Setting Things Straight

Chapter One: Have a Bad Night

Prince Blueblood took a look around the main room. "Even the inside looks primitive!"

"Yeah, that's what makes it homely," Twilight Sparkle stated. "Even if you don't like how it looks overall, I'm pretty sure that there is something here that catches your fancy."

"You look hideous Twilight. I hate your mane and your socks make you look like an uncivilized peasant. I can't believe that you used to live in Canterlot. You do not catch my fancy."

"Actually, I was talking about supper."

"Are you going to let him get away with that?" Spike said to Twilight. "Rarity made the socks we're wearing!"

"That explains a lot," Blueblood stated. He then asked Spike what his name was.

"I'm Spike, you! Don't forget it!"

"Spike is it? I think that you look cute in those socks, even if they come from that terrible designer."

Spike blushed when Prince Blueblood called him cute. Twilight decided it was time to eat, so she lead the prince to the dining room. The table was all set with plates, tostadas, and drinks for everyone, thanks to Spike. Since he was so short, there was a chair for him to sit in.

Prince Blueblood asked Twilight, "What is that low-class filth you are trying to feed me?"

"Oh, those?" she responded. "They are tostadas, a Trottican meal. I made them myself. Just try one and see if you like it."

"Just try it!" Spike said impatiently.

"I don't think I'll like it though..." Blueblood muttered.

He lifted up one of the tostadas meant for him and took a bite. As soon as some of the food was in his mouth, he promptly spit it out.

"Disgusting! I can't believe I tried it! Now I have to puke. Could one of you show me to the bathroom?"

"Oh, of course," Twilight volunteered.

Spike took a look at her as she left the dining room with Blueblood. Despite trying her best to be as cheerful as possible, Twilight Sparkle appeared hurt from how she was being treated.

"He is as much of a meanie as Rarity said," Spike told himself. "I must do something, after I have dinner of course."

After eating both of his tostadas, Spike still felt hungry. Seeing as how Prince Blueblood definitely won't be having his second one, Spike put some rubies onto it and had it himself. He listened and heard that Blueblood was still throwing up.

"Hmm... Prince Jerkwad is still in the bathroom and Twilight isn't back yet either. This would be the perfect opportunity for some revenge."

Spike eyed the barely bitten tostada and what part of it was on the floor. As a plan came in mind, he chuckled.

"If what Twilight cooked caused Prince Uncharming to barf so much, I wonder what would happen if I made something bad on purpose."

He found an extra tray and managed to get that and extra tostada shells on top of the counter. Spike moved his chair to where the tray was and looked for stuff in the refrigerator. Returning with the ingredients he got, Spike placed blue cheese, green beans, mustard, and relish onto the two shells on the tray. After breathing fire on the entire sheet to cook it, he liked the end results. Two unappetizing-looking tostadas, extra crispy, were all ready to serve. They also had a strong, sour scent.

"Yeah, that looks excellently terrible. He probably won't eat them, but I'm sure that the smell will knock him out. Twilight would probably stop me if I tried to feed them to him, so I'll have to convince her to not come into the dining room."

Spike grabbed Twilight's plate of uneaten tostadas and her drink, then headed towards the bathroom. Twilight Sparkle was still waiting in front of the bathroom door for Prince Blueblood to finish.

He tried to get her attention, "Oh, Twilight!"

"Yes Spike?"

"I thought that it would be a good idea if you looked for some books that Blueblood might like. Here is your meal to help you think."

"How thoughtful of you. I'll go find some right away."

Twilight Sparkle took what Spike had for her and headed to some bookshelves nearby. The bathroom door then opened and the prince walked out.

He asked, "So it's you again Spike?"

"It's me. I see that you had a tough evening, so why not have a drink to clear your mind?"

"I would be delighted."

Prince Blueblood followed Spike back into the dining room. He noticed the two tostadas that Spike just made next to his glass.

"Did you make those for me?"

"I sure did. Just smell one."

"Are you expecting me to just smell one?"

"I am."

"There is no way I would do that. I want to eat both of them as well."

Spike was surprised. "You really would?"

"Of course I would. I am starving and what you made looks intriguing." Blueblood lifted one of the tostadas and took a bite.

"Tell me exactly what you think about my masterpiece."

He took more bites until it was all gone. "It is a masterpiece!"

"It is? Do you want to know what I used?"

"I can guess. You obviously used relish and green beans. I can taste the mustard and the blue cheese is a nice touch. I also liked that you made it very crispy."

"You are right about everything..." Even though Spike wanted him to suffer, he subconsciously felt good about Prince Blueblood being happy.

Prince Blueblood then picked up the remaining one and began to eat it as well.

Dang it! Spike thought. He isn't showing any signs of wanting to puke, so that must mean he somehow likes what I made. I wanted to see his head explode from how terrible it was, but it seemed that the opposite happened, which happens to be uhh, another head of his growing.

Twilight Sparkle then entered the room. "I got the-" She then spotted what Prince Blueblood was having and her mood changed accordingly. "Spike!"

"Yes Twilight?"

"What did you just do?"

"I made Prince Blueblood a meal."

"I see that."

"You could learn a thing or two about cooking from him," Blueblood told Twilight. "He is willing to take risks to make a truly unique meal."

"Seriously, you don't have to eat anymore of that. Sorry for the trouble Spike brought you."

Twilight levitated Spike and took him to the central room. Once he was sure that she wasn't going to come back right away, Prince Blueblood finished his tostada with joy. A cookbook on the counter began to hover and it zoomed towards where Twilight and Spike were at.

"Why did you feed him that garbage?" Twilight asked Spike.

He decided to lie about his motivations, "I noticed that he didn't fill up his tummy, so I decided to make him something good."

"We'll see about that." The book that Twilight was focusing on landed right in front of her. She flipped the pages with her magic. "Recipes for tostadas...nope...nope...nope...nope! There is nothing in the cookbook about using relish as an ingredient for tostadas. Considering that you hate Prince Blueblood, your intentions were anything but good."

"But I can't continue to let him bully you like that."

"I will be fine! I just have to continue being kind to him... You will see that he's not such a bad pony. "

"Pffft! I doubt it."

"Well, I'm going to check on him. Whatever you do, do not even think of putting one of those certain books starting with the letter T into that pile I have. If you do, then no breakfast for you tomorrow."

Once Twilight left the room, Spike stated to himself, "Twilight is so embarrassed about those books that she can't even call them by their name. Heh, Twilight! Maybe the ones that are already in the pile will bore him to death anyways." He took a look at what Twilight Sparkle got together starting from the top. "Zoology Basics, Pony Politics, Inventions from Ponyville, Holidays and Traditions, Great Ponies Throughout Time, The Foundation of Equestria, the Encyclopedia, Dating Mares, Canterlot's Royal History, yawn! None of those books are stories or anything I find interesting aside from the dating one of course, so maybe he will be bored out of his hooves as well." Spike heard some subtle clomps that gradually got more audible, so he knew that Twilight Sparkle and Prince Blueblood were there without having to look.

"Now, it is time for us to read," Twilight told her guest.

Blueblood looked astonished. "That entire pile in one night?"

"Of course not. There are nine books, so we can do three of them each night and finish two days later. I'm sure that reading them will help you become a gentleman."

"Is this another attempt to straighten me out?"

"Oh, don't think of it as that. Think of it more as you becoming a proper prince. That will help you win the heart of a beautiful mare."

"I am taking a bath this instant!" Prince Blueblood stormed off into the bathroom.

"Umm, alright then. Hmm... I think that he could use some help with taking a bath."

Spike said to Twilight, "I'm pretty sure that he can figure out how it works just fine."

"Maybe, but it would still be something nice to do for him." Twilight Sparkle approached the bathroom door and tried opening it, but it happened to be locked. She then focused her magic onto the door's lock. Now successfully picked, Twilight entered the room.

Prince Blueblood screamed and shouted, "Do you know why I locked the door?"

"I think I know, but I still felt like helping."

"A lady wouldn't walk into a stallion when he is taking his bath. Why are you doing all of this anyways?"

"Everything I have done and said tonight was out of love and tolerance for who you are as a pony, even right now."

"Love and tolerance my hoof! Get out!"

Twilight Sparkle left the bathroom, feeling more hurt than before. However, she kept a smile on her face in an attempt to hide how she felt.

Spike noticed that Twilight was feeling even less like herself, "Are you okay Twilight?"

It took her a second to respond, "Oh! Of course I am. I just have to keep strong."

"It looks like you need some time to just relax and hang back."

"I can't relax at a time like this. Princess Celestia trusts me to carry this through. I can't let her down."

"I know how much you care about pleasing Celestia, a bit too much if you ask me, but she is rather open minded and forgiving. Do not repeat Applejack's mistake."

"But she was deprived of sleep for a week that time! I am perfectly well rested and all five of my senses are working properly."

"If you have to do something at every minute, then why not redo the bedroom to help us get a good night's sleep?"

"I'll do that right away. A good environment could make Prince Blueblood nicer." She headed to the bedroom promptly.

"You're saying that he's going to be sleeping up there?" Spike didn't get a response, so he assumed that she was too far away to hear him. He decided to ask about that later. "I guess I'll just do the dining room then." Spike made sure to pick up the plate and glass left on the floor before heading there. After placing them into the dishwasher, he made sure to clean up what was left on the table as well. In order to clean the speck left on the floor, Spike simply picked it up with a napkin and tossed it into the trash can. While washing his hands, Spike was planning on what to do next, Prince Donkeyditch is probably done with his bath by now, so I guess I can go brush my teeth now. Once he got to the bathroom door, Spike opened it and went inside. It became obvious that a certain pony was still taking a bath, because he shrieked. Spike reacted to it by screaming as well. His heart also began to beat faster.

Prince Blueblood calmed down when he realized that it was Spike and not Twilight, "Oh, it's you Spike. I don't mind if you come here."
As he looked at Blueblood in the bathtub, Spike had some intense emotions that he thought were odd. His face quickly became red . Not being able to handle how he was feeling, Spike rushed out and slammed the door. "That was awkward!" he told himself. "There is no way I am going to brush my teeth when he's taking a bath in there! It just makes me feel all hot and frustrated!" However, he didn't admit to himself that those feelings he had were very similar to the ones he has for Rarity except possibly stronger. Wondering how Twilight was doing, Spike went up to the bedroom where he expected to find her. Twilight Sparkle was smoothing out the sheets on the bed with her unicorn magic. He got her attention, "Hey Twilight. I think that these beds are good now."

"No, they have to be perfect, or else Prince Blueblood will be upset," she said.

"He was mean to you even after everything you did for him tonight. You shouldn't have to go the extra mile to please someone like him. Besides, are you honestly going to let him sleep up here tonight?"

"Spike, he is our guest and a relative of Celestia. I can't go on without accommodating him."

"Is there at least one thing I can do to lighten the load?"

"Well, since you're so persistent, you can sleep with Prince Blueblood tonight."

Spike's tail rose right after Twilight said that. "What would Rarity think?"

"You two would sleep in separate beds."

"Oh. Wait, that means you aren't sleeping up here then?"

"Not tonight. I will see what more I can do downstairs and sleep down there."

Seeing as how that would mean Twilight Sparkle wouldn't have to confront Prince Blueblood as often, Spike decided that he was fine with her decision. "Alright then. Take care."

Shortly after Twilight headed off, Spike heard her talking with Prince Blueblood. It was likely that she told him about where to sleep, as he trotted into the room once the conversation was over.

"I'm ready to get some shuteye." he yawned.

Spike told him, "Go over to that bed and sleep then."

"I will. Make sure you do not stay up too late either. I don't want you to be tired tomorrow."

The prince went to one of the beds and tucked himself in. As Spike climbed into his bed and covered himself, some thoughts relating to what happened tonight flowed into his head. He was curious why Prince Blueblood was acting almost kind to him. It was as if he actually cares for him, but Spike decided to think that it was probably some sort of complicated trick. The other thing on his mind of course is how Twilight Sparkle will fare these next few days. Her night has already been terrible, so he was rather uncertain on how to help her out. He didn't think about much else, as his eyelids soon drooped down until he was sound asleep.

By the end of Chapter Two, the main pairing that I have in mind for this story will become much clearer.