Candy Girl
Apology
Shining Armor watched from on high as the strongest fliers in the Royal Guard pulled him toward Ponyville. A letter from Spike to Princess Celestia adressed to him. An unorthodox way of reaching him but probably the most effective considering the content of his letter.
He pulled the scrap of paper out of his armor careful not to let it get swept up in the winds at such high altitudes and looked at it. Spike's writing was usually so neat and clean, but this message was barely legible. It was like he was being shaken while writing it. The contents could barely be described as a sentence.
"Send Shining now!"
This was so confusing. He had recieved a report early this morning that Spike had moved out of Twilight's library and needed assistance witth some project of his. He had sent guards, but planned to visit himself at a later date. He couldn't imagine his little sister being too happy about Spike moving out. She had grown terribly close to the little guy ever since he hatched. Despite getting her cutie mark that day, she always considered it the second withmost important thing she got that day. He couldn't imagine her taking Spike's departure all that well.
It was a good thing she had new friends in the Elements of Harmony. She shouldn't be by herself after Spike moved out. If not for them, he'd have come as soon as he heard. He was also interested in meeting these new friends. Twilight was never the social type. The captain's ponderings were interrupted by one of the pegasus pulling the chariot.
"We're approaching our destination, sir."
"Land near the center of town. Spike's new home is somewhere in the vicinity." As the stallions' began their descent, they noticed a disturbance near the residential area. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a fight involving the guards sent here.
"I think our soldiers are under attack, sir!"
"Get as close to them as you can! Slow down when you approach them!" Shining Armor stash the note in his armor and turned to the back of the chariot. He looked down and readied himself as he prepared to jump. He saw a red stallion wrestling a bunch of guards by himself and leapt from the chariot.
He landed hard as his hooves made contact with the ground. His legs felt a bit numb, but this was no time to worry about it. He ran the best he could towards the scuffle. The guards seemed to be trying to impede his progress but the earth pony easily cast them aside or ignored them altogether as he marched onward.
"Stand down! You're obstructing a royal officer of the Royal Guard!" Shining Armor shouted. The guards smiled at his presence. The stallion continued to move forward despite several armored ponies clinging from his bulky form.
Shining Armor nodded to his guards. It was a signal they all understood as they stepped away from the red giant. Shining Armor's horn began to glow as a magic bubble ensnared the raging pony. The stallion stopped and looked at the barrier in front of him.
Shining Armor was interrupted as the large stallion reared his back legs up and did something that the unicorn didn't think possible. In one single buck of his muscular back legs, the barrier began to crack and splinter from the point of impact. Shining Armor and his soldiers were all stunned. His barrier was considered impervious to impact. For a single earth pony to crack it just by bucking his back legs was unheard of.
As they looked on in shock, the stallion wasted no time in delivering a second kick that completely shattered the magic barrier. The guards turned to their leader for guidance as the stallion continued his march forward. The captain quickly got over his disbelief and prepared to cast the spell again. This time instead of surrounding his entire body, he placed a smaller bubble over the stallion's head. The stallion stopped again and looked at the shield around his head.
"I get it!" One of the guards said realizing what was going on.
"Huh? What do you mean? He put a barrier on his head. How does that help us?" Another guard asked.
"The barrier is airtight. No matter how big and strong he is, he needs air to breathe. He's going to have to stop or pass out."
"Look he's doing something!"
The stallion held his head up high before slamming the bubble into the ground as hard as he could. Shining Armor wasn't worried though. A smaller barrier meant that it was that much harder to break. That didn't deter the large red pony from continuing to bash his head into the ground making a small crater in the ground. It wasn't long before he exhausted his supply of air and passed out. The stallions cheered as the red giant fell to the ground.
"Anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Shining Armor said causing them to line up and salute. A single guard stepped forward to debrief the captain.
"He's a member of the apple family, sir. Recent events have caused a rift between Spike and The Apples." Shining Armor noticed the phrase 'recent events' in particular. It was used when soldiers didn't want to go in to too much detail. The unicorn was almost too afraid to ask because it rarely meant anything good.
"Explain." He ordered in an exasperated tone.
"The Element of Honesty caught Spike in bed with her little sister. We escorted her back to her residence where her big brother, the stallion you just subdued, heard what happened. Half of our forces remained to watch the rest of the family. We were trying to stop him from getting to the dragon when you showed up." Shining Armor stood there trying to make heads or tails of this bizarre situation. When he came down from Canterlot, he didn't know what to expect. He couldn't have came up with a weirder scenario if he tried.
"I want that stallion tied up in the strongest rope you can find. Walk him back home and keep him there. Take me to Spike. I want to hear his side."
The guard who stepped forward took him to Spike while the other's dealt with the unconscious stallion. To Shining Armor's surprise, they were pretty close to his home. He thought about how far that stallion had to walk with royal guards trying to stop him with each step. He hoped they found some really sturdy rope.
As they walked through the busted down door, Shining Armor noticed unpack boxes and party decorations hanging inside. He spotted a pair of green eyes peeking around the corner.
"Is Big Macintosh still coming?" The dragon asked fearfully.
"If you're talking about that big red guy, I took care of him. Come on out, Spike." Shining Armor watched as the dragon strolled out from his hiding spot. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth as he walked up to him.
"I knew you could stop him. You used that shield spell of yours, right? Twilight said it was pretty powerful."
"Does Twilight know you're sexually active?" Shining Armor said. He was in no mood for small talk.
"She will the next time she talks to Applejack. By the way, I plan on pressing charges against Applejack. She broke into my home and tried to attack me. I figure that's breaking and entering with an attempted assault charge. What do you think?"
"I'm not going to arrest one of the Elements of Harmony. Besides you slept with her little sister, you can't blame her for being angry."
"First of all, she came on to me. I only did it because we were friends and I felt sorry for her. Next thing I know Applejack is breaking down my door and starts threatening to hurt me if I don't marry her little sister. I'm the victim here." Shining Armor was nowhere near convinced of Spike's innocence as he was. There was only one way to be sure.
"I'm going to talk to the Apple Family and you're coming with me." The unicorn said to the dragon's dismay.
"Are you nuts? They'll kill me on sight!"
"I'm sure we can protect you. My guards and I should be enough to keep things civil. I need you there to get to the bottom of this. An apology from you would also go a long way in smoothing things over."
"Can't I write a letter?" Spike asked hoping to avoid the awkward conversation.
"You're going to do it in person or I'm taking my guards and I'll let you handle it alone." The thought of being left at the mercy of the Applejack and Big Macintosh was enough to make the dragon play along.
"Okay, I'll come, but if I get hurt, I'm holding you personally responsible." Shining Armor had an ulterior motive in asking Spike to come to the farm with him. He had noticed a change in Spike's overall demeanor. He hoped to find out what events occured that might have twisted his personality.
"I assume you know the way to The Apple Family farm?"
"Follow me." Spike sighed as they started the trek.
"So have you been with any other fillies?" Shining Armor asked.
"Huh? Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering. Twilight never wrote about you being interested in any ponies except Rarity. I finally come out to Ponyville and you're having sex. I'm just curious as to what happened."
"I grew up and realized the truth."
"The truth?"
"That waiting is pointless when you can reach out and take what you want." Spike said eyeing fillies in sight as he walked through the town.
"Waiting isn't so bad, Spike. Cadence and I have chosen to abstain from sex until we're married. It'll make the moment we finally choose to do it that much more significant."
"You aren't a virgin though? I mean you've had sex with other mares before Cadence, right?"
"I am and there's nothing wrong with that. It'll stay that way till me and Cadence are ready." Spike couldn't help but snicker at the unicorn's sappy statement.
"I'm sorry, Shining, but everything you just said sounds like something Cadence trained to say so you'd stop asking for it. Tell me whose idea was it to wait?"
"It doesn't matter who came up with it. We decided to do this as a couple."
"It was definitely Cadence then."
"Okay, it was her idea, but that doesn't make my point any less valid. Some things are worth waiting for."
"Yeah, waiting's great. I think you're getting some attention." Spike said noticing a few ponies looking in their direction.
"It's only natural that they'd look our way. I'm in full armor walking around with the only dragon in town."
"It's more than that. Follow me!" Spike said running up to a group of mares.
"Spike! Get back here." Shining Armor shouted. Instead of heeding his command, he struck up a conversation with the trio. The stallion waited for him to come back, but the dragon continued to talk. He sighed and walked over to see why Spike had taken such a sudden detour. As he approached the three mares stepped forward, each one smiling and batting their eyelashes.
"I'm Rose."
"I'm Lily."
"I'm Daisy."
"And I'm in a hurry. Come on, Spike." Shining Armor said. Rose moved close to him and stroked his cheek.
"It's okay if you're shy." Lily said stepping closer.
"Spike told us everything and we think it's awful what she puts you through everyday."
"What she puts me through? Are you talking about Cadence? What did you tell them, Spike?" The stallion looked to the dragon who walked up to him with a smug look on his face.
"I only told them what you told me. Cadence intentionally deprives you of sex in order to manipulate you and you're to browbeaten and timid to realize it."
"We're leaving now, Spike! Excuse us, ladies." He said in an upset tone as he levitated Spike off the ground and walked away.
"What's wrong with you? I had them eating out of my claws." The dragon said miffed about the sudden exit.
"What's wrong with me? What were you trying to do back there exactly?" Shining Armor shot back even angrier.
"Whoa! I was just trying to get you a little help. You could've pulled anyone of those mares right now if you played along."
"I'd never cheat on Cadence! I can't believe you'd try to pull something like that!"
"You should have at least slept with one of them. You'd have understood what I was getting at earlier."
"And what exactly would I have understood by cheating on Cadence?"
"You'd have realized you're being played. Cadence is using you. All the mares and fillies do it. They take and take till you stand up for yourself or got nothing left to give. You have to use them before they you. It's the only way to be truly free and still get what you want."
"Is that why you moved out of the library? You thought Twilight was using you. She'd never do that, Spike. She loves you." Shining Armor said but the dragon didn't respomd as he continued the trek to Sweet Apple Acres. The remainder of the journey was spent in silence as the two made their way to the farm.
As the two approached the farmhouse, Shining Armor noticed that most of the guards were standing around outside. Spike slowed his pace as he let the stallion take the lead here.
"Where is the family? Is anyone inside the house?" The captain asked to a pair of soldiers standing in front of the door.
"We manage to contain them, but they were insistent that we not be allowed inside." The guard said saluting. Shining Armor sighed as the nervous dragon stood behind him. This was not an ideal situation. Spike had alredy pissed them off and now his guards had turned their home into a quaint little prison. This situation could turn very bad in the blink of an eye if
"Alright, I'm going in. Keep your ears open and be ready to move in on my word. Come on, Spike." Shining Armor said stepping to the door.
"Why don't I wait out here and you tell them I'm sorry?" Spike said as his legs shook with fear. Facing Applejack and Big Mac was the last thing he wanted to do.
"This is your mess, Spike. You can go in with me or deal with this on your own."
"Okay." Spike gulped as he crept slowly towards the door. The house was oddly quiet as Shining Armor knocked on the door.
"What do you want now?" An angry country female accent shouted through the door.
"I'm Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Equestrian Guard. I'm here with Spike to settle the dispute between him and the Apple Family. I'd appreciate it if we could talk face to face." Shining Armor heard hoofsteps moving towards the door. An orange mare with a long blond mane opened the door. Her green eyes immediately locked on to Spike who hid behind him. He put out his hoof in attempt to keep things light.
"It's truly an honor to meet the Element of Honesty." The stallion said as he waited to shake her hoof. Unfortunately, she made no effort to do so. Instead, she just glared at both of them.
"Come in." She said stepping aside and allowing them to enter. Shining Armor walked with Spike doing his best to keep away from the mare.
The living room was the very definition of rustic charm. Wood furniture and hoof sewn throw pillows decorated with apples were placed in the center of the room. An old light green mare with a checkered throw over shoulders sat in a chair next to the big red stallion from earlier. She seemed calmer than her younger relatives. The faint sound of crying could be heard from upstairs.
"Why don't you boys have a seat? It's been such a long day and it's not even noon." Granny Smith said with a smile on her face as nodded towards the couch. Spike wasn't scared of the old mare, but something about her welcoming attitude made him uncomfortable. He always considered her a few eggs short of a dozen, but he didn't get that vibe now. Spike took the seat furthest from the old matriarch and her absurdly strong grandchildren who stood by her side.
"Spike has something he'd like to say." Shining Armor said nudging the dragon.
"Oh! I'm sorry about what happened with Apple Bloom. I got caught up in the moment and made a mistake."
"A mistake? A damn mistake! My little sister is upstairs crying her eyes out. She's completely heartbroken over this and you're sorry!" Applejack said incensed by his pathetic apology. She was about to take a step forward when Granny Smith held a hoof up. It was a tense moment as Applejack look to her elder in barely contained anger.
"Spike didn't force himself on Apple Bloom. While he shares some of the blame, she made a decision when she followed him to his home and had sex with him."
"But she was in heat!" Applejack shouted.
"You've been in heat before and you're still a virgin. It's hard but with enough self control you can resist the urges. You and I have done it before. Apple Bloom has no excuse." Granny told her.
"What about Apple Bloom? She said she loved this little cretin. The least he ought to do is make her an honest mare by marrying her."
"Yup!" Big Mac bellowed in agreement with Applejack.
"What? I'm way too young to get married." Spike countered.
"You weren't too young to have a roll in the hay with my little sister. I reckon that makes you old enough to get married!"
"Eeyup!"
"Enough! Do you really think your little sister wants you to force Spike into marrying her?" The two ponies looked away as the old pony's words stopped them in their tracks.
"So he just gets to use my little sister and get away with it? What about you, Mr. Captain of the Royal Equestrian Guard? There must be some law he broke that he could be punished for." Applejack turned to Shining Armor.
"I'm sorry, but Spike didn't break any laws." Applejack sat down in defeat as her eyes started to water. The pent up frustration over the situation causing her to break down and cry.
"How am I supposed to accept this? Seeing my little sister treated like some tramp off the street? It isn't fair." Big Macintosh walked and placed a hoof on her sister's back.
"I'm sorry about all this. I really am." Shining Armor told them.
"Can I ask you a question?" Applejack asked.
"Yes, ask me anything."
"Do you have a sibling?" She asked.
"Yes, I have a little sister. You know her actually. It's Twilight Sparkle."
"You're Twilight's big brother?" The mare said perking up a bit. The stallion could only nod solemnly as the mare continued to cry.
"Then I reckon my little sister isn't the only one to be hurt by Spike."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shining Armor looked to the dragon who just shrugged.
"So everything is cool, right?" Spike said quickly changing the subject.
"For now." Granny Smith said cryptically.
"For now? What's that supposed to mean?" The dragon asked.
"If my little Apple Bloom is with foal, I will hold you personally responsible. Until such time, you are banned from Sweet Apple Acres and if I ever catch you near my granddaughter again, Applejack and Big Macintosh will be the least of your worries." She told him in a monotone voice that sent chills up his scales.
"Of course. Come on, Shining Armor." Spike said quickly making his way towards the door. Shining Armor wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but it seemed like imposing to ask for more details. He decided to wait until he visited her for himself. As he was leaving though, Applejack called out to him.
"Hey! Shining Armor, was it? Tell Twi you love her." He nodded before he walked outside with Spike. As soon as they were outside, Spike was quick to complain about Granny Smith's warning.
"Like this dump is so great. I can get apples anywhere. Who does that dumb old bat think she is?" Spike grumbled.
"I'm going to see Twilight. You coming?" Shining Armor said interrupting his rant.
"Oh, I'm kind of busy. Go back the way we came and make a left at Sugarcube Corner. Can't miss it?" Spike waved dismissively.
"Did you do something to Twilight?" Shining Armor asked fed up with his attitude.
"Let's just say we parted ways. If you don't mind I'm going to take these guys back to my place, that door isn't going to fix itself. We got a lot to do if we want to make up for lost time. Come on, fellas! Back to work!" The dragon shouted. Shining Armor watched as the dragon walked away with his guards in tow.
He wanted to question Spike more, but he was more worried about Twilight. Something about the way Applejack spoke made him anxious to see his sister. If she needed him, he didn't want to waste time dealing with an obnoxious dragon.
As he walked towards town, he started to think about his relationship with his little sister. For the longest time, he and Cadence were Twilight's only friends until Spike came along. In a lot of ways, he was grateful for the little guy. Twilight didn't need to rely on Cadence or him for companionship. The break allowed them to start a relationship while she studied under Princess Celestia. Eventually, he saw Twilight less and less as time went on.
He wondered when the distance between them became so great that they couldn't see each other face to face. He loved his little sister but being one of her only friends meant that she was always around as foal. Even as a colt, it was hard to find time to himself without Twilight wanting to do something with him. He tried to find her friends but she never showed much interest in keeping them.
So for the longest time, Twilight clung to him as her big brother best friend. It was adorable at first, but it got old having your little sister tag along everywhere. When she hatched Spike, it was like a breath of fresh air. She had found a friend and that's when they started to grow apart. When he could disengage himself from her without worry, he was more than happy to let her slip away. He welcomed the less than frequent visits. He allowed letters from him to replace his actual presence in her life. She didn't even know about his relationship with Cadence.
He stood in front of a treehouse with a large candle painted on the door. From the description in Twilight's letter, he could tell it was her home. He made a decision as he raised his hoof to knock on the door to make an effort to be a part of her life from now on. No more watching from a distance. He was going to be the big brother his little sister deserved and he was going to prove it as soon as she opened that door.
As the door opened, the stallion immediately wasted no time going in for a hug. He immediate recognised a pair of blue wings on her back and immediately realized his mistake, not before recieving a stiff uppercut to his chin.
"What the hay are you doing?" The pegasus shouted as the Shining Armor went out like a light.
"What's wrong?" A white unicorn with a fancy purple mane asked.
"I opened the door and this guy just hugged me out of nowhere!"
"Aww, I do that all the time, Dashie!" A pink earth pony said bouncing up.
"I know who you are, Pinkie! This guy just hugged me out of nowhere!"
"How's he supposed to tell you his name if you knock him out, silly?" The pink earth pony asked.
"Is he okay? He's not moving." A yellow pegasus asked.
"Who cares? He's a creep. Twilight doesn't need somepony like him around."
"Somepony like who around?" Twilight walked to the door to find her visitor on his back unconscious.
"Big brother!" She exclaimed as she saw her brother him to stir.
"Big brother!" Her friends shouted as Twilight helped him up.
"I'd like to introduce you guys. This is Shining Armor, my big brother."