Spike watched the festival from the stage where Celestia had just raised the sun. He was so shocked to see so many ponies basking in the early sun rise as the Queen spoke. Ember smiled defiantly at all the dragons who finally took pride in themselves. It was this festival that actually reminded Spike that dragons could be just as happy as ponies, even with instincts that told them to kill and hoard.
"The Summers Sun Festival is a day to remind us all of our harmony in Equestria," Queen Celestia spoke happily. The crowd cheered at her words. Spike searched the crowd for Blueblood, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Once the crowds died down, Celestia continued. "I hope you enjoy this amazing day, as always! Though, I do think we should hear a few words from our upcoming Kings."
The crowd looked just as shocked and surprised as Spike. He stared at Celestia who smiled motherly at him. Spike didn't have anything to say, or any idea of what to say. He looked at the crowd and saw all the dragons looking at him, they looked radiant as the sun beamed off of their scales. Their proud stances only made them even more confident.
"Prince Blueblood," Celestia moved aside and the prince finally showed. The ponies started standing just as proud as the dragons. Though, most of the mares fell at the sight or looked disgusted.
The prince smirked at the crowds, Spike knew that smirk. That was a smirk of way too much power. Celestia was dooming Equestria to stupidity.
"It's nice to see how many of you can show," Prince Blueblood's voice seemed so genuine and kind, now everypony was standing and smiling proudly at their soon-to-be king. "As you know, my coronation for king will be in only three months."
The ponies and dragons were aghast, as if they'd forgotten the date for the coronation. "I intend to bring as much power to Equestria as Celestia did. I will protect each of you and make sure everypony is in good hooves."
Now, the crowds radiant glow started to waver. Dragons looked disgusted, and some ponies were appalled at the claim. Blueblood's smirk only grew wider. "Of course, I will protect all of Equestria and make sure everyone is safe," his confidence and power didn't waver as more and more of the crowd seemed disgusted. It was as if he knew they would be, and he didn't care. "Of course,-" his eyes pierced the crowd"- when I am king."
The crowds silenced. Then ponies started to cheer. "LONG LIVE KING BLUEBLOOD! LONG LIVE KING BLUEBLOOD!" They cheered. But Spike noticed the one pink pony who wasn't cheering. She was appalled and constantly glanced at Spike, as if asking for him to step in. He didn't have to.
The crowds died down once Blueblood put his hoof up. He gestured to Spike, "Of course, we should hear from Prince Spike." He glowered in Spike's direction. "This is his first Summers Sun Festival, after all."
Spike bit his tongue as he turned to the crowd. Seeing all eyes on him made him sick, but he knew he couldn't let Blueblood feel every ounce of glory. And he knew the dragons needed something that wasn't the prince of a different species.
He waved sheepishly at the crowds and he could see Ember out of the corner of his eye. She looked so disappointed, and he hadn't even done anything. Suddenly, the eyes bore into him and the silence cut him. He swallowed and finally spoke up.
"I know this is my first Summers Sun Festival," he started. "But I can already see how important this is of a holiday for everyone." Now ponies started smiling too. His confidence built up like building blocks. He turned to many of the dragons.
"I've seen some faces I've seen never leave the dragon lands," he continued, seeing the dragons shift at his words. He only smiled. "And that makes me happy." The shifting dragons stared in shock. "It makes me happy to see you here, enjoying yourselves in a land where you are respected and worth a ponies time or bits.
"I try my best to help each of you, even if I didn't want to be a prince for a long time," the crowd fell back to fear. "But I see now, that dragons need a ruler. Just like ponies need one.
"We need to have a balance, even if it means two rulers," he stared at the crowd. Their lost expressions seemed to light up. "We might live in harmony, but dragons and ponies can't live together under just a dragon, or just a pony." He glowered at Blueblood before turning back to the crowd. "But I know that no matter what, rulers have to care for every one. Not just their own kind or the other." He finally turned to the ponies.
"I thank each and every one of you, dragons are meant to be mean and lonely. I've never seen dragons happier than the dragons on the streets with a pony," ponies saw the prince with respect. He smirked at the dragons. "Though, I think we need some credit, we have cool tricks."
A chuckle echoed over the crowd and he smiled gingerly.
The speech was over after Ember gave a speech not even half as inspiring as Spikes. Still, everypony knew Spike was doing better than Blueblood, so why did Blueblood look so content? Spike shook it off. He smiled as he watched the dragons soar through the skies, jump through fire, make fireworks out of lava, shower the city in gems-
He always heard that the speech was for the ponies and the performance was for dragons, but he felt as if the day was for dragons. After the performance, he was the first to clap and cheer, soon everyone joined along.
Then, he saw the pony part of the day come to life. The dragons must've recognized how the whole ceremony was for them, so many reclined and watched ponies perform. They smiled and clapped, as if they were the ponies cheering for dragons. Spike couldn't have been happier.
He saw ponies performing everywhere. Every corner and main street was covered in caravans, stages, curtains, tents, booths, and venders whose treats filled the air with a homey smell. Spike could even see Garble enjoying it, and he hated ponies and they were doing most of the work.
A blue pony just finished her magic trick, she stood on her hind legs and fireworks went off behind her. Garble was the first to cheer, once he noticed Spike smirking at him, he crossed his arms and looked away like nothing happened.
Spike walked over to a pink pony standing in between a dessert vender and a apple treats vender. She seemed happier than ever and said hi to every one who passed by. "Hey, you're the dragon pony, right?" He pointed at her. She looked frozen with her mouth wide open.
Before Spike could ask if she was okay, her body launched up into the air and fell to the ground in a huge gasp, though she didn't see hurt at all. He smiled. "Seem like a performer yourself." She chuckled and smiled.
"I never see you around, all the dragons say you stay stuck up in the castle all day or help out wingless dragons," the pony said, trying to keep her body from shaking with glee. "It's soooooo nice to see the future king of my best friends!"
"I just wanted to say thank you," Spike smiled and she froze again, her mouth looked like it was opened wider than last time. She tried to mouth out words, her eyes were wide with shock and she was inarticulate. He chuckled and turned to the orange pony running the apple treat stand. She had bags under her eyes and she leaned on her hoof with boredom. When she noticed the prince, she straightened up, causing him to chuckle again. He smiled at her.
"You should get some rest," he said and she shook her head stubbornly.
"No one sleeps through the celebration," she said coldly, then she noticed it and looked sheepish.
"It's fine, I'm not going to have Ember or my incompetent guards throw you in the dungeons for being tired," he chuckled and started to walk off. The pink pony grabbed his tail and gasped, pulling him to her side.
He snatched his tail out of her grasp and stared her down. "What was that for?" He asked and she turned to him, her smile even wider than before. She pulled him closer to her, so tight that their cheeks were touching.
"Fluttershy's doing her dance! We haven't seen her around recently, must've been practicing," the pony jumped and pointed at the sky. Spike saw a yellow pegasus and he could admit she was very pretty.
She had a soft yellow and a pastel pink, only making her teal eyes stand out. She wore a light green dress with what seemed like a bouquet of flowers in her hair, though they were falling to the ground as she moved. He couldn't see any makeup on her face, meaning she was just a natural beauty. After seeing past her beauty, he noticed something odd.
She was dancing in mid-air, about three times a ponies size taller. A clearing was underneath her, moving with her movements. Though she wasn't dancing with anyone, and he tried to see her wings. They were strapped against her back. He stared in awe. Her movements looked as if she was in a waltz, yet no one was with her.
He knew magic, and nothing surrounded her to make her move in mid-air without her wings. And she looked as if she was holding on to something. He saw the crowd beneath her in awe and cheering, even if every time she looked down her eyes darted to look slightly upwards. If she was so nervous, then why was she doing it?
"How's she doing that?" Spike asked and Pinkie started to dance with him, he just followed along. She talked as they danced.
"No pony knows!" She pulled away, keeping her hoof with Spikes claw. She twirled back and into his arms, where she turned back and put one of her hooves in his claw and the other on his shoulder. "She just dances like that, it's been like that ever since last year.
"Ponies and dragons liked her once they finally noticed her, so they tried to score a date with her," the mare smiled as he pulled her up from the dip. "She always denied, so of course, the guys got mad and started just dancing with her."
"Like you?" He asked and she giggled, twirling away again and back.
"It's fun to talk and dance, she usually mouths words when she dances. But anyways, when guys started forcing her to dance, something would shoot them away. After a few more burnt ponies and dragons turned upside down, no one messed with her. They'd ask for a dance and decline, then they stopped entirely.
"Some think the witch Rarity -which is a friend of hers- cursed her since she's so pretty. Though, she seems so happy, and if I know Rarity, then I know she would brag," she smiled again as they ended their dance and ended up closer to Fluttershy than the apple stand. "I say its a creature she fell in love with that keeps her safe. I mean, if you notice her dress, it looks like something's holding onto it," she bounced away.
Spike turned to see that she was right. It looked as if something was on her waist, holding her closer. This peaked his curiosity, though the idea of being turned upside down for simply asking questions scared him. He started following the pink pony, feeling as if she was his first friend all over again.
"You usually dance with dragons?" He asked as he caught up to her and she smiled.
"It makes me happy to see them happy. No mare in town would ever dance with a male dragon and act as if they were dancing with a stallion," she smiled as they finally got to a clear street to talk. He looked around, surprised by the emptiness.
"I suspected no one would be here," she stated. "Without many dragons performing, there was bound to be a free street." She looked around at the desolate street. They could hear the thunderous roars of cheers and music from the festival. She smiled. "I loved your speech, its nice to know there's a dragon looking out for dragons for once."
"What's your name?" He asked and she smiled and saluted playfully.
"Pinkemena Diane Pie, at your service," her salute fell to laughter as she bounced around the emptiness. "Call me Pinkie Pie, or Pinkie!"
He extended his claw, "Nice to meet you. Name's Spike, though I'm sure you know that." His heart froze as the mare took his hand and shook it wildly. Why did he subconsciously treat this mare differently than Rarity? Duh, he thought. Rarity wouldn't have known me like her.
He looked at her and didn't feel anything like he felt with Rarity. Around Rarity he felt nervous and self-conscious. Around Pinkie Pie, he felt like himself, he felt like her friend. He stared at her, worry covering his face. His heart was dooming him to a cursed queen, or no queen at all.
"What's wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked when the tired orange mare walked up and grabbed her tail in her mouth. She shrugged and let the mare drag her on her back. Spike had no idea how she put up with it. Ponies didn't have scales, they had little fur that held their skin underneath. How couldn't she be in pain.
"Whatever it is!" She cupped her hooves and yelled. "Good hearts make it out okay!" She shot him a wink and flashed him a smile before bouncing to her hooves and following the orange pony, leaving him alone. He sighed.
He tried to like her, she danced with him and she talked so freely and she made him feel as if he could be a charming prince. Not a little dragon. So why didn't he like her over Rarity? Rarity simply screamed at the feeling of his claws, she made him feel so small and self-conscious. So why her and not her?
He sighed and then smiled confidently. He walked back to the festival. He told himself he was there to enjoy it, not look for a queen. He was there for his subjects, not a bet.
As he walked to the festival, he got the warm, homey feeling from before. He saw Garble whistling and cheering ponies on, especially when they used fireworks or fire. He saw ponies perform with help from old dragons who criticized them and then smiled like parents at children. He saw dragons and ponies cheering on a blue unicorn with a purple cloak and hat. She seemed to have the biggest crowd and no dragon mentor behind her.
He saw lines packing the venders of treats. The Apples cart, the Cakes desserts, Ditzy's muffins, Gustave Le Grands éclairs, Donut Joe's donuts, and Mulia Milds chocolate delights. He wanted to enjoy the treats as well, especially the donuts, chocolate, and the cupcakes, but he saw how long the lines were, and decided him and Garble would go diamond hunting later.
He smiled as he saw Pinkie Pie bounce between each one, giving a helping hoof to every pony, griffon, and mule. He even saw some dragons at a vender for gems. Now he saw why every one enjoyed the holiday.
He saw yellow and orange stages, dragons clapping overhead while ponies stomped their hooves. The purple and blue mysterious caravans of wonder, the deep purple and orange tents for tarot cards, hoof or claw readings, and crystal ball fortune telling.
The banners that hung between poles were burnt to crisps as the clear sky shown bright and the slight breeze made the strings sway in the wing. He turned his attention to the stage where Ember and Celestia invested in small talk as they went through applauding fillies, answering journalists questions, and giving autographs.
Then his mind ran to the worst. Where was Blueblood? Normally, the prince would at least seemed effected by losing to Spike, but he didn't even seem fazed. And Spike could see why.
Across the crowd of ponies -the dragons were mostly flying- he saw through a clearing and saw the pony prince talking to a mare with a rose in her mane. She smiled sweetly as he placed it in her mane, it instantly fading from the royal blue to a crimson red dashed with back.
She had a dark dress of red and black, her coat was a milky white and her hair was curled into a precious purple. Now he saw the gothic beauty that was Rarity. He no longer saw the punk he met, he saw the witch Rarity. The mare who stood out, who was smiling... at Blueblood.
His blood boiled and he dashed towards her.
He climbed to the top of a blue caravan, ignoring the calls from below that stopped the second they saw him. He dashed past performing ponies on a orange stage.
He saw Rarity and Bluebloods talk get closer.
He jumped over a tent from a caravans roof, coming close to knocking it down. His feet sprung with pain as he landed on the ground, he didn't listen when they burned for him to stop.
He ran over a yellow stage, ruining the trick of the popular blue mare. He didn't stop when she yelled after him.
"HEY!" She yelled, her voice was high pitched and annoying to say the very least. He finally saw a clearing form in the crowd and looked around for caravans. He saw none.
As he dashed through the clearing, he tripped over something and fell to the ground. When he looked back to see what he tripped over, he saw nothing. He looked up and saw Fluttershy dancing with her eyes closed and a smile plastered on her face.
He crawled to his feet and started running again. His eyes dilated in fear once he saw Blueblood take her hoof. His legs miraculously moved even faster.
He ran past a tent and tripped over one of the pins that held it to the ground. He would've looked back to see if he knocked it out of place, but the lack of screams gave him his answer.
He saw a tent with a door in the side of it. He didn't want to, but with the crowds on either side, he'd need to. He rolled his eyes as he climbed through the door and saw it was bigger on the inside. A fortune teller and table sat right in front of him. He looked beyond those and saw an opening in the tent on the other side.
But again, with the crowds, he would have some trouble. The space behind the fortune teller was too small for a dragon. He scowled as he jumped up and ran over the fortune tellers work, receiving half-hearted yells. He knocked over a crystal ball, skewed the cloth, and kicked a whole deck of cards across the room.
"SORRY!" That he just had to say sorry for, and the fact he had a soft spot for fortune tellers. He dashed out through the small opening.
He looked around, trying to see what the next best move would be. He saw none. Ever direction was a crowd, a crowd he was stuck in the middle of. He groaned as he tried to maneuver his way through ponies.
He got caught in a crowd of ponies, mixed in dancing, watching, waiting, and talking. He tried to get past them, his eyes trying to see over the crowd-
He looked around once he realized he was caught. He saw a purple caravan with a orange unicorn performing. He dashed towards there -well, he practically had to walk, as he was stuck in the crowd. He finally got free and saw the fake orange fire light ablaze as he fell to his knees from the crowd.
He saw her firey mane and the evil that stuck to her eyes as she performed lethal tricks, most only dragons watched her show. He was panting when he tried to launch to his feet. His launch turned to a slow rise to him leaning against the back of the caravan. He looked up at the ridges in the caravans wood.
He groaned as he reached up and locked one of his claw in the ridge, the other three claws making their own ridges. He pulled himself up higher with the other claw, pain erupted in his body. The pain in his feet and legs from running was barely bearable, but on top of that, he had just been jabbed in the sides and back from ponies unaware he was there. His claws fell from the wooden ridges, his body fell to the ground with a silent thud! as the music only seemed to get louder in his ears.
He groaned again as he forced himself up. He tried again and made it to the top of the caravan. But as he tried to dash to the end to get to another, he saw that she and Blueblood weren't there. Fear struck him as his body gave in and fell off the side.
"Spike!" He heard his friend yell and he looked up at the sky. He saw a huge, red beast in the sky. Yellow webbed between red sticks flapped as it passed overhead. His eyes shot open and he sat up.
"Outlaws!" He pointed and saw the dragon look his way. The dragon stopped and stared at him. He nodded and dropped something. Spike wailed to catch it.
A purple unicorn with a loose pink dress caught it. She stared at Spike and Garble, her face morphed to worry as she rushed over to them. "Take him to the local tavern!" The purple unicorn ordered of Garble.
"Why? It's not like he's seriously hurt or anything," Garble said, looking up from Spike who squirmed to get out of his grasp. "If Spike can squirm, Spike's fine." He dropped Spike who just growled.
"I don't care!" She yelled, worry covering her voice. "Just take him there, I'll explain everything there!" She took off. Garble turned to Spike for orders. Spike looked up at him, exhaustion and fatigue clouded his eye as Garble extended a claw to him. He took it and stood up, even if pain was surging to his legs, he was not going to let Garble carry him across town.
"Let's just go," he murmured and turned to the crowd. Fear struck him and he whirled to Garble. "I have to help her-"
Garble picked him up and flew into the air, dashing over the crowds so no one could tell he was carrying the prince. He looked at Spike and smirked. "Princess," he smiled and Spike crossed his arms.
"So why am I here?" Spike asked sharply as he sat in the room with four mares and his guard who seemed just as annoyed. There was Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, the purple unicorn, and the orange earth pony who was nodding off against the bar that sparkled with new. He sat on a table with Garble standing beside it.
The unicorn was pacing back and forth, worry and frustration covered her face. Pinkie Pie looked just as worried and Rainbow Dash just seemed confused.
"Yeah, I'm with him," Rainbow Dash pointed at Spike. "He goes running around, his body gives out cause he ran so much, you catch something, and now we're here and you're looking more worried than ever." She walked over to the unicorn and put a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to stop. "Pacing isn't gonna help, Twi."
Twilight sighed and turned to the prince, something green glowing in her hooves. She handed it to him and he grabbed it from her. He looked at it and saw nothing but a tasty gem, he could feel Garble peeking over his shoulder. He looked up at Twilight, "It looks like a regular old gem."
"Yeah, and it looks tasty," Garble smirked.
A book floated over, encased in a purple aura. The pages flipped and she turned the book to the two. It had a picture of the gem he held in his hands, Garble only noticed the word poisonous and turned away. Spike grabbed the book away from her magic and skimmed over the page.
He was still confused. "So, it's a poisonous gem. So what?" He asked, looking up at her from the book. Twilight rolled her eyes and grabbed the gem.
"Don't you get it?" She asked, every one in the room started listening, realizing she would say something important. "An outlaw sent this to bait you into eating it! Or any other dragon willing too!"
Spike finally got it, but still shook his head. "So they want a dragon dead? Why?"
"Outlaw dragons probably want pony loving dragons dead so they can rule, the less dragons, the less fight," Twilight offered, but the look Spike gave her told her she was wrong. Garble gave her the same look.
"Outlaw dragons only want dragons to go back to the way they were, or they don't care at all," Spike explained, kicking his feet. "They would kill a pony more than they would a dragon."
"So, what do you think it means?" Twilight asked the prince. Spikes spine went straight with fear. Someone depending on him for answers... someone who was smart?
Garble always asked questions and orders, but they never mattered and he knew Garble barely saw him as a prince. This pony saw him as a leader with the answers. Spike bit his tongue as his tail swayed on the table in fear.
"Um... I don't know," he admitted and Rarity finally found her way to the front of his mind again. His eyes dilated in fear and he threw the gem towards Garble who chucked it across the room to fight temptation. Spike tried to run out of the tavern, but Twilight appeared in front of him. She looked like an angry mother.
"And where are you going?" She asked, not even taking the time to realize her place underneath him. It was as if she believed it was her job to protect him. He knew he would learn to love and hate this pony, but not in the way he liked and despised Rarity.
"I gotta make sure Rarity's okay," he trekked past her and burst through the doors. He looked around and saw the crowd even more full. He swallowed as he took the same route as last time, except not ruining any shows or jumping down from caravans until his feet ached. He was still in no condition to be running as fast as he was, but he made it much farther than last time. He made it to the place they were before Blueblood took her off somewhere.
He panted as he looked around. Three branching paths. The woods, a secret passage into the woods, or the castle. The woods to his left, the passage right in front of him, the castle to his right.
He lunged for the secret passage and crawled through it, fighting thorns that pricked him and cut branches that scrapped his scales and dug their way underneath them. His knees and claws were pierced from rocks on the path.
Please tell me she's okay, please tell me she's okay, please tell me she's okay, he prayed as he crawled faster. Pain overtook him again and he started to slow down. He stopped for a second, trying to contemplate the why behind this endeavor, but he just went faster than before.
He came to a set of bushes, making a clearing in the woods. He wanted to stand and he wanted to cough, and most of all, he wanted to relax. But once he heard voices, neither of those wants could ever come true. He crouched down and looked through the bushes to see Rarity smiling and Blueblood smirking.
He was appalled as he heard them talk.
"I do have to say, I enjoy this look more than that brutish one from before. How ever did you end up that way?" Blueblood asked, charm and sweetness melted off of his tongue with every word. Spike could see that Rarity was happy, he could see she was safe. So why was his heart breaking at the sight of the witch finally smiling?
"Well, as I was brewing a potion, it got caught in my magnificent mane," she flicked her mane with a cocksure smile. "Then, I made a potion to get it out of my mane, and one to get it off of all my things. Long story short, or, short story short, I mixed up the two bottles."
She went sheepish and smiled nervously. "You don't hate that I'm a witch, right?" She giggled nervously. Spike lost his breath. He went sheepish and nervous around her and it was obvious by his mind that he liked her. Especially since his mind was racing with how cute the witch looked.
His heart broke farther. She really liked the Prince Blueblood? He needed to do something, anything to get her away from that monster before she fell to far into his trap. But he didn't do anything.
For once in his life, rage overtook his good heart. If she wants to be with him, fine, his thoughts were fueled with anger. He clenched his claws and turned away, not even caring if Blueblood or Rarity saw him. Though, he assumed the overgrowth of the woods would conceal him. Let the witch and snake marry, I'll protect the kingdom from their evil reign. He growled and gritted his sharp teeth.
Rarity stared wide eyed at the edge where he had once been. Because she saw the green spike on his head from around a tree, she could hear the distant growl that Blueblood assumed was a timber wolf and that they should be going.
She wanted to burst into tears and confusion. Once her mind caught up, her face hardened to steel and forced a smile. Why did she care that the monstrous beast went after her? Probably trying to catch her off-guard so he could slaughter her for her crimes against him.
Like she could ever care about what a dragon did or said. She giggled slightly and smiled at Blueblood, her pawn.
Blueblood smiled at her, his princess.