The sound of pacing hooves in the library below was what woke Spike up from his all too short nap. Yawning and stretching, he glanced up at the sun, noticing that it was hovering just above the horizon. He grumbled to himself, wondering what it was that had gotten Twilight out of bed so early this time. Though he loved her dearly, he sometimes wished that his adopted sister was a heavier sleeper.
Yawning again, he got out of bed and opened the door, glancing down to the library floor. Sure enough, there was his friend Twilight Sparkle, pacing back and forth impatiently. “Where could she be,” she muttered aloud, and Spike had to suppress a grin.
“Morning Twilight,” he said, announcing his presence, before stifling another yawn. Twilight turned away from her pacing and regarded her friend, biting her bottom lip as she did.
“I didn't wake you, did I?” At Spike's quick shake of his head, followed up by another failed attempt at repressing a yawn, Twilight could only smile, feeling slightly chastised and grateful that she had an understanding friend. “I'm sorry Spike. It's just that I'm waiting for a package. This quarter's edition of Pony Archaeology should be arriving any day now, and I can't wait to see what they've unearthed...no pun intended.”
Spike laughed, and turned to head to the kitchen to forage for something to eat, when the frantic sound of hooves on the door made him stop. He turned as Twilight quickly opened the door, expecting her package. “Finally it's here!” she exclaimed, only to fall back when she saw it wasn't who she was expecting. “Oh...Rarity...what a surprise.” She sat down, slightly dejected. The instant he saw Rarity, Spike's heart began to race as it often did when he saw the beautiful pony. His eyes clouded over from the gleem of the morning sun on her white coat, the way the last drops of dew flecked off her luxurious mane, the way...
“Spike, Spike are you listening!?”
Spike shook his head out of his stupor and looked up at Rarity. “Uh...sorry...what were you saying?”
“Honestly you mustn't get all googly eyed everytime I walk in the room. One might think you have issues.” Spike glared a bit at Twilight when he saw her snicker in the background. “As I was saying,” Rarity continued, ignoring the display, “Sapphire Shores has called me with an order for a new line of costumes, and I must fill it in just a few days. I need you to help me, Spike.”
“Sure...” Spike replied, finding himself drifting off to the lust-induced stupor that he was in before. Rarity smiled and trotted off to collect her things, Twilight laughed as she looked upon Spike, still in a distracted state of mind, before taking a throw pillow off the couch and gently shoving it towards him. “What'd you do that for?” Spike asked, shaking his head.
“You'd better get going loverboy,” Twilight teased, “The Hoofhills are just outside the EverFree Forest outside of town, and you'd better get a move on if you want to meet her in an hour like she said.” Spike stared at her blankly, before two and two added up in his head and he darted out of the library as quick as he could.
Twilight simply rolled her eyes. As much as she liked to tease Spike about his crush on Rarity, especially since the growing incident a few months prior, she wished he would soon get over it, or that Rarity would stop stringing him along as she was. At the end of the day, some things just couldn't be overcome, no matter what their feelings on it were.
/ - / - / - /
Spike was enjoying the day. Of course, enjoying the day while in the company of Rarity was something of an easy task for him, even if all he was doing was digging up the gems she found. Truth be told, much as he had tried to overcome his crush with Rarity and either move on or try and start some sort of relationship with her, he couldn't help but feel a rush of feelings whenever she walked into a room. Even though he knew that there would be issues with others—the very idea of a dragon and a pony in a romantic relationship was taboo at best—he couldn't help but want to try. After all, Rarity had admitted to him that she had feelings for him.
Right?
Spike shrugged his shoulders, and kept at the task at hand. It wouldn't do to have self-doubt creep into his mind right now. When they got back to the boutique, he would ask Rarity about
“There's just got to be some more sapphires around here somewhere,” Rarity exclaimed, going through the motions of finding the gems for Spike. She had her muzzle close to the ground, ignoring the area she was searching through, until she came to a brick wall. “What in the name of Celestia?” She glanced up, her eyes widening as she took in the golden yellow brick wall that was in front of her. “Spike, we have to get out of here now!”
Spike turned and saw the wall as well. It stood about 8 feet high in places, but the majority of it was torn down and covered in vines and moss. Through a crack he could see glimpses of a few buildings in the same state of disarray. “Why? What is this place?”
“What do you...oh, sorry. I forgot you and Twilight probably don't know about this place. They're the ruins of Lusitanopolis. It was an ancient earth pony settlement, founded before even the times of Celestia, just after the founding of Equestria.” Rarity couldn't help her curiosity, and lifted some of the stones away with her magic, making the crack in the wall bigger. As she did, Spike's eyes widened as he saw that the number of buildings were in the dozens, all of them of the same golden brick design as the crumbling wall in front of him. Off in the distance, about halfway up the cliff face was a cave. The only way up was a narrow bridge stretching from a bluff about fifteen-thirty gallops distance.
“It was abandoned shortly after the reign of Celestia began,” Rarity continued, “Or at least that's what my father told me. He said an ancient demon is supposed to reside in the cave on the cliffside, and that no pony who ever went in search of what the demon guards ever came back.”
“What is the demon guarding that could be so important?” Spike wondered aloud. When Rarity wasn't forthcoming with an answer, he looked up at her, and was amazed by the smile on her face and the few tears leaking in her eyes.
“The Eye of Equestria. I've only seen it in paintings, but it's said to be a diamond of immense beauty and grace. A flawless gem cut from the same ground that Equestria was first founded upon. Oh I'd give anything just to have a glimpse at...” she stopped mid-swoon and shook her head in protest. “But such a thing is impossible. Even an army of pegasi couldn't storm that cave.”
Rarity walked away from the wall, sighing as she did. Spike took one last look at the decaying settlement, his eyes fixated on the cave, as a plan slowly began to form in his head.
/ - / - / - /
Nightfall couldn't come soon enough for Spike, as he had returned from his search with Rarity. He couldn't help but think of obtaining that gem for Rarity. Having seen the look on her face when she even mentioned it was enough to drive him to want to obtain it for her, dangers be damned.
He had found it hard to focus on the tasks that Twilight had for him while she was busy waiting for the new edition of Pony Archaeology. He briefly considered telling her about the ruins they had seen while out in the Hoofhills, but decided against it, at least for now. He didn't want her becoming suspicious when he left this evening, and figured to himself that she probably already knew about them anyway. And if she didn't, he told himself, he would tell her after he had retrieved the Eye.
Once Twilight had left for the evening, heading to Applejack's to look through some old books on farming that Granny Smith had dug up while cleaning out the attic, Spike made his move. He packed away a small backpack and headed out the library, leaving a note for Twilight saying he'd be back by morning, as he had something to do. It wasn't the best excuse in the world, but it was the only one he had at the moment. He could always think of something later. And when he had the stone, anyway, there'd be a perfectly good excuse.
As he walked along the path to the ruins, the thoughts of what Rarity would do after seeing that he had brought the gem to her filled his head. Thought she had seemingly acknowledged the feeling between them a few months ago, Spike was still a little reticent of the whole thing. Often times he thought to himself how much easier things would be with her if he was a pony. But such thoughts quickly exited his mind as mere flights of fancy.
It was about an hour's walk to the ruins once Spike managed to find a shortcut through the forest, and the sun was just falling below the horizon when he arrived. He squeezed through the opening that Rarity had made earlier and took in the sights. In the orange hues of dusk, the buildings almost seem to radiate a feeling of power and knowledge from their stone faces. Spike whistled as he walked along, noticing all the intricate shadows that danced off the buildings. As night began to encroach upon the ruined city, Spike picked up a branch lying on the ground and lit it with his fire. A healthy emerald glow enveloped the dead branch, lighting the way as he walked up the ridge and towards the rope bridge leading to the cave.
“Well...here goes nothing,” Spike muttered to himself, as he slowly crossed the rickety bridge, taking care not to miss any of the oddly spaced planks that made it up. After carefully crossing, her looked back and let out the breath he didn't even know he had been holding in. He turned away from the bridge and looked towards the dark cavern in front of him. He held the torch out, silently cursing that the emerald flame didn't seem to make the darkness any less imposing. Summoning up his courage, and silently telling himself he was in far too deep to go back now, he entered the cave.
Much to his surprise, the first few feet of the cave was not that different from the entrance; that is to say, cold, gray and dark. He wandered among the stalagmites that dotted the cave's floor, keeping his eyes focused forward on the never breaking darkness. He stopped when he felt the cold stone floor of the cave give way to something more finished. Looking down, he saw an old marble floor stretching before him, with various hues dazzling throughout the floor. He glanced around the room and saw a place to set his makeshift torch. He carefully reached up, surprised to find the holder within arm's distance of his short stature, and placed the torch carefully inside. The moment his claws left the stick, light instantly filled the room.
Spike's eyes widened and his jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw the jewel encrusted, gold-encased room that stretch out before him. The light casually shone off the walls, glaring back against the opposite wall to create a cascading effect of golden light.
“Sweet Celestia,” Spike exclaimed, his mouth watering at the sight of so many precious stones before him. So focused was he on the newfound wealth surrounding him, he almost forgot exactly why he had come here in the first place. Just as he was about to satiate his hunger with a ruby that hung loose against the wall next to him, a flitting shadow against the golden wall caught his attention. He looked around, expecting to see somepony there, but found no one. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back to the ruby, when he was frightened by a deep booming voice.
“What have we here? A young dragon that has entered my cave? Why have you disturbed my slumber!”
Spike cowered back, his eyes darting left and right looking for the source of the voice. “W-who's there?” Spike asked, his voice quivering with uncertainty.
“A curious little fellow, aren't you? I suppose you've come for the Eye of Equestria haven't you. Too bad for you....” the voice let out a sinister laugh, sounding more like a cackle than anything else. Spike, summoning up what courage he could muster, stood firm in the face of this challenge.
“I'm going to win that gem for Rarity. So why don't you come out and show yourself!” Spike almost immediately regretted the display of courage, when he felt a chilling wind blow through the cave, dimming the light ever so subtly. A cloud of black and red smoke began to coalesce in front of him, growing taller until it stood at nearly four times his height. As the shape came into view, Spike could make out the glowing blue eyes of the shadowy figure in front of him. It lacked any real defining characteristic aside from those eyes, merely taking the form of a ghostly figure that only vaguely resembled a pony reared up on its hind legs, but with the hands of a dragon in place of hooves.
“You are going to...win the gem?” the figure said, examining Spike, the merest hint of a smile on its nebulous face. “You mean to tell me that you seek the Eye of Equestria, and yet you don't seek it for yourself?” Spike merely nodded his head. Then much to Spike's surprise, the being backed away, sighing as he did so.
“For such resolve, I would have considered your request,” the being explained, “But alas, the gem is not here. It was taken from my care many eons ago.” Spike's eyes drooped at the knowledge. He had been so close. “Now doubt the stories you heard were mere fabrications to protect the stone from would be treasure seekers.”
“S—so you're not an ancient demon that's going to destroy me?” Spike asked, a mixture of innocence and fear in his statement. The creature let out a different laugh this time, a hearty and rich one that seemed to fill the room with joy.
“What in the name of Celestia gave you that idea? Do you have any idea what I am?” Spike shook his head and the creature shook his own facsimile of a head in mirth. “Have you ever heard of djinn?”
Spike nodded his head, having heard Twilight mention them in the past. “You mean like genies?” The being seemed to be affronted by that remark.
“Heavens no! Genies are certainly beneath me! I am an efreet, a higher being that's similar to a djinn. I use my magic to help others where I may, but the rules of my help are quite clear. In order for me to grant you a wish, we must first strike a bargain for something you hold dear.” Spike's eyes lit up at that prospect. He could simply wish for the... “And before you think it, granting you the Eye of Equestria from wherever it lay is beyond my, otherwise impressive, power.” Spike's thoughts fell again.
“Sorry for causing all this trouble,” Spike apologized, almost turning to leave, before the efreet's casual chuckle caused him to turn back.
“It's no trouble at all. I am pleased you came. As I said it's been many a day since I had guests in my humble abode...and it's been even longer since a dragon had wandered into my cave, let alone one as remarkable as you.”
“Well,” Spike replied, smiling and standing up straighter now that his ego had been stroked a bit. “I don't like to brag but...I am Twilight's number one assisstant after all.”
“And this...Rarity you speak of...she must think quite a bit of you as well I'd wager. You certainly think highly of her, risking life and scale to seek out the fabled Eye of Equestria as you have.” Spike blushed again, but smiled all the same. “She must be a lucky dragoness.”
“Oh, she's not a dragoness,” Spike explained. “She's a pony...the most beautiful pony in all of Pony...why are you laughing?” Spike stopped his explanation when he saw the efreet chuckling even louder, trying desperately to hold back from an all out blitz of laughter.
“Please forgive me young sir,” the efreet said jovially, “But it would appear that I have been in this cave a lot longer than I thought. When last I knew, ponies and dragons wouldn't exist in the same valley together, let alone...fall in love.”
“Well...I...” Spike stopped, unable to counter that. He knew of the prejudices that existed. But Rarity was certainly different than that. All of them were different than that.
“But I'm sure that this Rarity is madly in love with you as you are with her,” the efreet casually dismissed with a wave of his smoke ridden hand. “In fact, I bet she's thinking of you right now.” Suddenly he snapped his fingers, as if remembering something. “I can show you!” He waved his hand, and a crystal orb, glowing with power, slowly floated over between them. “Shortly before...I accepted this post, I was given this as a gift. It acts as my window to the outside world.” Spike leaned in closely as the efreet began to chant. “Magic Crystal...show us the lovely Rarity.” The crystal's glow began to grow in intensity, and Spike had to squint his eyes for a moment, before the clear picture of the Carousel Boutique came into view. From the crystal, he could hear Rarity's voice.
“...I know I shouldn't lead him on. But he's so helpful to me. Oh Opal what am I to do! I don't want to break his heart by telling him I don't love him like that, but I don't want to lose such a good friend, and a free source of labor.”
The image faded from sight as Spike stood there, shocked. The efreet lowered his head, a stern look on his face as the crystal floated back to the stand it had been on. “I'm sorry...” the efreet said forlornly.
“After everything we've done...but I thought that she...” Spike heard her words filter through his brain, and the anger and resentment started to boil up within. “How could she so casually dismiss me like that!” He shouted aloud. “Especially when I...” he stopped, knowing that he still did care for her...deeply, despite the comments. The anger boiled away, with no target to go at.
“She dismissed you,” the efreet explained, as if it were merely a matter of fact, “Because you are a dragon. No matter how you look at it, you will always be a dragon. Even if she did love you...you could never be together. She would grow old and die before you were even an adult.”
“But I can't change what I am,” Spike yelled back, before suddenly stopping and turning back to the efreet, who had a blank expression on his face. “But...maybe you can?”
“...Perhaps,” the efreet offered, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “I wouldn't want to use a love spell, they're far too tricky even for me. And turning her into a dragoness isn't in the cards either. It seems to me that the simplest way to overcome your pony problem is for you to become a pony yourself.” Spike's eyes widened, the thoughts in his mind drifting to the possibilities. “But alas...you have nothing to give me in return...unless.”
“Unless what?” Spike demanded to know, almost desperate. The path was now clear for him, and he knew that he had to take it.
“You love being a dragon I take it?” Spike nodded his head in affirmation. “Then it's settled! You give me a physical manifestation of your dragonhood...say seven or eight dragon scales...and I will cast a spell to turn you into a pony.” Spike smiled, and immediately started plucking some loose scales off of his tail. “I take it we have a deal then?” the efreet asked, a smile on his face.
“Huh...oh yeah, deal.” Spike slapped the ghostly hand of the efreet, placing the scales there as he did so. The efreet smiled and snapped his fingers. The lights in the room began to flicker and Spike felt his body tingling. “Wha...what's happening.”
“Nothing more than a dream, my dear Spike,” the efreet answered. “When you awake, it shall be nothing more than a dream.” Spike struggled to hear what the efreet said on, but wind began to rush past his ears and his vision began to black out. Before he knew it, Spike collapsed onto the golden floor, and sleep overcame him.
/ - / - / - /
The sound of chirping crickets awoke Spike, who found he had a throbbing headache. “Ow...what happened?” He shook his head and started to stand up, only to find his balance completely off and falling back to the ground. He grunted again, surprised that it didn't sound like his usual growl, and reached up to comb his hoof through his mane.
He stopped when that thought crossed his mind. Hoof? Mane? Frantically Spike looked down, and much to his surprise he found that instead of a purple hand and claw, he had hair and a hoof . A check of the other arm proved that he had the same thing. Hearing a stream in the distance, he tried to stand up again, only to fall to all fours. He crept over towards the stream and looked down, seeing a green-eyed, purple coated pony staring back up at him.
He could only let out a simple, “Oh boy,” before fainting again.