//------------------------------// // Fallout // Story: The Dragon and the Changeling // by PrometheusDark //------------------------------// Spike's vision was slowly returning as the changelings circled around the six intruders, there weren't as many of them as there was in Canterlot those short days ago, but changelings weren't renowned for their great intellect. “Rarity, you take care of the prisoners, we'll handle these guys.” Twilight ordered, being a natural leader when the time called for it. Each of the mares affirmed in their own way. “You think you can just sneak into our town and kidnap ponies?” Twilight growled at the changelings, who just snarled and hissed back as they circled. It wasn't long before one of them got to eager and jumped at the mares, fangs bared and jaws gnashing. He received a swift hoof to the head for his trouble, compliments of Applejack. That's when it the tension boiled over. Each of the changelings lunged and attacked. Rarity busied herself by freeing the ponies. She pulled on them with her magic, trying to break them. It was no good, if one of the trapped unicorns couldn't do it, how could she? Then, while looking for something to smash the chains with, she noticed Spike. She couldn't hold back a gasp at his sorry state. She rushed over to him, her mission and the fight forgotten. Spike was cold to the touch. He stared ahead through half lidded, sickly green eyes that made Rarity's heart sink. “Ooh, my Spikey-wikey. What did they do to you?” She lamented in an over dramatic fashion, raising a hoof to her forehead and looking toward the ceiling. Once she centered her eyes back on him, she grabbed the sticky, semi-solid slime around his mouth with her magic and tore it off with all her might. It slid off with relative ease, but left a red mark on his scales like duct tape. Spike didn't even flinch, not from lack of pain, but in his near unconscious state, he couldn't work up a response. A changeling slammed into the wall right beside Spike with a sickening crack, it was covered in confetti. Pinkie Pie had her Party Cannon out, they would surely win. “Who...?” Spike's eyes started to fade back to their usual coloring. How did he get here, where was here? Rarity pulled him into a hug. He melted into the embrace and decided where 'here' was, it was awesome. “R-Rarity?” He was dumbstruck. Rarity, the mare of his dreams, was hugging him. Twilight tapped Rarity on the shoulder. When the pale mare dropped Spike and looked at her, the purple unicorn didn't seem to pleased. “You call that taking care of the prisoners?” She asked harshly. While Rarity tried to think up a response, Twilight just smirked at her, causing the pale unicorn to huff. “Pinkies got it handled anyway.” Sure enough, all variety of ponies were free from their bonds. All stretching their legs, rejoicing, and dancing about. Pinkie Pie approached the dragonling and stuck a key in the shackles, twisting and unlocking them. Spike just slumped down onto the ground, still weak. “Where'd you get that key?” Twilight asked, amazed. “Found it!” Pinkie Pie said happily. That's when a figure approached. Chrysalis didn't know what to feel at the moment. Happiness that Spike wasn't injured? Anger that those wretched ponies had hurt her changelings? She decided on the latter. “You horrible little ponies!” the changeling queen cried, her voice shrill with rage. Twilight stepped in front of the other mares, her horn aglow with magical intensity. “You attacked us first!” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily. She had a rather large rock thrown at her in rebuttal, forcing her to jump to the side, letting it hit the ground harmlessly. Of course, this didn't go over well with the rest of the ponies in the room. The freed ponies each gathered around the Elements of Harmony, glaring at Chrysalis. The queen knew she wouldn't be able to win against these odds as low on power as she was. But she was so angry she just didn't care. Chrysalis lowered herself and pointed her horn at the group of ponies and the dragon. She fired off a blast of green magic, which Twilight deflected with ease. “Is that the best you got?” Twilight crowed. “I've seen better magic from fillies.” Another shot, just as easily send back at her. Chrysalis twisted out of the way of her own attack and snarled. This wasn't working. “Give up, you can't beat all of us!.” Spike's mind was working in overdrive. What could he do? He just wanted to go home, but Chrysalis was in danger. Why did he care? She was the reason he was a prisoner in the first place, she probably even wanted to feed off of his emotions too, just like the other changelings. His anger welled in his chest as he struggled to stand up, letting it fuel him. Leaning against the wall for support, he rose. No one noticed him, they were to busy watching Chrysalis and Twilight duel it out with magic. Part of him wanted to see this too, but he couldn't with all these ponies in the way. He pushed his way though the crowd, stumbling now and then, tripping over hooves and his own feet in his exhaustion, until he came upon the edge of the string of ponies. He watched through tired eyes as his surrogate sister attacked his so-called friend. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Chrysalis stopped her assault when she saw Spike stumble over to Twilight. He placed a hand on her side for stability, and she turned her head to look at him quizzically. “Spike, not now, I'm kind of in the middle of saving you.” She said, looking back to her opponent. “Kick her flank.” He muttered just loud enough to be heard by all. He sounded so resolute, even though he knew he wasn't. He was letting his emotions control his actions, just like any other child would. Chrysalis felt her heart break, her friend was blaming her for his imprisonment. She felt defeated. One look at her told him he was wrong, she wasn't behind his kidnapping. But it was too late to stop Twilight now. “Will do.” Twilight said through a smirk. She proceeded to lower her horn and start firing off bursts of purple magic. Chrysalis dodged them as best she could, but she couldn't get out of the way of them all. Magic seared her fur and flesh, forcing her to skid backward. Twilight was holding back, and it was evident now. She ran. It was all she could do, lest she be killed. The ponies rejoiced once more, cheering and singing praises toward the Elements of Harmony. Spike, however, didn't join their celebrations. He felt low, lower then he had ever felt before. That night, a party was held. It was, of course, a Pinkie Pie party. Everypony and their grandmother was invited. The music was loud and pumping, the food was good, and most importantly, they were all having a great time. Save for one dragon. Spike just stood by the food table, ignoring everything that went on around him. Ever since they scared off Chrysalis, he'd been feeling bad. This didn't go unnoticed by the others, and soon, they were plotting to help. “What do you thinks the matter with him?” Twilight asked, levitating a glass of punch in front of her mouth. “You don't think he was really hurt by those changelings, do you?” She took a sip. “No, I doubt it, darling. The way he's acting, I think he blames himself for something.” Rarity informed, doing much the same as Twilight, only her glass held wine. “Like what?” Twilight was genuinely surprised by this news. “Not being able to help the ponies before we got there?” She took a stab into the dark. “Ah think its 'cause his friend left.” Applejack cantered over. “That Chrysie girl?” She reminded them. “Oh, that's right! What happened to her, Applejack?” Twilight didn't care for the mare, really, but it was apparent that Spike did. “She just plum vanished.” Applejack answered. “Ah'm sure Spike knows where she went, though. He left with her.” That was odd, maybe they had a falling out, Twilight wondered to herself, she didn't notice Rarity had wandered off. Spike looked up from his cup of punch to see Rarity trot over to him. She smiled down at him, how alluring she was. He remembered a time when he imagined they'd be together, but such dreams were shattered a long time ago. “Spike.” She started, trying to keep her voice composed. “How come you aren't enjoying the party?” She asked, thinking she might as well get the answer straight from him, rather then speculate. “Its nothing.” Spike answered sadly. He hated lying to her, but he couldn't tell her the truth. He helped a criminal, and even if she wasn't wanted, it still would've felt wrong to tell her he was so hung up on another mare. “It's not nothing if it has you so sad.” She replied, a little more forcefully then she wanted. She reached out and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “You can tell me anything, Spike. You know that.” She asserted. He was relenting. “I hurt a friend.” He had to be vague. “And she's gone now. I feel like dirt, and its my own fault.” He was on the verge of tears. “I have no idea where she went, so I can't fix this.” Rarity was surprised by this. Who was this friend he spoke of? She wasn't aware he had other friends, besides Snips and Snails, but they only hung out on occasion. Before she could ask more, Spike had started to walk away. “Spike, wait, I'm not done talking to you.” She called, but he had already disappeared into the crowd. Spike left the party, deciding all the noise wasn't helping with his mood. The night air was chilly for Spring, but that didn't stop him. He approached the library door and grabbed the nob. He jiggled it a bit, only to discover it was locked. He released a sound of aggravation, as he had no keys, so he decided to just loiter outside the library until Twilight showed up. She wasn't exactly sure why, but Chrysalis had the overwhelming urge to make things right with Spike. There were a lot of things lately she wasn't sure of. It had been so easy before, then he came into her life and turned it on it's head. So there she was, sneaking into Ponyville in the dead of night in an attempt to fix everything. The town was more somber then she remembered, but she attributed that to the fact that it was nighttime now. She heard an aggravated groan as she sneaked around back, it sounded very familiar. Chrysalis peeked around the bend, and saw just the dragon she was looking for. How could she go about this? He was most likely still mad at her for the whole kidnapping thing. She decided to do one of the things she tried to never do. Wing it. “Hello.” She said. Well, that was a great start. Spike practically jumped out of his scales when he heard her voice. He twisted around to look at her to see she was in her true form, but stuck to the shadows. Her green eyes seemed to glow through the darkness. “Chrysalis?” He asked, amazed that she would actively seek him out after what happened. “Oh man, am I glad to see you.” Her heart jumped at that. He was glad to see her? He ran over and hugged her foreleg, much to her surprise. She nearly backpedaled, but stood her ground. “The feeling is mutual.” She said with a smile.