//------------------------------// // Talk(s) // Story: A Dragon's Apple // by NotRamjet97 //------------------------------// Spike’s long, scaly wings cut through the air as he flew just in Ponyville’s cloud layer, glaring determinedly in front of himself. Sometimes flying over Ponyville relieved his feelings somewhat. Knowing that no matter HOW different things got, Ponyville would still be the same Ponyville it’d always been… he got comfort from that. Some ponies may have left, but it was still the same town he’d moved to back Celestia knows how long ago. He never could’ve imagined he’d make so many friends here, and he never imagined he could learn so much from his time in a tiny town. Not to mention meeting his future wife. Now that’d been a silly day… The first time he’d talked to her had actually been a slight argument. ***** Spike had an ice cream cone, mint-flavored, clutched in his paw as he walked along in Sweet Apple Acres, smiling and blissfully unaware of the area around him. He noted that the ice cream could use a few gemstones, but it was good all the same. He loved the overwhelming mint flavor. As he happily licked the ice cream, he was completely unaware of the speeding soapbox car coming down the hill before him. The driver, however, could clearly see the baby dragon at the end of the road. She gasped, her orangey-red eyes widening with horror. It wasn’t until the last second that she stopped her freezing up and swung the steering wheel on its rest, causing the car to fly out of control. “Wah!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, jamming the break in addition. Spike finally noticed the danger and leaped out of the way, exclaiming, “Whoa!” The car finally came to a halt, falling on its side to the ground. Apple Bloom’s eyes flew around in her sockets as she just sat there for a moment, trying to dispel the dizziness that came of the accident. After taking a moment to get over her dizziness, she got out of the car and exclaimed to Spike, “Are you okay?!” The purple and green reptile fixed her with a slightly stern look. “Yeah, fine. What’s the big idea driving so fast? WITHOUT warning anyone.” “Ah was tryin’ to get mah cutie mark in drivin’, and- why are you lookin’ at me that way, shorty?” Spike crossed his arms, but lifted the ice cream cone over his head so that a large glop that melted off could land in his mouth. Then he spoke. “Yeah, well that doesn’t exactly justify almost running me over. And I am not short!” “You shoulda been payin’ more attention to where you were walking!” “And maybe you should’ve called out that you were coming at over a zillion miles an hour.” “Ah didn’t know what to do. Ah’m sorry, but you’ve never careened down a hill at fifty gazillion miles an hour and don’t know what it feels like.” “Still! That mistake could have landed me in the hospital. Just try to be more careful next time, okay?” “Says the guy who walks around paying no heed to where he’s goin’! Speaking of which, I’ve never heard of a purple boy before.” Apple Bloom stuck her tongue out at the last comment. Spike gave the biggest roar he could, which was… admittedly very unimpressive. “I’m not just a boy, I’m a real bonafide dragon!” He breathed fire to prove his point… and the heat was so intense it melted his ice cream cone. “NO!” Applebloom burst out laughing, “Yeah, a real, bonafide, small, dragon.” “I’m not small!” “Yes ya are. Ah’m not even the tallest pony in mah class but I’m bigger than you,” Apple Bloom replied, smugly. “You are not!” Apple Bloom stood up in a rearing position, standing much taller than the young dragon. She quickly got back to four hooves and continued a smug grin, which Spike groaned about. “That doesn’t count! That’d be like saying that I could add tail length to my height, which I’m sure I could do if I wanted to.” He licked his ice cream off the ground in a single swipe of his tongue. “Eww! That’s so gross! Do ya know what ponies and doggies have DONE there?!” “Ten second rule.” Spike slyly grinned. “So?! That’s just- Boys are so gross!” Spike shrugged, and started off on his merry way. Apple Bloom huffed before turning to her cart. ***** Spike landed over by the Taedet cafe. The place was… Okay, a little boring, kinda closer to Canterlot than Ponyville, and Spike was sure he mispronounced the name because everyone else pronounced it ‘tiedet’ instead of ‘taedet,’ but he was starving. He walked in, very nearly causing several of the customers to scream with one of them fainting, and a waitress pulled out an umbrella and waved it at Spike, announcing with a shivery voice, “S-Stay away from me, I have martial arts training!” Spike rolled his eyes, ‘I knew it had been a while, but gee- and fought the urge to just snap the umbrella in half. “Hey, I’m not-” “It’s alright, folks.” A stallion’s voice said, “He’s with me.” Spike looked over to see a very familiar pony suddenly standing next to him. He wore a dark brown Stetson over his messy two-toned mane, and had a dusty vest that was left partially open. Everypony seemed to calm down a bit (some of the ponies were even starting to turn red with embarrassment) at the ginger-gold stallion’s intervention. The sole pony that had fainted was giving them an odd look. Both Spike and the pony went over to one of the unoccupied tables and took seats, “Good ta see you again, Braeburn.” Spike smiled. “Likewise, Spike,” Braeburn said, as he set his hat on the table and wore his own grin. “So what brings you all the way out here?” “The Apple reunion, that’s in a couple weeks. I like bein’ early for this type a’ thing.” “Oh, okay. What about Rainbow and Phoenix?” "They're back at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow might be payin' y'all a visit later." "Well...today might not be the best day." "How come?" "Well... Bloom and I had a little argument." "Uh-oh..." "Yeah... I kinda thought she was bleeding and wanted to take her to the hospital… but it was just paint." “Ah, so ya overreacted big time?” Spike sighed and grinned just slightly. “Pretty much.” “Yeah. Funny thing, I had a cousin whose best friend’s sister’s boyfriend who dealt with the exact same thing.” Spike blinked and gave the yellow stallion an odd look. “Huh? What?” “That means that statistically, others have felt your pain before!” Braeburn chuckled at his own joke. Spike stared back at him, agape. ‘Is he even taking this seriously…?’ “But yeah, I know plenty of ponies who went through the same thing. There’s this one CEO at Clothes Clothes Clothes who went through it. Sheriff Silverstar’s best friend dealt with it. Caramel did.” “So basically what you’re saying is, ‘everyone goes through it’.” Braeburn shook his head. “Naw, I don’t. But I understand the pain of all of those many stallions and mares who have.” “And furthermore you’re trying to say that you have lots of connections all around Equestria?” Braeburn chuckled, “I guess. But why are ya so jumpy? The only other one who was jumpy when they talked about their argument was worried because her boyfriend, eh… took it too far. But come to think of it, there was this other time… this stallion was worried about his pregnant girlfriend...” “Funny you should mention that…” Braeburn frowned, then his face lit up, “Spike? Is Apple Bloom-” “Yes. I just found out the other day… Hard to believe, I know, but we may be having Equestria’s first dragon/pony hybrid.” “Wow… Never heard of that one before…” “Yeah… I’m just… Kinda worried about him… her… whatever it’ll be.” “Oh… Is it if you’ll be a bad father? Or if the baby will be healthy? Or...what?” “Well, both of those, kinda. But one other thing is that...well, how will ponies take it?” “Oh…” “Yeah, I mean, you saw how everypony reacted to the announcement that we were going to get married. Imagine how they’ll react if they see our foal…” “Oh… That does sound like it could be difficult.” Braeburn nodded his understanding. “And… the other dragon and pony hybrid killed itself and its mother…” “Well, shoot, I do see where you’d be worried, big-time at that.” “Yeah… But… Bloom’s only been pregnant a month, so it hasn’t developed claws yet, and even if it had, Twilight told her to take these pills that should keep that from happening.” “Hmm… it sounds like things will be fine, then.” “How can you be so sure?” Braeburn smiled just slightly. “I mean, she won’t get hurt if Twi has anything to say about it. And you can’t judge the town’s reaction quite yet, even if a few ponies did react poorly to your marriage. Furthermore, most babies are born healthy and all the best fathers want to be the best.” “I guess… I just… I want them both to be okay… physically AND mentally…” “Like any good father.” “I guess… And then there’s all this stuff she’s going through. I remember when Twilight was going to have Stargazer… It looked awful! She kept throwing up, those mood swings, eating weird stuff. She even had magic discharges! It was hard enough with Twi, but...I don’t know if I can bear it with Apple Bloom…” “Well,” Braeburn grinned, “It might not sound like it now. But it’ll all be worth it, and it’ll be fine too.” “Well, yeah, but it’s my job to worry. She’s important to me.” “I know… Just tryin’ to help, I guess. Keep in mind though, ya don’t wanna be too protective” Spike scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Believe me, I did that today.” “Eh, we all have our off days. Just don’t treat her too different.” “I guess… Wait, I never see you having off-days.” Spike narrowed his eyes at the cowpony. “Are you sure you aren’t just lying to make me feel better?” “Believe me, Dash and I have fights and misunderstandings, just like all the rest of the population. The difference is that we’re pretty agreeable most the time. I mean, come on, could you imagine me picking a fight with anyone over anything?” “Wait… are you just trying to seem like all of that for not fighting with your wife?“ Braeburn sighed and frowned. “No, but Spike, my point is that I don’t pick a fight with anybody. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t part of a healthy relationship.” “Yeah… And I guess I was being kinda dumb.” “Nah, I’m sure Bloom appreciates it.” “Yeah… I hope so…” “Hey, deep down we all want to be cared about. I just suggest dropping stuff like that hospital thing when it’s over. She didn’t have to go to the hospital, so you shouldn’t have continued arguing.” “Yeah… I know…” “So… Do you know what kind of foal you’re having?” “Not yet, it’s not old enough. I don’t know if I want to know, though. I kinda want a surprise.” “That’s what I wanted...at first. But when Dash had a viewing… It was kinda hard not to look.” “Well… I’ll see.” “Yeah.” ****** “Are you ready?” Apple Bloom’s amber eyes inspected the area around them one more time. The cottage was dark, only lit by the warm glow of the half-melted candles in front of them. Fluttershy was only visible by that bit of light, her normal soft smile gracing her face. Some steam rose from the two plain white teacups that sat in front of them. The yellow mare nodded her response, met eyes meeting the teal ones of Fluttershy. “Yep, I’m ready.” Fluttershy fumbled clumsily with the teacup in her hooves for a moment, then just settled for picking it up between her teeth on the soft rubber part made for such a purpose and let some of the beverage slip into her mouth. She set it down and replied, “Alright. So what happened with you and Spike to make you so upset?” “Well… Ah was painting one of the sections in the library, and got some red paint on myself. And when Spike saw me, he thought I was bleeding and he completely flipped his lid! He seriously overreacted!” “Oh, I see. What did he do?” Fluttershy asked, genuine concern in her quiet voice. “Well… he was trying to get me to go the hospital.” "Oh... He's just worried about you... He wants to be there for you..." 'There for me?' ***** “Hey, Applebloom?” Applejack called out, “When’s Spike comin’ for ya?” “At seven!” Apple Bloom called back, irritation giving her voice an edge Applejack was getting on her nerves ever since she found out that she and Spike were having a date. She kept on questioning whether it was really a date, and… it simply was. Her own first, even if Spike had gone on dates before. “Apple Bloom!” Apple Bloom groaned, “What?!” “What restaurant are ya goin’ to?!” AJ demanded. “Just the diner! Ya know, the one you like goin’ to with Caramel.” “Okay!” Apple Bloom looked herself over in the mirror. She hadn’t done too much, it was just their first date, after all. She traded her bow for a slightly different mane style, and had on (a tiny, tiny bit of) eyeshadow, but other than that, she didn’t look any different. “Apple Bloom!” “Ugh! What?!” “You gotta be back by ten!” “Fine!” ‘Did Big Mac bug AJ this bad?’ Apple Bloom thought irately. At that moment, she just wanted to run right downstairs to insist that she was fine and to share the annoyance. ‘As a matter of fact, tha “Apple Bloom!” “Oh c’mon!” Apple Bloom stormed downstairs and was gonna give AJ a piece of her mind. “Look, AJ, Ah’m tired of-” She froze upon seeing Applejack with… Spike. “Oh… Uh… Hey, Spike…” “Hey there, Bloom. Wow… You look real pretty.” Spike’s purple cheeks flushed red. The baby dragon was clad in a dark purple tuxedo with a bright green tie. Apple Bloom felt her cheeks turn red, “Th-thanks, Spike.” Applejack loudly cleared her throat. She gave the two youngsters a look between smugness and knowingness as to what was doing on. Spike bit down on his lip, “Well...Uh… Sorry.” Apple Bloom rubbed her face. “Let’s go before AJ REALLY gets annoying.” Spike and Apple Bloom got going, slowly and awkwardly walking by each other’s sides. AJ rolled her eyes playfully and called after them as they stepped on the grass. “Have fun, you two!” Neither of the youngsters responded as they disappeared into the night. ***** While they ate at Tex’s Restaurant, Spike continued to entertain Apple Bloom, “And that’s why I make sure to always knock.” Apple Bloom burst into laughter, forgetting Sweetie Belle’s tips on being “ladylike”, she had given up long ago. But fortunately, Spike didn’t seem to mind, because he was on the verge of tears in his own laughter. “Wow,” Apple Bloom managed through laughter, “I might throw up if I caught Applejack doing that.” “Well, the best part was Twilight trying to explain. I think one of her excuses was ‘It was an experiment!’” Apple Bloom cackled loudly again, tears coming out of her clenched-shut eyes. “What kinda experiment requires kissin’?!” “See what the inside of Comet’s mouth is like? I dunno. Twi clearly didn’t know either!” Apple Bloom wiped the tears from her eyes, still laughing. “Wow…” “Yeah…” Spike took a bite of his well-done hayburger. The grassy substance crunched up in between his teeth as he chewed, his mouth wide open. “So, do you ‘n’ Twilight still hang out together?” Apple Bloom asked after composing herself. The mundaneness of Spike’s eating was all that it took for her to snap out of her uncontrollable laughter. “Uh, well, we’re not as close as we used to be, I guess, she hangs out with Comet more.” “Oh… Does that bug you?” Spike swallowed and shrugged noncommittally, “Not really, I was kinda growing distant from her before she met Comet, so… eh.” “Oh…” “No big deal, though. It’s like what happened with her and Shining Armor. We’re still like family, but we just don’t hang out like we used to, you know?” He flexed his still-growing wings and then shrugged. “Why do you ask?” “Well… I’m kinda feelin’ distant from Applejack, I guess. She’s been spending so much time with Caramel and… Guess I’m just feelin’ lonely.” “What about Big Macintosh?” “He says exactly two words and is interrupted half of the rest of the time. Do you think it’s quite like with that stubborn, talkative sister ah’m saddled with?” Apple Bloom’s voice had no malice in it; it had an almost wistful air at the end. “Not that I don’t love him, but he’s a busy guy and he’s no Applejack.” “But you feel closer to Applejack?” “Yeah… She practically raised me, I just…” Apple Bloom sighed. “I get it, I feel closer to Twilight than Shining Armor, I still care for both of them, but it really isn’t the same.” “Yeah, she’s like a friend, huh?” “Exactly! I just… I dunno, I don’t feel that way around Big Macintosh…” “Yeah…” Apple Bloom smiled at him, “Glad to know I’m not the only one…” “Ditto. To be perfectly honest… I’ve never really told anyone. Never really had someone to talk to.” He grinned a bit more widely when his eyes met Apple Bloom’s. Apple Bloom wanted to avert her gaze from the dragon’s sharp green eyes, but she couldn’t. “Really? Cuz I haven’t really told anyone, either.” Spike’s eyes shot wide, and he raised an eyebrow. “Wow, are you sure? Not even the crusaders?” “Not even the crusaders,” Apple Bloom affirmed. “Wow…” Spike’s cheeks started to turn red, “I, uh, wow…” “So… Uh…” Apple Bloom cleared her throat, “Have you told anyone about your situation?” “Already told you, no. Don’t really have anyone my age I can share it with, you know?” “Oh…” Apple Bloom mentally slapped herself for forgetting, “You don’t?” “No, you’re the first, really. Cheerilee suspected something was wrong and told me to tell someone I trusted really deeply.” Spike grinned the implications of his statement got through. “Oh… guess I did the same thing too, huh?” “Oh, yeah, guess so.” Spike nodded and smiled, showing his fangs. She found the fangs a bit distracting, but Spike’s genuine smile shone right through… and something about it just made Apple Bloom’s heart melt. “I’m glad…” “Me too… Heck of a date, huh?” Apple Bloom giggled, “Yeah…” Spike’s grin started to look nervous, “Think you’d uh, like another one?” “I think I would…” Apple Bloom smiled. Spike’s nervous smile turned confident once again. “Great. Is there somewhere you’d like to go?” “Maybe just the park, we didn’t really eat much.” Spike looked down at his half-eaten burger and full plate of fries, “Oh, heh, guess not.” “Yeah… Might be better to go to the park.” “Yeah, or the movie theater…” “That, too…” “Should we sleep on it?” “Yeah. That might be best.” “Okay. Are you done here?” “Yeah.” “Alright, I’ll get our food wrapped up and we can go.” “Okay,” Apple Bloom smiled. ***** “Apple Bloom?” Fluttershy’s voice brought the younger mare back to the present, “Huh? Oh, sorry…” “Are you okay?” “Um… I was just thinking, sorry.” “Were you thinking about Spike?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Well… What specifically were you thinking about?” “Our first date.” “Oh…” “Yeah. He didn’t seem too protective back then.” Fluttershy took a sip of her tea. “Well, you weren’t-” “I know… But I don’t want him to treat me differently.” “I understand, but it’s gonna be hard for him NOT to.” “Well, it’s gonna be hard to carry his foal, too. He needs to suck it up.” “But he wants to help you, make it easier.” Apple Bloom frowned, “Ah don’t need his help, if he’s gonna jump to conclusions like that.” Fluttershy remained calm, “Are you wanting to leave him?” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened, “No! No, no, no, no!” “Why? He seems to annoy you so much.” “But I don’t want him gone! Ah-” “Still love him.” “Y-yeah! And-” “You need him?” Apple Bloom exhaled hard, “I...guess. Just not super protective. That’s the LAST thing I needed.” “Okay then. Tell him that.” “I did! I yelled at him!” “Do you like being yelled at?” “No! But sometimes I haveta, to get my point across!” “Did you ever tell him? Did you just yell at him?” Apple Bloom rubbed her shoulder. “Ah guess ah just yelled…” Fluttershy went over and sat next to Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom, it’s good to be assertive, but...I know there’s a limit, I crossed it a while ago.” “You’re right…” Apple Bloom sighed, “I guess I did go kinda overboard.” Fluttershy curtly nodded her response. Apple Bloom took a deep breath, and released it in a long sigh. “Ah guess I should apologize then.” Fluttershy again nodded. “Well… I guess I should find him, too. Thanks for talking with me, Mrs. Fluttershy.” “You don’t need to thank me, I enjoy seeing you.” “Thanks, I enjoy seeing you, too.” Apple Bloom smiled, and eventually left the familiar cottage.