Rarity knew Twilight was planning something. It was much too obvious. The dress maker thought that the purple mare must have been waiting for her to fall asleep, so she pretended to drift off, hoping Twilight would take the bait. Suddenly, the alicorn was hovering slowly off of the bed in an effort not to wake her already alert sweetheart. Twilight turned back to see if Rarity had stirred, then fled the rather large tent, assuming she was doing so alone.

Rarity had no idea what her lover was up to, but she feared the worst, and knew there was only one way to find out; the white unicorn would have to follow closely and unseen by her special somepony. Why would Twilight be out looking for Spike alone? What would make her think she would find the dragon here, of all places? If he had truly ran away, why would he even be in Equestria anymore?

Both mares stopped dead in their tracks; Twilight out of curiosity, Rarity out of necessity. An empty bottle of ink lay in the middle of another small clearing not too far from the friend's campground. Even more curiously, Twilight must admit, there wasn't a single hoof print around. Rarity's eye, however, was fixed upon a large branch just a meter above her lover's head. It was, for some strange reason, glittering a beautiful red in the soft moonlight. It was as if someone had crushed a ruby and strewn it across the branch haphazardly in just a way so the subtle elegance he or she had added to the forest was meant not to appear artificial. Then again, the dress maker admitted to herself, it could have just been an unintentional act.

"Somepony was here..." Twilight whispered to herself, before finally looking upon the dazzling display above her. "Or maybe it wasn't a pony at all." Rarity could hear the anguish in the purple alicorn's voice. As much as the white mare wanted to comfort her lover, she couldn't risk exposing herself just yet. In fact, she was starting to think Twilight was hiding something. "Who would you be writing to, Celestia? Why would Celestia hide you from me?" Both mares had assumed these questions were rhetorical.

"Because I asked her to, Twilight." Spike's voice may have been octaves deeper, but there was no mistaking it. Rarity muffled a cry with her hoof. The white mare's mind was filled with so many emotions that not even Pinkie Pie would be able to create a word to describe just how Rarity was feeling. As much as she wanted to bolt to the purple dragon and give him the swiftest hoof to the mouth, and then, of course, the largest, most forgiving hug, both of which she had been longing to give for so many years, Twilight needed her moment with Spike more. For now, the unicorn would continue to weep with joyous rage in silence, and from a distance.

"I was hoping it was you. It really is, isn't it? You look so..." The princess paused to look over her former assistant.

"Grown up?" Spike may have the same visage as a fully grown dragon, but his stature was barely taller than Twilight's.

Twilight couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah. Your voice changed a lot, too." After what all involved imagined was an eternity of awkward silence, the alicorn princess asked the one question that needed to be answered. "Where have you been?" The patient eavesdropper edged dangerously close to the chatting pair. Twilight may need her time with Spike first, but Rarity deserved to hear the answer to her lover's question just as much.

"You might want to get comfortable first." Spike and Twilight both searched for a soft patch of earth, but found nothing particularly comfortable. The tiny dragon pondered for a moment. The glee he showed when coming up with a brilliant idea was still very much the same. "There's a cave nearby; I've been living in it for a few weeks now. I've got a chair you can use!"

"Spike, it's fine! We have a camp not too far from here, why don't you come back with us?" Rarity hid frantically from the pair. How could she have known?

"Us?" The dragon looked around nervously, grabbing his tail for comfort. "I thought you were alone."

"Don't worry!" Twilight began to show the motherly affection for Spike that Rarity adored oh so very much. "It's just all of your old Ponyville friends! Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, and--"

"Is Rarity there?" The firebreather appeared worried.

"Well of course she is!"

Spike's worried look grew into one of fear. "I... I can't."

"Why not?" Twilight wasn't sure why Spike was so reluctant to come with her, but she thought if anypony would be able to calm him down, it would be Rarity.

"I just can't, ok? She'll never forgive me; I just know it." The dragon was starting to reconsider showing himself upon rehashing every thought he'd had over the many years of his absence. "I had to, Twilight, I had to. I didn't want to get in the way of your happiness, or hers. I just wanted you both to be happy."

"HAPPY!?" The princess snorted a fierce breath. Something within Twilight cracked, burst open, and turned smiling, motherly love into tearful, paternal rage. "HAPPY!?" The purple mare raised herself above her former assistant, making him cower in fear even farther. " HOW CAN I BE HAPPY WHEN YOU LEFT ME BEHIND WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION AT ALL AS TO WHY YOU'RE LEAVING OR WHEN YOU'RE COMING BACK? HOW CAN I BE HAPPY WHEN I'M CONSTANTLY WORRIED FOR YOUR SAFETY? HOW CAN I BE HAPPY WHILE I'M SEARCHING EVERY SINGLE PLACE I'VE EVER BEEN FOR EVEN THE SMALLEST CLUE AS WHERE YOU'VE GONE? HOW CAN I BE HAPPY WHEN I TURN TO ASK YOU FOR A FAVOR, AND YOU'RE NOT THERE? HOW CAN I BE HAPPY WHEN I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN FOR THE PAST 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS, AND 22 DAYS? TELL ME THAT, SPIKE!"

"Twilight, stop that right this instant!" Rarity had to intervene, even if Twilight was right. Twilight was so angry with the tiny dragon, she didn't even see that she was about to drive him away for good. Their lives may have been incredible, but without Spike, it just didn't feel the same. The constant worrying, the realizations that the pair would never see him again, would never get to meet their daughter, or their friend's foals, or the new friends they've made along the way. Not being able to share all of these wonderful experiences with him was nothing short of painfully depressing, but the white mare knew he didn't deserve this.

"... Rarity?" The unicorn was so incredibly ecstatic to hear Spike call out her name in such a hopeful manner. There was still a chance to fix the damage Twilight had so unknowingly done.

"Yes, dear. It's me." Rarity walked forward, positively beaming. The tears of joy only aided in showing how truly happy she was. The white mare continued her pace while stating what she had been waiting so very long to tell her dragon admirer. "I need you to know something. I forgive you. I had the very first day you left. I knew that whatever your intentions were, you never meant to hurt us." Glad that she could skip the swift hoof to the mouth, Rarity gave Spike a warm, past-forgetting hug. "I forgive you, Spikey-Wikey."

Nopony expected what was to happen next. Eyes still wet with fear, Spike took to the skies. "SPIKE!!!" the lovers shouted after him. Rarity bolted, but realized there was no way for her to catch the dragon; Twilight was the one with wings. The white unicorn turned to her special somepony, staring angrily. "Aren't you going to DO SOMETHING!? This is your fault, after all." Rarity immediately knew she was going to regret that last sentence for the rest of her life. Twilight sat motionless. If Rarity hadn't have known better, she'd have swore the princess had stared directly into eyes of a cockatrice. "TWILIGHT! DO SOMETHING!" Completely unresponsive, and only breathing unconsciously, Twilight merely continued to stand on her pedestal of regret.

Realizing she would have no help from her special mare, Rarity darted off into the night, determined to make everything right again.