasing through the door, she collapsed on the floor and continued to cry, “He doesn’t love me!” After crying what seemed to be an ocean of tears, a large brown door appeared on the far side of the room Rarity was in, but she did not notice it. “LUCY! I'm home!” said Discord as he swung open the door, followed by thunderous applause. He quickly noticed the small stream of water as he stepped out of the door, “Okay, who left the sink running?” No one responded, but he soon started to hear a faint sob. As he looked across the room, Discord spotted the source of the sound, conjured a small row boat, and started to row towards Rarity. “Rarity, what with the ocean?” asked Discord as he placed small fishes in the less-than-one-millimeter-deep water. “He doesn’t love me,” answered Rarity in a faint whisperer. “Say again?” “He doesn’t love me,” repeated Rarity, still in a whisper. “Sorry, one more time?” said Discord as he turned his paw into an old ear trumpet, “My ears aren't as good as they used to be.” Rarity started to stand up and look directly at Discord with her bloodshot eyes. “I said, HE DOESN'T LOVE ME!!!” she yelled in a volume almost as loud as Luna’s royal Canterlot voice, almost deafening Discord; he was shocked by the statement, and by the anger in her voice. “What do you mean 'he doesn’t love you'?” asked Discord as he conjured a tissue for her. “Have you not paid attention to anything you have seen?” “I have, and I have also seen how fast Spike can find someone else to fall in love with!” “What you talking about, Rarity?” asked Discord as he puffed up his lower lip. Rarity quickly cast the time spell and took Discord to when Spike kissed his new mare-friend. “See?” asked Rarity, and Discord watched as Spike ended the kiss and ran out of Sugarcube Corner in tears. He quickly burst into a fit of laughter. “Yeah, he really loves that mare!” laughed Discord, leaving Rarity confused. “But…but, I don’t understand. I…I mean, I thought…” “How about we see how this all began,” said Discord as he cast the time spell, sending them back just before Spike had left. “Why should I? It’s not like you ever noticed my feelings before!" shouted Spike as he slammed the door behind him. Discord then lead Rarity to Spike, who was marching his way back to the castle, but halfway there he suddenly stopped and started to cry. “What have I done?!” said Spike as his tears hit the ground, “What was I thinking, yelling at Rarity like that? If she didn’t love me before, there is no way she will now.” As Spike sat down on a nearby bench, Rarity felt the pain in her heart return. “Oh Spikey, I don’t hate you,” she said as she tried to reach out to him, but was quickly pulled back by Discord, who had spotted a speeding scooter racing towards them. The scooter towing a small wagon behind it quickly stopped in front of the depressed drake. “Hey Spike, why so down?” asked Scootaloo as she and the rest of the CMC noticed the sad expression on his face. “What? I'm fine, see? Fine!” said Spike as he forced a sad excuse for a smile. Unfortunately for him, the fillies weren’t buying it. “What’s the matter Spike? Did Twilight ground you?” asked Apple Bloom. Spike only shook his head in response. “Did you lose a gem or something?” asked Scootaloo, but got the same answer as Apple Bloom. “Does it involve Rarity?” asked Sweetie Belle, hitting the nail on the head. “Kind of,” answered Spike sheepishly. “Did you tell her about your feelings?” “Not exactly, it’s a long story.” “You want to talk about it?” asked Apple Bloom in a concerned tone as she sat beside him. “Not really, besides you girls probably have better things to do,” answered Spike as he turned away from her. “Actually we were on our way to Sugarcube Corner,” said Scootaloo. “You want to join us?” “No thanks, I will probably just make you girls feel depressed,” said Spike as he started to walk back to the castle, but was quickly pulled by his spines into the fillies’ wagon and sat him between Sweetie and Apple Bloom. “Come on, we're going to cheer you up,” said Sweetie as she nodded to Scootaloo to go. Discord started to cast the time spell and sent himself and Rarity to Sugarcube Corner just as Spike finished explaining the events that transpired. “And then I stormed out. I am such an idiot!” said Spike as he slammed his head on the table. “Wow,” said the three fillies in unison, shocked that Spike had lost his temper at the mare of his dreams. “I told you he would do it,” whispered Scootaloo in Apple Bloom’s ear, “I think you owe me some bits.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the deal,” said Apple Bloom as she handed Scoot three bits. “Look on the bright side, Spike. It’s…” said Sweetie Belle. “What bright side?!” yelled Spike in anger as he raised his head, interrupting Sweetie Belle. “I messed up, and now Rarity will never love me!” Spike quickly saw the scared faces the fillies were giving him, and it caused him to feel guilty. “I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.” “It’s okay Spike, we understand,” said Scootaloo as she placed a hoof on his shoulder to comfort him. “If it means anything, I don’t think Rarity hates you.” “Yeah, ah bet she’s goin' over everything you done for her and what she means to you,” said Apple Bloom, unknowingly making a completely accurate statement. This caused Discord to jump onto their table and play with a large robotic stallion, with bulbous shoulders and a blue mane wearing a bikers outfit, to make sure that they couldn't see him or Rarity. “Thanks girls, but I think I'll just head back to the castle,” said Spike, “It’s not like any mare would ever want to be with me anyway.” As he started to head out of the shop, he added, “Especially Rarity.” Rarity felt the pain in her heart return as she watched her Spikey begin to cry again. “But Spikey, I lov-” “Shhhhhhh!” said Discord, as he turned her attention to Scootaloo, who was biting her hooves. Discord then cast the mind spell on her. “Come on, Scoot! Here is your chance! It’s now or never,” thought Scootaloo as she prepared to win Spike’s heart. “Hey, Spike, I might know somepony that would like to be with you.” “Yeah right,” said Spike as he continued to walk to the door. “No really, I do!” “Who, then?” asked Spike as Scootaloo galloped in front of him, blocking him from the exit. “It’s a surprise! Now close your eyes and keep them closed until I say so,” ordered Scootaloo. Spike did as he was told and Scootaloo started to lean towards him, causing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to share an expression of suspense. Rarity, meanwhile, started to turn sixteen shades of red and ground her teeth together. “THAT’S MY SPIKEY-WIKEY!!!!” screeched Rarity as she charged at the two only to phase through them, causing Discord to stand in shock. “Rarity, calm down. Remember, they can’t hear you,” said Discord as he grabbed Rarity by her horn to stop her from hurting herself. “But…but…he’s MINE!!!” pouted Rarity. “Just watch, okay?” said Discord as he turned her attention back to Spike and Scootaloo, who were just a few inches from each other. Scootaloo was drawing closer to Spike’s lips and was about to make contact with them before being pushed out of the way. “Out of my way, blank flan-” said Diamond Tiara as she shoved Scootaloo out of her path, and accidentally kissed Spike; it was horrible for everyone (and that includes you). Everyone in the shop went quiet after seeing it, even Pinkie Pie, who's jaw had fallen so hard, it made a hole in the floor. As tears started to stream down Rarity’s face, Discord cast a spell to show what Spike was thinking about during the kiss. It was a dream of Spike kissing Rarity. Spike quickly opened his eyes to see who he was really kissing, and when he pulled away, he started to shake in horror and tears started forming in his eyes. He ran out of the shop and back to the castle, leaving a confused Diamond Tiara frozen in her tracks. “See, he didn't mean to kiss that little filly,” said Discord as he released his hold on Rarity. “Does… does this mean he still loves me?” asked Rarity as the fear of Spike not loving her anymore loosened its grip on her heart. Discord only shrugged his shoulders in response, not really having the answer she was hoping for. “Why does it matter, anyway? Do you finally see how he feels?” he asked as took the list of places to go back from Rarity, who was holding it tightly in her hoof. “Yes I do, and I found out something else,” answered Rarity as she looked in the direction that Spike ran in, “I love him!” Discord gave her a stern expression and looked deep into her eyes. “No, you don’t. Not yet, anyways.” > The Crystal Empire > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DO NOT LOVE HIM?!?!” shouted Rarity angrily. Discord only gave her a sideways glance as he started the time spell. “I have seen what he goes through for me and how he loves me.” “Yes, you have, but you have only seen the surface of his suffering,” said Discord as he conjured a large box of tissues for her. “You will need these.” “Whatever would I need these for?” “Well, considering how much you cry, something tells me you may need more,” Discord started to conjure more boxes around Rarity, making a stack almost as tall as her. “Well, that doesn't ans….. wait a minute! I do not cry a lot!” said Rarity defensively. Discord rolled his eyes, making them pop out of his head. The ocular cavities then began projecting past images of Rarity crying, “You were saying?” “Well…I…uh…uh. Quit avoiding my question! What do you mean I haven’t seen the pain Spike has been through?” asked Rarity as the time spell started moving the scenery around them Soon, it revealed where Discord had taken her: the lower sanctums of the Crystal Castle. “Well, isn't this place depressing?” remarked Discord as he turned his claw into a lantern to lead the way. As they ventured further into the castle, they found Twilight and Spike standing at the door leading to nowhere, with Twilight crying. “What were you looking at?” asked Spike as he tried to pull Twilight out of her trance. “I mean... it's just a wall.” As Spike looked into the door, Discord cast a spell to take them into Spike’s vision. “Rarity’s shop? How did I get . . . ?” asked Spike as he walked around the shop. It wasn’t long before he found an illusion of Rarity working in her workroom. “Oh….hey, Rarity.” “Huh…Oh, it you,” said the illusion Rarity in a lackluster tone. “How are you?” asked Spike as he walked towards her. “Fine,” answered Rarity, her emotionless tone persisting. “Would you like me to help you?” “No.” “Really? Maybe I could get you some fabric?” said Spike as he rushed over to get some. “No.” “Oh, well, maybe I could get you some tea?” Spike quickly ran into the kitchen and right back, at a speed almost superior to Rainbow Dash, carrying a tray of hot tea with him. “NO!!!” shouted the illusion Rarity in anger, scaring Spike causing him to fall and spill the tea on himself. “I'm sorry,” said Spike quickly as he tried to clean up the mess, “I…I just wanted to help you.” “What makes you think I would want your help?” “I…I…you don’t. I just want to—” “What? Be near me?” interrupted the illusion Rarity, “I know about your little crush on me, and I must say, it is quite pathetic.” “You…you knew that I liked you?” “Of course I did. You are quite terrible at being subtle,” said illusion Rarity as she watched him closer. “Rarity….I wanted to tell you but—” “But you thought that I would reject you?” “Yes!” answered Spike as he started to stand. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t love you.” “Oh…” Spike started to feel his heart shatter into a million pieces. “Aw, did I bweak you wittle heart?” asked illusion Rarity sarcastically, mocking the poor dragon. As Spike tried to fight back his tears, the illusion of Rarity violently pushed him back to the ground. “GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!” shouted Rarity at the sight. “Ow! Rarity that hurt,” said Spike as he rubbed a spot on his arm that was bruised from the fall. “Oh, boo-hoo, little Spikey got hurt. Who cares? You're just a dragon,” said the illusion as she stood over him. “Rarity, why…why are you doing this?” asked Spike as he tried to get up, only to be pushed back down. “Because I can. Tell me, did you really think I would ever love you?” “I…I…I hoped you would,” answered Spike. The illusion then began to laugh at the drake. “Well, I have some news for you,” said the illusion as her laughter died, “I don’t love you, and never will.” “No, I do love him!” yelled Rarity at the illusion. "Did you honestly think a self-respecting pony like myself would ever love you?” “No, but…” said Spike before he was pushed down for the third time. “That right! I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t be caught dead with a dragon as a coltfriend, or even a friend!” said the illusion, as she moved to let him finally stand. With tears in his eyes, Spike decided to try one last thing to win over the illusion of Rarity. “But I love you, Rarity. Do you hear me? I LOVE YOU!!!” Hearing this caused Rarity to blush and her heart to beat fast, ecstatic that he still loved her, but her joy was short-lived. “I know, and I don’t care,” replied the illusion in a stern tone. “Now why don’t you go and find some other pony to love. Oh, I forgot. What pony would ever want to be with you?” “But…but I love yo-” “Read my lips. I DON’T LOVE YOU!!!”shouted the illusion. With tears in his eyes, Spike started to run out of her shop towards the library, only for his nightmare to continue. “Spike wait, I do love you!” yelled Rarity as if he could hear her. Discord cast the time spell to take her to Twilight’s library, a week after the Crystal Empire. They had landed in Twilight and Spike’s room with both asleep. “No…No….please don’t,” mumbled Spike as he tossed and turned in his sleep. “But…I love you, Rarity. Please don’t say that….” Spike’s constant mumbling eventually woke Twilight. “Ugh…Spike?” asked Twilight as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “No…I do love you, please don’t say that….” “Spike,” said Twilight as she walked over to his bed, but like before, he did not respond. “No…No…No!” yelled Spike pulling himself out of the nightmare. As Spike took quick, short breaths, he noticed Twilight standing in front of him with a look of concern on her face. “The nightmares again?” “Yes,” answered Spike as he looked down at his legs, to avoid her gaze. “What was it this time?” asked Twilight soothingly as she sat down beside him. “Well, Rarity and I were standing in the middle of the desert, and I confessed my feelings to her.” “And she told you that she didn't love you?” Spike just sat there in silence, mentally going over every detail of his dream. “No. She told me I was too late,” he answered, tears running down his face. Rarity stood in shock as she watched Spike bury his face in Twilight's fur. “Am I, Twilight?” “No, you’re not, Spikey,” answered Rarity as she started to feel a sharp pain in her heart. Discord could only give a small grin, happy that he was able to make her understand. “I don’t think so,” answered Twilight and Discord in unison, shocking Rarity. As Twilight tried to comfort the drake, Rarity stood awestruck by Discord's comment. “Do you really think it’s not too late for us?” asked Rarity as she pointed to herself and Spike. Discord nodded his head in response with smile on his face, “Yes, but do you?” “I…I don’t know. Discord, look at all the damage I've done to him,” said Rarity as she pointed to the still crying drake. “He deserves so much better.” As Rarity thought of losing Spike, her eyes began to water and stream down her face. “That all depends on who you ask,” remarked Discord as he conjured a tissue for her. “But if you ask me, I think he should be with you.” Hearing this somehow brought comfort to Rarity, who only smiled at him, but her smile soon faded and changed into a stern expression. “Show me more,” she ordered as she finished composing herself, shocking Discord. “What?” “You heard me. Show me what else I have done to him,” said Rarity as she looked back at Spike who, after Twilight's encouraging words, was smiling again. “Okay, how about I show you what he had planned to do if his nightmare ever came true?” asked Discord as he charged up his magic. Rarity only gave him a nod before being engulfed by the magic > Equestria Girls > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Discord’s magic began to wear out, Rarity began to wonder what her Spiky could have planned for in case his heart was to be broken. “Whatever would he do if I never realized his love for me?” thought Rarity. Soon, she gasped as a terrible thought crept into her head. “What if he planned to ki-” “He didn’t,” remarked Discord, pulling Rarity out of her spiral into despair. “How did you kn--…. mind reading spell.” “Oh, how you know me so well,” answered Discord, “Don’t worry, the thought never crossed his mind.” Rarity breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. “But you won’t like the alternative,” said Discord in a semi-dark tone, annihilating Rarity's newfound peace “Whatever do you mean?” asked Rarity fearfully as her heart began to beat faster at the thought of something worse than Spike’s death. Discord's magic finally stopped and revealed a hallway filled with strange creatures walking on two legs. “What in Equestria are those things?!” she exclaimed. Discord could only laugh as Rarity hid behind his dragon tail, “These are…. oh, what was it Lyra called them again? Oh yes, Humans,” “Well, is that not a pleasant surprise? Lyra was right,” said Rarity as she thought back to all the times other ponies would make fun of Lyra for her theory on humans. “Wait! Is this the place Twilight was telling me about? The one that had parallel versions of ourselves?” “Why, yes it is,” answered Discord as he turn his paw into a telescope and look through it the wrong way, “Thar she blows! Human Rarity and lovesick puppy off the port bow!” Rarity quickly turned in the direction Discord was pointing and saw that Discord was completely accurate on his description of herself holding Spike in her arms. “You mean to tell me she still has no clue about your feelings?” asked the human version of Rarity as she placed Spike on the ground long enough to get her books out of her locker. “Eeyup,” answered Spike, trying to imitate Big Mac, “She still doesn’t know.” “But in your last letter, you told me you were going to tell her. What happened?” Spike only looked down at his paws, too ashamed to answer. “Discord, whatever does she mean by letters?” asked Rarity as she watched her human counterpart pull out several papers with Spike’s claw-writing on it. “Spike would write letters to her and tell her about you,” answered Discord. He then conjured up some of the letters to show to her. Dear Rarity, I took your advice and tried my best to find someone new, but I can’t. No matter how much I try to find somepony else to love, I can’t. I love my Rarity, and it hurts me that I can’t tell her. Literally! My heart aches every time I see her and don’t tell her about my love for her. I’ve tried to tell her how I feel many times, but every time I do I choke up and give up. Got any new advice for me? Sincerely, Spike” “How much does it hurt him, Discord?” asked Rarity as she continued to read the letter. “More than you could imagine,” Discord replied. Rarity only had a stern expression on her face as she thought about what kind of pain he goes through for her. “What was his plan?” she asked. “She was,” answered Discord as he pointed to the human Rarity, who was scratching Spike’s ear. “I still don’t see why he would want to.” “What do you mean?” asked Rarity, surprised by Discord’s comment. Discord quickly transported her back to the Royal Castle courtyard, where he showed his past self talking to Spike. “What do you mean, you won’t turn me into a stallion?!” asked Spike in anger. Past Discord could only laugh at the young dragon's anger. “I’m sorry, but I’m under strict orders by the princess not to turn anypony into anything,” said past Discord as he hung from his thinking tree. “LIAR!” yelled Spike, almost burning the tree with a jet of fire, “I've seen you transform some of the guards into animals when Fluttershy visits.” “True, but what proof do you have?” Spike was almost at his breaking point; smoke started to spew out of his nostrils. “JUST TURN ME INTO A STALLION!!!” he yelled as he breathed another jet of fire at the same time. “I’m sorry, but I won’t.” Hearing this shattered Spike’s heart into pieces--his plan was completely ruined. Spike then ran out of the courtyard and back to the garden; bawling his eyes out. “Spikey…..why do you want to be a stall--” said Rarity before Discord put a talon to her lips to silence her. “Just watch,” instructed Discord as he pointed to the still-crying Spike, who was sitting on the large fountain. “Thats it! I give up!” yelled Spike, not noticing Princess Cadence walking by the garden. Cadence slowly walked into the garden to see the crying dragon. “Spike?” asked Cadence in a concerned tone; Spike didn’t even bother to hide his sadness this time. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing,” answered Spike as he continued to cry on the fountain. “Spike, how long have I known you?” “As long as I can remember,” answered Spike, still refusing to look at Cadence. “So, don’t you think I can tell when something’s wrong with you?” asked Cadence. Spike only response was a shrug of his shoulders. “Tell me what's wrong.” “I lost my chance,” answered Spike in an emotionless tone, “Again.” “Your chance at what?” “Twilight’s magic mirror failed and Discord wouldn’t turn me into a stallion.” “Spike, why in Equestria would you want to be a---” Cadence quickly realized why Spike would want to become a stallion. “Oh, I see.” As Spike just stared aimlessly at the ground with Cadence's wing across his back, Rarity began to put the pieces together to figure out why Spike would want to be turned into a stallion. “He was going to go through the mirror as a pony, wasn’t he?” asked Rarity, already knowing the answer to the question. “Yes,” answered Discord. Hearing this caused Rarity’s heart to feel as if a great weight was being pressed against it. “Which is why I didn’t do it.” “But, why not? This whole time you have been showing me all the pain he went through for me, and the one time somepony could ease his pain, you said no!” yelled Rarity in a mixture of anger and sadness. “It was not my decision to deny him,” said Discord, defending himself, “For once, I didn't tell a lie. Celestia told Luna, Cadence, and myself not to transform him into a stallion.” “But why?” “Because we believed that one day you would eventually wise up and see that he cares and loves you unconditionally.” “You….all of you thought that?” “Yes,” answered Discord. Rarity could feel the pain in her heart increase as she remembered all the times she could have seen Spike’s affection and ignored it. “He was going to leave to be with the alternate version of me, wasn’t he?” asked Rarity as she looked on at Spike, who was still talking to the princess of love. “Yes.” “Would he have been happy if he did?”Discord only turned Rarity attention back to Spike and Cadence. “Spike, have you really thought this through?” asked Cadence in a concerned tone. “Of course I did!” said Spike in defense as he stood on the fountain’s seat, “All I had to do was be turned into a pony, which I doubt you will, and go through the mirror. Then I can be with Rarity.” Discord could only slap himself for Spike’s lackluster plan. “But would it still be the Rarity you love?” Cadence asked. Spike stood with his mouth wide open, trying to think of a rebuttal; when he could not, he sat back down on the fountain. “Spike, I understand how you feel, but you just need to be patient.” “But….but I've waited so long,” said Spike as tears started to roll down his cheeks, “How much longer?” “I know you have, but true love is patient Spike,” said Cadence as she wiped the tears from his eyes. “Don’t worry, I have a feeling you won’t have to wait much longer.” “Not anymore,” remarked Rarity as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Spike, all you have gone through...I’m so sorry.” “You know, the pain of waiting for you to love him was not the only thing he struggled with,” remarked Discord as he handed her a hanky. “He also faced persecu--” “Show me,” said Rarity in an emotionless tone. Discord was curious to why Rarity was so determined to see more. “You don’t even want to know what it is first?” Rarity only shook her head in response, still looking at Spike as Cadence continued to encourage him to pursue Rarity, “Okie-dokie.” In a puff of steam, Discord changed into a conductor’s uniform and then pulled out a large train schedule. “Next stop, Manehatten!” > Inspiration Manifestation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Why do this?” asked Rarity as she and Discord traveled through time, “Why are you doing this?” “Doing what?” asked Discord as he raised a suspicious eyebrow. “This, taking me through time. Showing me all this, why ever would you do this?” Discord turned his mouth into a zipper and closed it. “It’s a secret,” he answered in a disembodied voice. “Besides shouldn't you be more concerned about where we are going next?” “I know exactly where you are taking me,” said Rarity with a shy smile on her face, “I studied the list while I was traveling, alone!” Rarity gave the draconequus a hateful look. “You’re going to take me to when Spikey found that spell book to make whatever I desired appear.” “Smart mare.” The time spell soon made it to their destination, somewhere deep within the Everfree Forest. Rarity quickly spotted her Spike’s purple scales through the branches, with Owlowiscious perched on Spike’s spines. As Discord and Rarity got closer to the dragon, they could overhear the conversation that Spike was having with his nocturnal friend. “Hoo,” said Owlowiscious as he looked down at Spike. “I told you like five times now,” said Spike as he pushed some branches out of his way, “I need your help finding something for Rarity. You remember her right?” Discord quickly cast a spell to translate what Owlowiscious was saying. “Yes I remember who she is,” hooted the owl as he rolled his eyes, “I want to know where you’re taking me.” “We’re going to the Castle of the Two Sisters to find something.” “Who?” “For Rarity!” yelled Spike in irritation, “For the fifteenth time.” “You poor deluded dragon. I wish this pipe dream of yours would just end.” As Spike and Owlowiscious ventured further into the forest, Discord cast the mind-reading spell on Spike to see what was going through his head. “Oh, Spikey!” said an image of Rarity in Spike’s head, “With this thing you have retrieved for me, I will be able to make something magnificent for the fair!” Rarity could only giggle at the sight of Spike’s imaginary version of herself showering him in kisses. “It was nothing,” remarked Spike after Rarity had let him go. “Come along Spikey-poo. We have a lot of work to do,” the image of Rarity quickly gave Spike a big kiss on the lips. Seeing this caused Rarity’s face turn bright red. “Oh my!” said Discord in a deep voice. “My indeed,” remarked Rarity as she continued to blush, “What did Owlowiscious mean by saying he wants Spike’s love for me to end?” “He meant that he was tired of Spike using him to help make you happy. Like when he watched you and your friends’ pets while you went to the Crystal Empire.” Rarity could only stand in silence as she thought about all the things Spike had done to make her happy. He had gotten supplies for her, no matter how far or high up they were. He would do the chores she did not want to do. He’d go over to her home on his days off just to help her in hopes of making her happy, and sometimes at the expense of pain. “And so many other things,” whispered Rarity as the memories flooded her mind, “All these things he sacrificed for me.” “For your happiness,” Discord pointed towards Spike as he made his way into the Castle of the Two Sisters. “Alright buddy, let’s hope there’s something in here to make Rarity happy,” said Spike as he and Owlowiscious walked into the main hall of the castle. “And into sudden death we go,” hooted Owlowiscious as he flew ahead of Spike. As Rarity and Discord followed Spike to the castle library, all Rarity could think about was how she had put Spike into the position he was in to hunt down that spell book that had turned her insane. “He would have done anything to make you happy,” remarked Discord, not even looking at the mare, “Even if it was something completely different he still would have found something to help you.” “I know that,” said Rarity as she watched Spike furiously looking through several books, “I just wished I had seen it earlier. Maybe saved him from all the dreadful heartaches.” “It wouldn’t matt--” “I KNOW IT DOESN’T MATTER!!!” yelled Rarity at the top of her lungs in hostile tone. Rarity’s eyes were puffed and filled with tears. “I….I think back to all the times he made me happy, and I try to remember what I did to make it up to him, but I simply can’t!” Discord could look at the saddened mare as she collapsed on the ground near Spike. As Rarity continued to cry, she began to hear Spike talking to himself as he searched. “Come on, Spike. We can’t go back to Rarity empty-clawed,” said Spike as he threw a book through an intangible Rarity, “She might never speak to me again if we don’t help her.” “No, Spikey,” said Rarity as she tried to nuzzle the drake, “I would never do that to you. I promise!” Discord quickly cast the time spell and took Rarity back to Ponyville, where Spike and Owlowiscious were arguing over the corrupted version of Rarity. “We have to tell Twilight,” hooted Owlowiscious, still being translated thanks to Discord's animal communication spell. “No,” protested Spike as he crossed his arms, “I promised Rarity I’d keep this to myself!” “You have to tell her, Spike. If you don’t, this will only get worse.” Spike refused to look at Owlowiscious as he thought about what he suspected the owl was saying, “But you're right, Owlowiscious. I have to tell. And once I do, I can forget about Rarity thinking of me as her most supportive friend... I can forget about Rarity thinking of me as a friend at all, or special somepony.” As Spike and Owlowiscious followed the path of creative destruction that past Rarity was leaving behind, Rarity followed after them to hear what Spike was thinking. “This is it, she's never gonna love me after this,” thought Spike as he made his way to the outskirts of town, “Everyone was wrong! Maybe I should just give up on her loving me!” “No, Spikey!” yelled Rarity in fear, “Don’t you dare think that!” “Why shouldn’t he?” asked Discord as he hovered over her, “It’s not like it matters now, since we both know he didn’t, but why shouldn’t he give up?” Rarity turned her head slowly and gave a hate-filled look, “Whose side are you on?” “What?” “I have seen all he’s done, all he has sacrificed, all he has gone through just to win my love, and you have the nerve to stand there--” “Technically, I’m floating,” remarked Discord sarcastically. Rarity used her magic to take hold of the draconequus' goatee and pull him down to eye level. “Do not test me!” said Rarity as she stared into Discord’s eyes, “Explain yourself. Why did you say he should have given up?” “All I’m saying is that maybe he should have.” “Why? You told me you thought we should be together. I want us to be, but here you are saying we should not be!” said Rarity in frustration. “I….di….didn’t! HAHAHA!” Discord suddenly burst into a fit of laughter as Rarity’s face turned six shades redder. “How….how dare you laugh at my love!” Seeing Rarity getting madder only fueled Discord’s laughter. “Your...your love! That’s a riot!” said Discord as his laughter died down, “I’m sorry but it was too hard to resist seeing you get mad. Plus, it helped.” “You...you…. Wait, helped with what?” “Oh, I just wanted to see how you’d react if someone questioned if you loved him and, as Stephen Fry once said, you passed your test with all the flying colors of the rainbow.” Rarity tried to find something to say back to the draconequus, but failed. All she could think about was what he had said. It was true; she had just admitted she wanted to be with the drake. “You know, he actually thought about letting you stay under the spell’s influence,” commented Discord, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Really?” “Yes, but he knew it wasn’t really you and wanted to save you so….” Discord quickly turned Rarity’s attention back to Spike who had just freed her past self from the inspiration spell. “The spell took over you, and you wanted to change everything in Equestria!” said Spike as he tried to explain to past Rarity what all had happened. “I was afraid to tell you how I really felt about it, but then I... I told you the truth.” Past Rarity could only give a comforting smile to the worried drake, whose heart was almost breathing out of his chest. “Dearest Spike, you should never be afraid to tell me the truth,” said past Rarity as she pulled Spike in for a hug, “We're friends, remember?” As Rarity watched her past self and Spike hug, she could feel the sting of the words that Spike must have felt. “Yeah…..friends,” said Spike in an almost mute voice. “Not for long, Spikey!” said Rarity as she watched her past self and Spike walk back to Ponyville, “Do I dare ask how much trouble he got into after this whole debacle?” “Not too much,” answered Discord as he cast the time spell, “but….” “What?” “Twilight did say something that hurt him.” Rarity could only stand there, thinking about what her best friend had told Spike, but before she could ask for Discord to show her, they had already arrived in Spike and Twilight’s room at Golden Oak Library. “Spike, what in Equestria possessed you to do a reckless thing like that?” asked Twilight as she paced back and forth. “I thought that it could help Rarity--” answered Spike before Twilight interrupted. “Rarity! That figures!” said Twilight in a disgruntled tone, “You always do what she tells you.” “Hey, I do the same for you! What’s the difference? Besides, nopony got hurt.” “That’s the thing Spike, somepony could have gotten hurt because of your recklessness!” said Twilight. “Well, I’m sorry!” said Spike in an angry tone as he stood from his bed, “I wanted to make Rarity happy.” Twilight and Spike just stood there in silence before the alicorn broke the silence, “Spike, I know you wanted to help her, but---” “But nothing! I admitted that I messed up, but I thought I could help.” “I know that, but I'm thinking that maybe you should just stay away from Rarity for a while.” No one in the room dared to make a sound as the two stood there. The tension between Spike and Twilight was at the point that it could be cut by a knife (Discord even pretended to do so). “I knew I shouldn’t have told her the truth,” said Spike out loud. “What?” “The spell only broke if I told her truth. I spent the whole day arguing with myself about it, and decided to save her. Now that I think about it, I could have finally been with her, but I chose not to, I saved her instead.” “You did the right thing Spike,” said Twilight as she tried to place a comforting hoof on the dragon's shoulder, “That wasn’t her.” “I know that. She offered to take me with her,” said Spike as he pushed Twilight’s hoof away and looked out the window at the hill where Rarity’s chariots still stood. “If I did, then maybe I could have found another way to save her, and then she'd love me.” “Spike, maybe it’s time you just--” “Just what? Give up on Rarity?” asked Spike as smoke came from his nose. Twilight slowly nodded her head, unsure of what would happen next. “Some friend you are, telling me to give up on my dream. How would you feel if I told you to give up on your weird alternate universe relationship or what ever you call it?” Twilight and Rarity just stood in shock of Spike’s display of anger. Nopony had ever seen him like this. In spite of everything he went through for Rarity, Spike had never lashed out like this. Before long Twilight began to cry, surprising the dragon and making him feel a sharp pain in his heart. “Twi...Twilight, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t cry,” begged Spike as he hugged her, and much to his surprise the alicorn hugged him back. “Please don’t make me leave.” “Spike, I’d never do that,” said Twilight as she lowered herself to his level, “I’m sorry for what I said too. I understand how much Rarity means to you, but I just don’t want you to get hurt while being with her.” As the two began to make up, Rarity was still in shock over what she had just seen. She could not believe the anger Spike had displayed in that moment. Thankfully, Discord was there to pull her back. “He was serious about leaving with you,” commented Discord. “I know,” said Rarity in a whisper. “I’m grateful that he chose not to.” “I am too. He would have gone to a dark place if he did.” Discord’s statement scared Rarity as she thought of what that could mean. Spike could have been her slave, or worse. As the thought flooded her mind, an idea struck Rarity. “Show me,” said Rarity, “Show me what could have happened.” “Rarity, I don’t think you want to know,” said Discord, trying to make her stop, “Besides it didn’t happen anyway.” “Show me, please.” “I’m telling you, you don’t want to know. Besides, I’d be taking you to a different universe and time, and trust me, my frequent flyer card won’t allow me to,” joked Discord as he pulled out his tongue which transformed into card. “I need to know,” said Rarity with tears in her eyes, “I need to know what would happens to him. So please, just show me.” Discord, seeing no way to change her mind, slowly raised his paw to cast a spell, but before he did he looked down at the unicorn with worried eyes. “Are you sure?” “Yes!” “Don't say I didn't warn you.” It did not take the spell long to take Rarity and Discord to the alternate reality, but when they arrived, Rarity was horrified by the sight before her. > Queen Rarity > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All of Ponyville was either decaying or piles of ash, except for a one hundred and two story solid gold pyramid with large gems embedded into each stone with a large, black-scaled, dark green-spined dragon sleeping at its base. At the top of said pyramid was Carousel Boutique, made out of pure diamond with a platinum throne on the roof and a tall, black-coated alicorn sitting on it, laughing like a madpony. “Wh….what….what is this place?” asked Rarity in a trembling voice. “This is Ponyville,” answered Discord as he pulled a pocketwatch out of his fur, “About a century from where we just left.” “What happened to it?” “You and Spike happened,” answered Discord in an emotionless tone, “This is a theoretical universe where you were never freed from the spell’s influence, and you became a deranged, power-mad tyrant that took over all of Equestria, piece by piece.” “No….no, I would…...Spike would never let that happen!” protested Rarity in shock, “Spike would have stopped me.” “As I said, this is a theoretical universe,” said Discord as he conjured up a screen showing Rarity what happened. The screen showed Spike and Rarity traveling from villages, towns, and cities, reshaping them in Rarity’s image. Sadly, the cities that did not turn out like she thought they would, were burned down by Spike. “No….no….this wouldn’t happen,” said Rarity as she shook her head in frustration, “Spike would never do this.” “Yes, he would,” argued Discord as the screen changed to show Spike as a full-grown dragon. The video quickly showed Spike facing off against entire legions of guards that were trying to apprehend Rarity, but the second they got close to her, Spike burned them alive. “NO!” screamed Rarity in horror of the sight. “It would not stop there,” commented Discord as he changed the screen to show Rarity something that scared her even more than the scene with the guards. The screen showed Spike fighting against a full powered Tirek. Spike successfully killed the overpowered centaur by biting out his neck, after he tried to absorb Rarity’s magic. “Spike….why?” “He was defending you,” remarked Discord in a cold tone, “Celestia made a bargain with Tirek to end your reign of terror.” “What? Why?” “You had taken over half of Equestria, and nopony was able to stop you. Not even your friends.” The screen quickly showed each of Rarity’s friends being systematically slaughtered by Spike, starting with Fluttershy. Though Fluttershy was one of the lucky ones; Spike only swallowed her whole, allowing her to live in one of the houses that he had eaten when erasing one of Rarity’s failed creations. “He didn’t have the stomach to kill her,” said Discord in a sad tone, watching his first true friend being eaten. Normally, said master of chaos would of laughed at a pun like that but… well, you know the rest. Rarity did not respond, but stood there in silence as she now watched the rest of her friends’ deaths. Applejack was next. She was mauled to death when she tried to confront Rarity. Rainbow Dash had her wings ripped off and was forced to bleed to death when she tried to fight Spike. Pinkie was stomped on when she was trying to have a welcome back party for Spike and Rarity. “This...this….this,” Rarity was unable to finish her sentence before the last death began to play. Twilight was standing on her castle balcony, looking back at the fully grown Spike. Twilight was the only one left that could possibly convince either Spike or Rarity to stop this mad quest for power. “Spike, you know this is wrong! Please stop!” begged Twilight with tears in her eyes, “Please!” Spike slowly lowered his head to look at his adoptive sister, “I...I’m sorry Twilight,” said the large dragon with the same voice he had when he was little, “But I have to keep Rarity safe.” Spike turned to show Rarity fast asleep on his back with thousands of dresses surrounding her. “No matter what.” “Why?” asked Twilight as she tried to reach out to the dragon, “Why do this? Do you even know what Princess Celestia is planning if you and Rarity don’t stop?” There was a long pause of silence as the two lifelong friends stared at each other. Neither wanted to do what they knew they should, but sadly they prepared for what happened next. “I...I’m sorry Twilight,” apologized Spike as he lifted his head, “But I have a job to do.” “I know,” said Twilight as she looked to the ground with tears rolling down her cheeks, “So do I!” The lavender alicorn’s horn began to glow as Twilight raised her head and looked at a small mark on Spike’s underbelly; the mark was from a scale Spike had lost while defending Rarity when he was still in his younger form. Before Spike could figure out where the alicorn was aiming, Twilight had already blasted Spike’s wound with a large burst of magic. The blast caused the dragon to stumble back and clench his wound in pain. Twilight continued to assault the dragon at his missing scale with tears in her eyes as he screamed in pain from a direct hit. Spike fell to the ground, but as he fell, he quickly grabbed Rarity from his back to protect her from the fall. The whole castle shook as the dragon fell, and as Twilight looked down to see if he was still okay, Spike’s large tail smashed against the balcony, causing Twilight to fall to the ground. Rarity only stood in shock at the chaos she was watching. As the dust settled, Rarity could see an unconscious Spike opening his claw to release her alternate self. “Spikey?!” asked both Rarities in fear. The alternate Rarity quickly galloped to Spike and inspected his missing scale to see the damage. “Oh, Spikey, to think a little scratch would cause such discomfort,” commented the alternate Rarity as she cast a healing spell to stop the dragon’s pain. “Y….you...did it,” said somepony, straining to speak. As the two mares turned to see the source of the voice, Discord’s entire body turned solid white, and he proceeded to faint on a duplicate of Rarity’s fainting couch. The source of the voice was Twilight; she’d been crushed by the crystal balcony. “It’s…...your….fault….” “I will admit, I’m ashamed that he had to shield me from that dreaded arrow,” remarked the alternate Rarity. Discord conjured a second screen to show a still young Spike standing between Rarity and several crossbow-wielding guards standing in the middle of Time Square. The screen quickly showed how Spike was defending his love from the guards, but was suddenly shot in his underbelly, right where the missing scale was on his full-grown self. “You….turned….him….into...a….monster!” said Twilight as her lungs began to fill with blood. “He has done nothing wrong,” protested the alternate Rarity as she looked down at her dying friend, “He has been my protector and the perfect gentledrake.” “He’s….your...slave.” “He’s the only friend I have left!” “He….would….die for you,” said Twilight as the alternate Rarity’s horn began to glow its green aura. “And kill for me!” said Rarity before blasting the pinned alicorn, effectively killing her. Needless to say, Rarity was beyond horrified at the sight before her. The video began to play Spike and her alternate self killing this universe’s Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek, Luna (who had turned back into Nightmare Moon in hopes of stopping them) and eventually Celestia. The video then showed how Spike and Rarity used Tirek’s magic to absorb the Nightmare Moon spirit, turning Spike’s scales pitch-black and his spines dark green; it also showed that he was now able to change his size from a large ferocious dragon to his teenage size at will. Rarity was transformed back into her Nightmare form, complete with wings. “NO!” yelled Rarity. “This cannot be! Spike wouldn’t….I wouldn’t do these things. I refuse to believe such a place could ever exist!” “You know, when ponies say that they refuse to believe something, it’s just proving that they do believe it,” commented Discord in a sarcastic tone, “Believe it or not, it happened here. You and your dragon took over, killed all the most powerful creatures, and seized control over all of Equestria.” “No, it wasn’t me!” protested Rarity as she turned to face the solid gold pyramid, “The spell! I was under its control! I couldn’t possibly commit such monstrous acts!” “Wrong!” yelled Discord as he made a loud buzzing sound. “Whatever do you mean? It’s quite obvious that this version of me is still under the spell’s control, and--” “He freed you before your transformation,” interrupted Discord in a cold tone as he made the screen appear to show Spike confessing to Rarity. “I’m so sorry Rarity,” said Spike as he and the alternate Rarity sat around a campfire somewhere near the now destroyed Crystal Empire. “For what my ‘little’ Spikey-wikey?” asked Rarity, making fun of the fact that Spike was no longer in his baby dragon form, but was now fully grown thanks to the inspiration spell accelerating his ageing. Spike just laid there, staring into the eyes of the love of his life, not sure how to tell her what had happened all those years ago. Eventually, he found the words to say. “R...Rarity, you are under a spell’s control and it has caused you to lose your mind!” confessed Spike as quick as he could; as soon as he did, the spell’s hold on the unicorn was severed, and Rarity was back to normal. “Sp...Spike?” said Rarity still feeling woozy from being freed, “What happened?” The only response the newly freed Rarity got was a soft sob coming from the giant drake. “Oh, Spikey. There, there. Tell me what happened.” “I can’t,” said Spike as he turned his head away from the concerned mare, “I’m a monster!” “You are certainly no monster, Spikey! Just because you had a growth spurt does not mea--” “I killed them!” “Pardon?” “I killed our friends, Rarity,” repeated Spike as he turned to show his puffy red eyes. “Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, they’re all dead! I killed them.” The alternate Rarity just stood there in shock, not sure how to react. Should she try to comfort the dragon or flee? After what seemed like an eternity, Rarity finally responded by hugging the frightened drake, “It’s okay, Spike. I’m sure you had good reason to.” “They were trying to take you. I...I couldn’t let them take you. They could have thrown you in jail for what we have done, or worse. I didn’t want to lose you!” “Shhhh,” said Rarity as she continued to hug the dragon, “It’s okay, Spikey. I don’t hate you. You know, we can still build our kingdom, you and me, free from criticism and judgment. We can be free to do whatever we desire, be with anyone!” The words caused Spike’s face to glow bright with excitement. Before the alternate Rarity could continue, the large dragon pulled her into a hug that nearly suffocated the mare. As Rarity turned to face the pyramid, Discord tried to get her attention by changing the screen, showing them building their empire to what it was, but to no avail. Rarity continued to stare at the large, still sleeping, dark-scaled dragon at the base of the pyramid. “Spikey,” said Rarity in a whisper as she started to walk towards the pyramid “You know you’re not going to be able to wake him up,” commented Discord as he looked at the mare upside-down, but Rarity did not respond. As the unicorn continued her march towards the dragon, Discord cast a teleportation spell to take them to the top at of the pyramid. Rarity stood in awe of her alternate self’s look. The mare was still sitting on her platinum throne laughing as she curled her still-purple mane. Although she had been transformed by the spirit of Nightmare Moon, the alternate Rarity still was in control, thanks to the advancement in her magic from the inspiration spell’s influence, and of course, her faithful guard. “Oh, Spikey-wikey!” sang the alternate Rarity, calling to her dragon from her throne, “Guess what time it is.” “Is it ‘Give Spikey Free Gem’ time, my queen?” asked Spike as he raised his head to the top of the pyramid. “No silly,” giggled Queen Rarity, “It’s time for our weekly entertainment.” The alternate Rarity turned to face two changelings in golden armor standing at a door. “Guards, bring me the fool!” “Right away your majesty!” said one of the Changelings as the other left the throne room and come back seconds later with a tray of burned ashes. The guards quickly placed the tray in front of the dragon and mare and quickly moved back into place. Rarity and Discord turned their heads to the side, not sure what the pile of ashes was for. “Spikey, would you do the honor this time?” asked Queen Rarity as she sat back in her throne. Spike only nodded his head with a smile as he blew green fire at the ashes; in response, it quickly came to life. As the ashes began to take its original form, Rarity was shocked to see what it was. As the cloud of green smoked cleared, a sly smile formed on Queen Rarity’s face as her entertainment began to cry. “Please no more,” begged the former Prince Blueblood as he pulled against the chains that were buried under his ashes. “Please I beg you, spare me!” “It’s your turn, my queen,” said Spike as the same sly smile formed on his face. Queen Rarity’s smile became bigger as her horn began to glow with a dark purple aura. “Please, I’m begging you! I will give you my all my subjects if you let me live,” bargained Blueblood, selfishly thinking that he still had a ponies to rule “PLEASE DON’T KI---AHHHHH!” As soon as Queen Rarity's magic burst hit the prince, his entire body was engulfed in flames. Rarity nearly fainted at the horrendous sight before her. Despite the fact she had a horrid distaste for the stallion, she could never imagine burning him to ash as this Rarity did. Discord, on the other hand, was taking notes about this so-called ‘entertainment’. “Note to self, when getting rid of the pest, give Rarity a little bit of dark magic,” thought Discord as he wrote it all down on his paw, which he’d transformed into a notepad. “This is wrong!” yelled Rarity as she watched Spike and her alternate self laugh at the sight. “I don’t know, it feels ‘write’ to me. Geddit? ‘Write’ sounds like… oh you get it,” remarked Discord as he changed his paw back, “Besides, I don’t see anyone else complaining.” “But….but...but...” “That never gets old, huh, Rarity?” asked Spike as he gently tapped Rarity with his head. Queen Rarity just gave a heavy sigh, indicating she was depressed…..again. “What is it, my queen? Should I have done it this time for you? Maybe you don’t feel well! Maybe this joke drained your energy!” “It’s not that, Spike,” said Queen Rarity as she nuzzled Spike to calm him before he brought the whole pyramid down. “I suppose that this has lost its ability to entertain me.” “Oh well, maybe I could find Trixie’s remains, or your old fashion rival, Suri Polomare! They’re in the catacombs! I could get them for you!” suggested Spike as he started to make his way to the area in question. “No, that won’t be necessary, Spikey. I have a better idea.” Queen Rarity turned to face the guards still standing at the door, “Bring me the betrayers!” “The be….betrayers?” asked Spike in a concerned tone, not knowing what she meant. Spike was Queen Rarity’s only adviser and knew everything that went on all over Equestria, but never once had those words passed by him. As Spike, Discord, and both Rarities waited in anticipation, both changelings returned, pulling a larger tray with four piles of bones. Spike’s pupils shrank as soon as he noticed the features that each pile had; one pile showed the remains of an alicorn, two piles had the remains of two earth ponies, and the other one with the remains of a pegasus. “It’s such a shame that we are missing Fluttershy,” said Queen Rarity as she shook her head, “Oh well, I know you did what you had to do to protect me. Right, Spike?” The dragon did not respond, but just stared, horrified at the remains before him. Memories of his acts in the name of protecting his queen flooded the dragon’s mind and caused a small tear to roll down his face. Sadly, his queen paid little attention to him. “I suppose it’s my turn to bring the entertainment back to life,” said Queen Rarity as her horn began to glow dark purple again. Before the queen could cast her spell, a small black claw quickly grabbed her horn to stop the resurrection spell. Everyone was shocked to see that Spike had changed into his teenage dragon form to grab Queen Rarity’s horn. “No!” said Spike as he held the horn tightly. “Release me!” shouted Queen Rarity in a voice that shook her throne, “First, you know I don’t like being touched unless I give permission, even if it is you. Second, what do you mean ‘no’?!” “I mean no!” said Spike as he released her horn. “I won’t let you torture our friends.” “Oh, you mean the same friends you killed for me?” “That was different,” said Spike as he walked over to the tray, “I…..killed them to protect you.” “Well, now we get to kill them for fun!” said Queen Rarity as she clapped her hooves together. Before she could continue to try and persuade the dragon to join in on her sick version of fun, Spike breathed a powerful blast of fire to incinerate the bones and pushed the tray with their ashes off the pyramid. “What......WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!?!” “I’m sorry, my queen, but this is wrong,” said Spike as he watched the ashes of his friends spread out in the wind. “That’s my Spikey,” said Rarity, happy that Spike had done what she would have wanted him to do. “‘Your’ Spikey?” asked Discord as he raised an eyebrow at the mare, but was simply given a nod as an answer. “I guess I will have to find a new way to entertain myself,” said Queen Rarity as the dark-scaled dragon turned to face her. “I’m really sorry my que-AHHH!!!” Rarity stood in shock as her alternate self fired a strong blast of magic at Spike’s scarred underbelly, bringing him to his knees. “How dare you disobey me!” scolded Queen Rarity as she stood over the wounded dragon, “I knew that you would eventually betray me.” “Bu….but I….” said Spike as he strained to speak; just talking seemed to cause the dragon great discomfort, thanks to his ruler’s attack. “You are just like the rest! You only hold me back from greatness!” “But….I...gave you everything,” said Spike as he began to regain his strength, “I helped yo--” Spike quickly fell back to the golden floor after being shot by another burst of magic in his now open scar. “You took away the only form of entertainment I had, and you know what happens to those who take from me.” Before Spike or Rarity could say anything, Queen Rarity shot the dragon with another blast of magic at his wound that sent him falling off the pyramid to the ground below. “SPIKEY!!!!” shouted Rarity as she galloped down the pyramid after Spike. As soon as she reached the bottom of the pyramid, Discord appeared at the outside of the crater that Spike’s fall had created. “You know, I could have just---” Discord stopped mid-sentence when he saw Rarity trying to pick up Spike’s almost lifeless body. “Spikey?!” said Rarity as her hoof went straight through the dragon, trying to pick him up. When she failed, she turned to Discord, “Please help him.”
 “I can’t, Rarity. Remember, we are only observers in this universe,” said Discord as he changed into a lab coat to try and cheer up the mare to no avail. The draconequus was surprised to how Rarity acted towards this Spike; although it was not the same dragon from their universe, she was acting as if he was. “Please speak to me, Spikey,” begged Rarity as tears rolled down her cheeks as she listened to Spike’s sharp breaths. As she continued to weep over him, Queen Rarity slowly made her way down to the dragon. “Why, Spike?” asked Queen Rarity as she stood over the dying dragon. “Why did you make me do this? You knew never to take my possessions from me.” “Because you’re not like this,” said Spike as he looked at his love, “You would never kill our friends like that.” “But I did,” replied Queen Rarity coldly, shocking Spike, “I killed Twilight, but not out of mercy, but to make sure that no one could stop us.” “But…..but….” As Spike tried to find the words to say, his queen’s horn began to glow one last time aiming at the center of his bleeding heart. Rarity prepared to shield Spike from her alternate self’s attack, but Discord quickly teleported her away from the dragon and her nightmare self. “Any last words?” asked Queen Rarity as she pointed her horn mere inches from Spike’s chest. Spike just laid there for what felt like an eternity before answering his queen. “I have always loved you,” said Spike as he looked into Queen Rarity's eyes one last time, before closing his own. “And I always will!” Rarity just stood there as the words passed through her ears, causing a small tear to leak from her eye. Sadly, Queen Rarity only gritted her teeth upon hearing the dragon’s confession of love. “LIAR!” Before Rarity could do something, a bright green and purple light engulfed the dragon and queen, making it hard for the two observers to see anything. “SPIKEY!!!” screeched Rarity in horror, causing Discord to transform his paw and talon into pillows to cover his ears. As the smoke cleared from the blast, Discord and a crying Rarity could see Queen Rarity standing over a small pile of ashes with a small gem encased bow-tie in it. Discord looked on in concern as he watched Rarity slowly turn redder and redder. “YOU MONSTER!” shouted Rarity with tears streaming down her face as she picked up a rock with her magic and threw it directly at the queen, “YOU BRUTE! YOU…..you…..you are….!” “The same as you,” she replied.