//------------------------------// // Crusaders Find Out! // Story: Dragon Sadness // by Lord Dico //------------------------------// xxxxxxxxx It was a nice and sunny day in Ponyville, as the many ponies and fillies enjoy the nice atmosphere around town. Thankfully, the pegasus ponies were on schedule for a bright and shiny day, until... The sky suddenly turned pitch black, many stars appearing, causing the ponies confusion at first, but that confusion turned to panic, when the buildings were suddenly being engulfed by a dark cloud. The ponies started to scramble all over, as a sudden figure appeared from the darkness, revealing itself to be Nightmare Moon. She looked down at the debris, spreading throughout the village, and the ponies falling one by one. Soon after, she encountered Twilight Sparkle and her friends on the ground, writhing in pain. She looked up, her vision blurry from the amount of damage she took, to see Nightmare Moon staring down at her, with a menacing glare. “Looks like you aren't as lucky as you were BEFORE, little pony,” Nightmare Moon said, “THIS time, I WILL plunge all of Equestria into eternal darkness!” “You'll...never get...away with this...” Twilight said, with what little strength she had left in her. “Oh, but I believe I have, and there's no one else, who can stop me now!” “That's where you're WRONG, Nightmare Moon!” a sudden manly voice called. Nightmare Moon looked up to where the voice was coming from and gasped greatly at who it was. There stood in a red cape, huge muscles, and lance of pure gold, was Spike the Benevolent, riding his faithful bird the size of a house, Owloysius. “Oh no, not YOU again!” Nightmare Moon shouted in fear. “Oh yes, me again,” Spike said, in mockery, as he prepared his lance, “Let's go, Owloysius!” Soon, the giant owl swooped down towards Nightmare Moon, who was now shooting dark arrows towards the great hero. The arrows were soon deflected by Spike's lance, as he came closer towards Nightmare Moon. The villain had decided to go with the obvious choice to win, so she used her darkness to grab Rarity, who was still injured, and in a sparkly new dress mind you, closer to her. “Don' move, Hero,” Nightmare Moon said, “or do you want to see your little friend, get SCEWERED like an apple?” “Spike, help!” Rarity called out. Spike saw this as he jumped down from Owloysius, and grew mad. But as he was about to approach, Nightmare Moon used her darkness to shape into a sword, threatening to slice Rarity. He didn't know what to do now, as he dropped his lance, and knelt down. Nightmare Moon couldn't help but chuckle at the dragon's defeat, tossing Rarity aside. But just as Nightmare Moon was about to use her darkness to strike Spike the Benevolent down, Owloysius swooped down in time, to scratch at her eyes. She then soon yelped out in pain, giving Spike enough time to grab his lance and strike Nightmare Moon down. Suddenly, the darkness was soon engulfing her and all the debris with her. “I'll get you for this, Spike the Benevolent,” she cried out, “You haven't seen the last of MEEEeee...” Soon, Nightmare Moon had vanished, and all of Ponyville, along with the citizens, had been restored. Everyone was now cheering for Spike and his sidekick, as the mayor approached. “Thank you, Spike,” she said, “if it wasn't for you, then we wouldn't have been here right now. You and Owloysius are true heroes!” “It was nothing,” Spike the Benevolent said, “but the real credit does go to Owloysius. If it wasn't for him, I would've been taken out easily.” “But,” Rarity said, approaching Spike, “you'll always be MY hero, Spike.” Spike then leaned down towards the beautiful unicorn, and leaned in for a kiss, and... “Spike?” The dragon suddenly snapped out of his fantasy. He was on the floor with a bunch of crayons and a small pile of papers of his drawings, all of which are of Rarity. He then gathered them up, and hid them behind his back, as he turned to face Twilight Sparkle, with Owloysius on her back. “What are you-” “I wasn't drawing pictures of Rarity, if THAT'S what you're thinking!” he exclaimed quickly, cutting Twilight off. Twilight then had a bewildered look on her face, which soon turned into an expression of disinterest. Spike couldn't help but fake smile, with a slight blush on his face, sweating very nervously. “Okay then,” Twilight said, “Anyways, I need you and Owloysius to go down to Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie's been constantly telling me, that I have to try this new cake she's made. She says it's something to die for.” Spike then soon calmed down a bit, and put his drawings away. That is, except for three, which he decided to work on, on the pathway. As he headed towards the door, Owloysius soon joined him, landing on his head. “We'll be back as soon as possible,” Spike said, before closing the door. As he walked along the path, he pulled out one of his unfinished drawings, and started to color it a bit more. Owloysius looked down at the drawings, with the same expression he's had, and then looked down at Spike. “Hoot,” he said. “What?” Spike asked, looking up. “Hoot.” “What? The drawings? Oh, it's just Rarity, the most beautiful pony in the world,” he said, in a love state voice. “Hoot.” Spike looked at Owloysius with an annoyed expression. “Oh no, I'm not falling into THAT cycle again,” he said, going back to his drawings. “Hoot.” Spike now had a displeasing look on his face. 'Just ignore it,' Spike thought, 'Just ignore it, and it won't cause any-' “WATCH OUT!” Spike's thoughts were interrupted, when he heard someone call out to him. He turned around, only to meet someone crashing into him. When he got out of his daze, he looked to see that the ones who crashed into him, were Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle. He also saw their scooter and wagon a little out of place. “Sorry about that, Spike,” Scootaloo said. “It's okay,” the dragon said, getting up, as Owloysius flew back onto his head, “I've been through worse, so this is nothing.” “Well, if you say so,” Applebloom said, then sees a piece of paper on the ground, “Hey, what's this?” The wind then suddenly blew the paper over, to reveal itself as Spike's drawing of Rarity, only a quarter of it, left unfinished. Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo looked at it, and started to chuckle at it a bit. They looked up at Spike, who was dusting himself off, and seeing two other drawings right by him. “Hey Spike,” Sweetie Belle called, “are these YOUR drawings?” “Huh?” Spike asked, looking at them. When he saw that his drawings were out, his eyes widened, and he quickly gathered them up. His face was now completely flushed, as he looked back at the little crusaders who were laughing. “Wow, Spike,” Scootaloo chuckled, “I didn't know you had a thing for Rarity.” “No I don't!” Spike exclaimed, still blushing, “You saw nothing!” It didn't help though, as the crusaders started to taunt him. “Spike and Rarity, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” “Stop it, guys!” Spike said, his face now completely red. “You know, I wonder what my sister would think of this,” Sweetie Bell said. Spikes eyes widened at what he heard, and instantly turned pale. He started to think of what would happen if Rarity know about this, and it wasn't a pretty thought. He then got in front of the crusaders as they were about to leave, kneeling. “No! Please don't tell Rarity!” he begged, “I can't honestly tell her about my secret feelings for her, yet!” The crusaders thought about it, but then started to get an idea. They then gathered around for a group huddle, so Spike couldn't hear. “What do y'all think?” Applebloom whispered, “Should we really take advantage of this?” “Definitely!” Scootaloo whispered back, “If we keep this little secret, in exchange to help us find our talents to get our cutie marks, this could be our lucky day!” “I'm not sure,” Sweetie Belle whispered, “What if Rarity get's into the fray of this? I don't like always keeping secrets from my sister.” “Not to worry,” Scootaloo whispered, “We'll just stay away from your place, that's all.” “If you say so.” The crusaders then turned back towards Spike, with mischievous looks on their faces. “Okay, Spike,” Scootaloo said, “We won't tell Rarity, one ONE condition.” “As long as you don't tell Rarity, I'll do anything!” Spike exclaimed. “Anything?” “Yes, anything!” “Well, in that case, you can help us with getting out cutie marks then!” Spike was bewildered by their request, but then decided to deal with it. As long as they didn't tell Rarity about his feelings for her, he'd be safe. xxxxxxxxx