AJ and the Dragon
Chapter 20
Love Lifts the Spell
The ones who were flying: Twilight, Flash, Rainbow, Soarin', Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Discord, landed back onto the cold and wet balcony, and they were shocked to see that Applejack was lying Spike down gently on the stone floor. Pinkie, Cheese, Rarity, Fancy, and Sweetie Belle were watching with sorrow. Spike was barely breathing. The place where he was stabbed below his ribs was slowly starting to bleed out, but indigo veins were beginning to expand from the wound.
Twilight felt weak in her knees. Flash helped steady her, but he knew that there was nothing he could say. There was no cure for the poison.
The dragon opened his eyes slightly, but that was just enough to see the beauty in front of him. Her blonde hair was pelted damp with rain, her hat was sopping down, her wet clothes were clinging tightly to her, and raindrops were decorating and falling down her arms and face. But, her bright green eyes were the brightest thing he had ever seen, still glowing despite the monochrome background.
"You came back." He breathed quietly.
Applejack fought back the tears that were building up in her throat. "Of course I came back, Spike." She said. "I promised ya. And I couldn't let 'em get to ya." Her eyes flicked down to the wound, which was starting to get worse. "This is all my fault. I should've been here."
"But your sister needed you right then." Spike replied, his voice starting to get more faint. "Besides, it's probably better this way."
"Don't say that!" AJ answered. "You'll be all right. We're back together, all of us. Everything will be fine."
Spike quietly coughed, then slowly raised up a claw to caress her face. His breathing was faltering even more, so he had to pause in between breaths. "At least... I got to see you... one last time."
Applejack held the claw that was gently cradling her cheek with her hand and leaned into the smooth yet warm scaly touch. But, Spike's claw soon fell away from her face and onto the cold and wet stone floor, while his eyes closed for the last time.
The cowgirl felt like her world had just been shattered when she sensed that there was no sign of life in him. "No." Tears were now mixing with the raindrops that were sliding down her cheeks. "No, please. Please don't leave me." Applejack laid her head down on the lifeless dragon's chest as she sobbed. "Please don't leave." She quietly pleaded. "I love you."
Everyone else looked towards the enchanted Ice Iris, and saw that the last lavender petal had already disconnected from the stem, and they watched with fallen hearts as it fell to the bottom of the bell jar. Fluttershy was quietly weeping into Discord's chest while he held her close to comfort her. Rarity was also crying, so Fancy had his arms around her and Sweetie Belle. Pinkie had her hair deflated again and was shedding tears, while Cheese had her in a hug. Soarin' had an arm around Rainbow Dash, seeing that this one time, she felt hopeless while a few tears were going down her cheeks.
"I don't care that I'm crying right now." She whispered hoarsely as she went in closer into Soarin's embrace, as did Scootaloo.
Twilight fell to her knees, softly crying. Flash went down to her on his knees. "This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I didn't cast the spell. Now, he's gone."
"From what I understand so far, if you didn't cast the spell, then he wouldn't have changed for the better before it was too late." Flash responded.
Twilight looked up to him, tears in her violet eyes and flowing rapidly down her cheeks. She then hugged him in search of comfort, and Flash immediately held her tight to him.
Applejack continued sobbing into Spike's still chest. She remembered one time that Pinkie had said that she cries on the inside. The irony of that now only made this worse. Please, Celestia, Luna, Faust, anybody! Don't let him die. Those thoughts were pounding out inside her head.
Nobody was noticing that the bell jar was mysteriously starting to crack as the rain started to stop. Then, with a loud shatter, the glass jar broke, and all of the shriveled lavender petals began regaining their healthy and luscious color and softness as they began floating towards the lifeless Spike with raspberry sparkles around them.
AJ quickly backed away from Spike, watching in awe with everyone else as the lavender petals and magenta sparkles began levitating him into the air. The petals and sparkles began swirling around him faster, making a bright white glow, causing everyone to shield their eyes.
When the glow faded, there was a young man in Spike's place back on the wet balcony floor. Applejack was about to come over, but stopped when he started to get up, his back turned to everyone.
The man examined his hands, like he didn't believe what he was seeing. Then, he slowly turned back to everyone. The man looked a lot like Spike, but instead of scales, he had skin. And instead of spines, he had hair. His height had decreased to only a couple of inches taller than the older girls.
Everyone stared at him in awe. But, he only had eyes for Applejack as he came over to her. "AJ, it's me." He said.
He even sounded like Spike. Applejack analyzed the handsome man in front of her, trying to see if this wasn't a lie. He had the same hair color and style as his spines, he had the same skin color as his scales. And when she looked up into his eyes, her breath was stolen. They were the same exact eyes that had always entranced her, draconic and all.
Her spirits soared as high as she ever imagined. "It is you!" She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck in a joyful embrace. Spike held her tightly, his arms around her waist.
When she moved back a bit, the two locked gazes, emerald green eyes meeting matching draconic orbs, and they both become lost in the other's. They then slowly began to incline their faces closer, their eyes closing. Their lips finally contact, and they both felt like sparks were flying as Spike pulled Applejack closer to him, while AJ had her fingers knotted tight in that wild green hair.
While they were having their kiss, magenta fireworks exploded up in the sky, showering the castle with raspberry colored sparkles as the magic barrier fell down. One by one, the cursed people had some sparkles fall on them, and they returned to their normal appearances. Eyes became normal, their ponytails and hair became normal, and for those who had wings, they returned to their original feathery states.
"Wahoo!" Rainbow Dash cheered as Spike and Applejack ended their kiss and she zoomed up into the sky, followed by Soarin' and Scootaloo. "Freedom!"
"Oh, yes!" Rarity exclaimed as she was twirling around with Sweetie Belle. "Being back to my real and fabulous self!"
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were hugging. "The spell is finally broken!" Pinkie cheered.
Twilight was brushing the end of her ponytail, feeling the soft ends of her hair instead of scales. "It sure seems that way." She stood up along with Flash, and the guard placed a hand on her shoulder, and she placed her own hand over his.
"But how?" Applejack asked, now completely away from Spike. "I didn't do anything."
"You did, Applejack." Twilight said. "You did what none of us could do right then."
AJ raised an eyebrow at what was said, but then Spike came beside her and took her hand in his, making her turn to him.
"When Twilight first cast the spell, she told me I needed to change and learn real friendship, and find someone who can help me do that, and who will like me despite me being a dragon." He explained.
"And that someone was me?" The cowgirl asked.
Spike nodded happily as he held her hand a little bit tighter. Applejack smiled softly at him as she returned the loving squeeze.
"So, what now?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight smiled. "Now, I think it's time I see an old mentor of mine." She answered. "After all, it has been a while."