Of Dragons and Unicorns

by WhisperWoods

The Second Scheme

Spike's nervous fingers cycled their grip around a stick he held, scanning eyes and furrowed brows. He sat still, safe under the cover of a shrub, considering his options, his plan, every little detail he could imagine. His toes wiggled in the cool soil, taking an idle bite from a handful of pilfered honeycomb (bee stings never were much bother for his thick hide). The Knight inspected his Excalibur with a cautious determination, wearing a bent frown, examining its details and contours. He was a small Knight - one without a steed, or a helm, or much else. But Spike had courage, Spike had honor, and by his reckoning, a Knight didn't need much else.

The good looks and astonishing charm were just a bonus.

And so, for now, his branch would be his sword, the shrub would be his castle, Rarity would be his damsel in distress, and Bruno would be his dragon.

...Er, rather, my... my 'beast'. Yeah.

Spike cleared his throat, the slightest of waver evident in his voice. His grasp tightened as his resolve steeled, discarding his honeycomb, tail pushing into the soil and forcing him to his feet. His snout poked its way from out of the safety of his coverage, looking back and forth before reluctant legs shoved him out of the safety of this bush. C'mon, knights are brave, Spike, he thought, shaking his head with a groan and a twitch of his ears. Spike plodded forwards, a new fire of determination in his eyes. This was it. This was it. He'd tried before, but this was finally it - and as Spike trudged with visible trepidation to the precipice of his destiny, the ghosts of his self-doubt clung greedily onto his legs, slowed his steps. But that was natural, he supposed, all things considered.

This was the most important event of his life, after all.

He held his branch poised and ready across his tiny chest, cautiously looking back and forth as he pushed more and more into town. The odd gazes gathered from the towsnfolk didn't faze him; they could gawk on, they weren't a Knight like him. Lost in his own fantasy of heroism and valor, not much fazed Spike right now either way! Not much besides the beautiful mare that fell into his sights at that moment. Spike sighed, then swallowed.

Rarity was sitting alone, outside of a cafè. A drink of some variety sat undisturbed at the table before her, a porcelain vessel resting at home on a platter; Rarity didn't pay it much mind. She was sitting upright in her chair, sewing some fine detailing onto a garment, old-fashion needle and thread trailing and dancing in an electric blue glow, bobbing in and out of the burgundy fabric. She looked to be embellishing it with some gemstones - naturally. She held the bundled fabric in her hooves as the needle and thread weaved, pausing from moment to moment to fish another gemstone out of her saddlebag and hold it poised against the cloth.

Spike approached, prone, stick falling to his side as he felt the nerves wash over his form. He swallowed sand before daring to speak, "H-Hey there, Rarity!"

Rarity's gaze didn't break from the project in her hooves, the familiar voice being all she would need to know to whom she was speaking, "Why hello, Spike! Are you feeling okay?"

"Um... yeah, I'm feeling just fine?"

"Good!, " Rarity gingerly held another gem to the fabric, "That rain yesterday was dreadful, I've been fighting the sniffles ever since!" She punctuated her statement with an indignant groan.

"O-Oh no, I'm sorry! Are you okay? D-Do you need anything?" Spike offered, looking away from Rarity to scan the horizon. No sign of Fluttershy, or Bruno at that.

Rarity shook her head, gaze never breaking from her work, "No, no, dear, I should be fine! I'm just sensitive to rain, as it were? Those are no conditions for a lady to be subjected to!"

Spike gave a halfhearted chuckle as his heart started to sink; Fluttershy did say noon, right? But he perked right up; distantly, faintly, Spike could hear crunching branches and shifting foliage. A harsh sigh punctuated one, final gathering of resolve as he looked up to Rarity, "Of course! N-not at all, especially one as fair as yourself, eh....hehe."

She giggled warmly at his cute declaration, quite used to them at this point. Her gaze never changed. "Mm, what's a dragon like yourself doing all by his lonesome on a day like this?"

As thorough as Spike had been in his preparations, he stammered; an alibi wasn't something he'd had the foresight to consider. With any luck, Bruno would hurry up, and he could start! But he bluffed, "Oh! I'm, um, just... getting... some tea for Twilight! Y-You know how she loves her tea...!"

His earfins flicked; a few startled shrieks could be heard in the distance. Finally. He craned his head over his shoulder, looking back and forth.

There he was.

Pulling his stick up from its imaginary sheath, Spike stood poised and bold, back turned to Rarity, fins flared and a puff of green embers illuminating his maw. His eyes locked forwards, on Bruno. The bear barreled over the horizon in an instant, head held low and roaring! Ponies dove for safety left and right, clearing out of the animal's path as it lumbered towards the young dragon with a burning focus in a flash of brown fur and slobber. Spike's knees shook, but he didn't move; sure, this was scary, but Fluttershy was nearby, Bruno was a friend. Was it a little... duplicitous to stage such an event?

Did it matter if it won Rarity's heart?

Spike lowered his head in preparation as the bear was quickly closing the gap between the two of them. He smirked; for once, it looked like everything was going according to plan! He shouted behind him, "Don't worry! Don't worry Rarity, I'll save you, I got this!"

Such was the first time Rarity's broke her focus. She looked up, genial expression melting into one of terror in record time. She screamed, rear legs wildly bucking, kicking her table over as she desperately scrambled to - well, anywhere, away. Her shrieks pieced the air, trembling body paralyzed in terror as she pressed her shaking form against the barrier of the table, forehooves hiding her face.

"SPIKE! Spike, run, get out of there!"

"N-No, I got this, okay! I'll save you!" he barked, in a tone that was a queasy mix of defiance, courage and apprehension. Spike held fast, one leg pivoting behind him, glistening eyes locked on the charging bear, the charging bear that closed the gap in an instant. The bear's gait lumbered from its bolting speed to a steady deceleration, galumphing right in front of Spike and pausing. He reared onto short hind legs, roaring thunderously, thick paws hanging carelessly at his side, craning his shaggy head.

Spike didn't move.

"B-back, foul beast!" Spike shouted, voice betraying his slipping confidence. He hoisted his weapon defiantly, shoving his branch towards the bear's chest, expecting Bruno to cower and back off, like planned.

Spike didn't expect the bear to swat his branch into splinters like a matchstick, however.

His frantic gaze darted from his now-empty hands, to the remains of his weapon on the ground before him, to the bear in front of him, back on all fours, coal black eyes ferociously focused on the small reptile. Spike gulped. A growl flourished into another roar through the bear's gritting teeth, his lumbering form swaying gently back and forth with his short steps towards Spike. He could feel hot blasts of breath from Bruno's nostrils, see black gums glistening with thick saliva. There was an uneasy standoff. Neither Spike nor Rarity dared move.

Spike was not about to let this opportunity slip through his claws.

Where is Fluttershy, where is Fluttershy, where is she oh no oh ff- Spike's mind raced as he grit his teeth.

He and Bruno locked gazes, both afraid to move. But Spike had to prove himself, had to be brave, had to be the Knight. His tiny muzzle snarled as he huffed deep from his gullet, a threatening flurry of green flames flickering out his nostrils and between his teeth, wild eyes never wavering.

And Bruno called his bluff.

The bear sneered with a groan, hoisting a shaggy paw and curved claws skywards, growl rising. He wound up his swipe, but Spike didn't waver. The bear roared, swinging his paw forward.

"SPIKE!" , Twilight screamed.

* * * * *

"Spike, you there?" Twilight urged, nuzzling against her sleeping friend's side, "We're here, wake up!"

The snoring dragon awoke with a start, shaking his head and lookout of of the chariot. Young eyes glistened in awe at the boundless blue sky, the endless stretches of tawny sands, the gentle rolling waves crashing on the shoreline. Spike climbed gracelessly over a protesting Shining Armor to get a clearer view of Horseshoe Bay, head turning slowly as he took it all in.

"Whoa..."

"Alright, guys, let's get set up!" Twilight Velvet called back to her children plus one in the rear of the chariot. She and Night Light gathered up the saddlebags containing a cooler and a few snacks, towels and the like; Twilight, Shining Armor and Spike certainly did their part, the unicorn duo hefting inflatable toys and plastic buckets, Spike picking up a single plastic pail and shovel proudly. One by one everyone hopped out of the chariot, Night Light straggling behind the group to speak with the pegasi pulling the vehicle, happily paying them for their time and discussing when they'd like to be picked up. He soon did his best to catch up to his family; it was a difficult endeavor to catch up to children as excited as that, though.

Twilight and Spike led the group, the filly's excitement only surpassed by Spike's; not only was this his first time going to the beach, it was, for all intents and purposes, his first real visit outside Canterlot! The completely different topography, the smell of the salty air, the warmth of the soft sand beneath his chubby feet, the bearing sun rays, everything was overwhelming and novel and he had to slow his pace down just a moment to take it all in!

"The pictures didn't even start to give it justice!"

"Right?!" Twilight answered, not even look back to Spike as she dropped her inflatable, her little legs bolting towards the shoreline. She left deep hoofprints in the wet, cool sand, giggling and hopping in place as an encroaching wave splashed around her ankles. "C'mon!"

Spike followed suit, dropping his pail and shovel off with the pool toys. He cautiously took a few steps into the shoreline, wiggling his toes in the moist sands, yelping a little at a rolling wave engulfing his ankles!

"Ahah, it's a little cold!"

"Yeah, but you get used to it, come on!" Twilight called, leaving a long line of hoofprints along the shoreline. Spike nodded, trotting up behind her.

"Hey, hehe, I have an idea!" Twilight said, pressing her hoof carefully into the wet sand, just out of the reach of the shifting tide. She pointed to the raised center of the hoofprint, only the faintest imprint of her frog visible, saying, "Now step right there."

Spike obliged, carefully leaning forward and pressing his clawed foot into the empty center of her print. He raised his foot, the duo giggling at the silliness of the resulting print; it looked somewhat like a dragon wearing bell-bottom's footprint. Twilight and Spike continued along, leaving the strange prints for anyone to see.

Velvet and Night Light watched with the slightest edge of apprehension; they were safe, Shining was already nibbling on a sandwich before he did anything else - but the beach was a little busy on such a beautiful day. They couldn't help but notice the stolen glances and confused whispers as other ponies caught a glimpse of Twilight - or, moreso, Spike. They did their best to restrain their parental worry.

This trip had been Celestia's recommendation. Spike was growing, learning, and adapting well, especially once he'd been allowed more time with Twilight. At first, it had just been spending the night on the weekends; but as time passed, the pair grew, more and more he'd stay an extra night here and there, come home with Twilight Thursday instead of Friday. And at first Night Light and Velvet were a little recalcitrant, but they'd be lying if they said the little reptile wasn't growing on them, too. But Celestia thought this was important, this trip to the beach.

Of course, Spike's novelty had quickly worn off in Canterlot, and all its residents were fast to accept his scaly little self, but, as Celestia said, "Equestria is a large place, Velvet, and I believe we'd both be foolish - or willfully naive - to believe your daughter and Spike are never going to travel beyond Canterlot. So far Spike's been nothing but well-loved, but... he's different. Unfortunately, until ponies get to know him, they're likely to treat him as such. I don't believe it would be sound to shelter him from that reaction forever... maybe, maybe get them out there a little. It's unfortunate, but we can't be afraid for him forever. Perhaps Horseshoe Bay?"

The parents swallowed, trying to keep a gentle touch. Children are sensitive; if they were to act like something was wrong, Twilight and Spike would certainly pick up on it. So there Night Light and Velvet sat, distracting themselves and spreading towels.

Twilight and Spike continued on their perplexing-footprint-creation quest, endlessly hopping away on the damp shoreline; she was so absorbed in the task, she didn't even notice as she scrambled straight into another filly on the shore! The two of them shuffled off of each other with mutual giggles, rising to their hooves.

"Haha, sorry!"

"It's okay! I'm Candy Floss."

"Er, Twilight Sparkle! H-hi!" she added with an awkward grin.

"How are... you..., " the filly trailed off, gawking at the dragon standing shyly behind Twilight. She froze.

She quickly noticed this and stepped out from between Candy Floss and Spike, tilting her head to indicate him, "...and this, um, this is Spike! He's a dragon!"

"He's a dragon?!" she faltered back a half-step on her hooves.

Spike waved meekly, looking downwards to his toes and smiling.

"Yeah! He's a one-of-a-kind baby dragon from Canterlot!"

"Er... hi."

Candy Floss gasped, "He can talk?!"

Spike nodded, getting a bit bolder, eyes bouncing up to meet the other filly's, "Hehe, y-yup!"

Candy Floss blinked a few times, stepping forward and recovering the distance she'd initially lost. Her eyes were alight with a youthful curiosity that was quickly overwhelming her initial nerves. She spoke directly to Spike this time, "...do... do you breathe fire an' eat gems and kidnap ponies and stuff like that...?"

Spike replied in complete earnestness, "...Gems? Yeah! Fire? Um... workin' on it! Kidnap ponies? Uh... well one time, me and Twilight were playing hide and seek, and she hid in a box, and I figured it out and instead a' tagging her I sat on top of the box for a while so she couldn't get out, does... does that count?"

Candy Floss giggled, "No, that's not kidnapping, that's playing hide and seek right."

Twilight cut a glance at them both as they shared a laugh.

"Um, can you swim?"

Spike blinked, "Uh... I've never tried."

Twilight chimed in, "Me and my parents were gonna try and teach him today!"

"Oh, cool! Come on, Spike! Let's go see if dragons can swim!" Candy Floss chirped, waiting for Twilight's lead. She took the hint, smiling and leading the pair towards her parents.

* * * * *

"Um, Fluttershy...?!" Twilight gawked, hooves taking a few nervous steps back from her friend.

"Oh, hello again! Twilight, you've met Bruno, right?" Fluttershy said, gesturing with a wing towards the bear calmly perched next to her. Bruno grunted gently, nodding his huge head and taking another idle bite of the chunk of honeycomb in his girthy paws.

"Y-yeah, what's he...?"

"Well, Spike was kind enough to give me a new brush for Angel! But, he-"

"Asked for a favor," she knowingly recited, eying the bear.

"Yes! And he wanted to know if I could ask Bruno to put on a little show for him!"

"To protect Rarity."

"...yes!"

Twilight groaned, tossing her head. Congratulations, Spike, this may be your most contrived scheme yet. Still, she was standing there with the object of his scheme; it must not have initiated yet. Twilight's pensive hoof reached out to pet Bruno behind the ear, and he simply groaned and pushed his massive skull against her rubbing, still slowly chewing. Maybe... this won't be so bad? Bruno is a sweetheart. I guess the worst he's gonna get is a bruised ego, hehe. Twilight chuckled, pulling her hoof back and looking to Fluttershy, "So, are you headed there now?"

"Mmhmm! Did you want to join me?"

"I-if that's alright?" Twilight asked, not waiting for an answer as the trio pushed townwards. She was actually a bit at ease, strangely enough; sure, it wasn't going to work, but Bruno was a baby, a baby who listened to Fluttershy's every whim! With the way Spike was talking the night before, she was certain it was going to involve fire, explosions or edged weaponry. She guessed Spike had gotten her all worked up over nothing!

It was then that they heard Rarity's distinctive scream.

Twilight froze, heart immediately beating out of her chest, pupils constricting. She swallowed, pinning her ears, frozen hooves pushing themselves to walk, then bolt as fast as they could.

"Fluttershy, something. Something's wrong, something's wrong something's wrong!" she shouted, running far past her confused friend and her ursine companion. Her shaking hooves carried her as fast as they possibly could, frantically running towards the assumed origin of the cry. Twilight galloped, hard and fast. Finally she crested the brink of a hill, and in the distance she could see the scene: there stood a defiant baby dragon, a roaring bear, and an upturned table.

Panic and adrenaline gripped Twilight, but she kept her sense keen; she closed her eyes, focusing as her horn flickered to light. In a crackling flash she teleported, rematerializing squarely behind this unknown bear and Spike.

"SPIKE!" Twilight screamed.

His tiny legs managed to shove himself back in perfect time; the paw swiped squarely at the air where Spike had been standing only moments ago. He laid on the ground, able to feel the breeze as the claws grazed by his stomach. He started trying to push himself back, bear approaching even closer, rearing up to swipe again! Spike winced his eyes closed and flinched, hands futilely raising in front of his snout in a feeble attempt to guard himself. He heard the bear roar.

But he didn't feel anything.

Warily, shaking, Spike peeled an eyelid up, peeing through his fingers, and looked up; the bear was turned at its waist now, roaring behind itself. It was then that he saw Twilight, head bowed and horn alight. She circled the bear more, horn glimmering with a wash of light as a bolt shot from it, against the bear's side! He growled out in shock, swiping as Twilight deftly stepped back.

"Spike, RUN."

"Twilight! No, you're messing it up, it's FINE, that's -"

"IT'S NOT BRUNO, SPIKE, RUN," she shouted sternly, eyes never breaking from bear before her. The bear that was getting angrier - with a growl boiling over into a roar, he lunged towards the unicorn, swiping, his paws carefully parried with another flashing bolt of her magic. Shaking hooves pushed Twilight further back, further away from Spike (and Rarity), but the bear didn't allow the gap to remain for long.

Spike could only watch in horror; he was frozen, legs paralyzed, mind racing and desperate to save Twilight. But he laid there futilely in the dirt, palms resting on top of the splintered remains of his "sword".

Twilight shouted, even more frantic, "SPIKE, RUN!"

And that was enough to push him to move, finally; he scrambled, never quite making it all the way off the ground, pushing a body that felt as heavy as lead to hide behind the upturned table with Rarity. The pair sat in wordless horror, neither looking to one another, merely staring ahead with empty eyes.

Twilight didn't necessarily have an exit strategy to this, truth be told. Right now it was just a dance of the bear groaning and swiping, only to have Twilight zap it away, leading to the bear's increasing anger; lather rinse repeat. Sure, slowly she was leading the bear out of the heart of town, closer to the edge of the woods, but Twilight couldn't afford the luxury of thinking that far ahead. She simply moved in time with her foe, hoping against hope Spike would be able to get himself to safety.

Fluttershy and Bruno finally managed to catch up to their friend, but she could only manage a whispered, "Oh no..." as she felt the color drain from her face at the sight before them. She stood frozen; Bruno didn't quite have the presence of mind to register exactly what was occurring before them. He merely chewed away.

The strange bear readied his paw again; Twilight held fast, but truth be told - she was wearing out. He knees trembled as his shoulder pivoted to swipe, but midair, he froze, and his head craned skyward! He took a few deep, audible sniffs at the air, curiously looking around. His eyes locked with Bruno.

Rather, they locked with his honeycomb.

The bear, seemingly suddenly oblivious to the annoying stinging unicorn, lowered himself to all fours and calmly trundled over to Bruno. The pair exchanged cordial sniffs and glances, the stranger offering a questioning grunt to Bruno. Fluttershy stood perfectly still.

Bruno returned the grunt in an affirming tone, offering his honeycomb forward. The strange bear, decidedly singleminded, pawed the honey-soaked treat into his grasp, gnawing on it as he wandered back into the forest, satiated. The bear gone, Fluttershy fainted at once; Bruno sat down with his friend, concerned.

Twilight's shocked eyes watched the scene unfold in apprehending trepidation; as she saw that massive brown hide disappear into the edges of the forest, she let out an audible groan of relief.

"Spike...! It's okay, he's gone," she panted.

The small dragon's - and Rarity's - heads emerged from the cusp of the table, glancing around to confirm Twilight's statement. Upon seeing the all clear, Rarity was the first to hurry out from behind the cover, shaking forehooves wrapping themselves around Twilight's neck.

"Twilight...! Th-thank you, so much! I... you're a hero!"

Twilight awkwardly returned the hug, Spike's tiny jaw agape. That... that should be me! Abject defeat washed over him as the adrenaline faded.

"Don't... worry about it."

As Twilight's adrenaline faded, the overwhelming relief of seeing her companion alive quickly relented to another series of emotions. Another, far angrier set. Spike yelped as she scooped him up gruffly in her magic, the dragon dangling gracelessly in the air, limbs kicking. Twilight could feel the heat rising in her face as she turned on her heels.

"...but gather up your stuff, Rarity, I'm sure you need to rest after that! And so does Spike."

Stern hoofsteps plodded along, pressing onwards, "Spike needs to go to the library right now, doesn't he."

Comments

[Neutrinos are Magic]

My opinion of Spike's schemes:

[Fido]

My opinion of Spike's schemes:

[raw19]

My opinion of where Spike is getting all these items:

[Bennet001]

I have always felt that Spike has always been portrait as someone head over heels in love, that is very true, but this scheme bordered slightly below psychotic but full blown idiotic. While I can appreciate a hair brained scheme, his after thought is another thing. Twilight not only saved his life, but did so at the risk of her own, and the first thing to go through the little bastards head is that Twilgith was getting praised to saving thier lives?! If he fights about this in the next chapter that's it!! Why doesn't he do the smart thing, grow a pair, walk up to Rarity and ask her out? Why go through this? This took it to far. Twilight tear him apart, make dragon flambé!!

[Swashbucklist]

Sorry it took me so long to get around to reading this chapter. I thought Little Spike and Twi's footprint creation was adorable and pretty touching as well. The other beach ponies' reactions to Spike put me on edge, but people, for the most part, usually have the best of intentions. Fewer have open minds.

And man, if these are the kinds of schemes he's coming up with to win over an adult who runs her own business, it really gives the impression that he hasn't grown up much since the flashbacks.

[H123G]

It's a decent story, but some of the grammar and punctuation needs a little work.

[WhisperWoods]

2483639

Appreciate it! Any particular examples stick out at you? This is a first draft with minor editing, and I have a tendency to use sentence fragments intentionally as a stylistic choice, but I'm SURE there's stuff that eluded me on my first pass c:

[H123G]

2483851
Its hard to point some out that I remember. A word or two I remember used a different letter, making a word come across different. However my biggest problem was the use of commas. Pro tip: Whenever you use a comma, there's always a pause. Like this: "Hello(Pause), how are you?"

However, you can also go like this: "Mac," Clicker paused as he nervously swallowed some sweat, "we have to talk."

You tend to overuse them, or put them in sentences where they're unnecessary.

[WhisperWoods]

2496817

Oh, okay! Thanks for the tip C:! yeah, I really overdo it with the comma-pepper shaker, it's a fact. In revision a lot of things will probably be split into separate sentences, instead of one run-on one. Not to be defensive, but I think it's a matter of trying to evoke long, meandering sentences as a stylistic choice. But I totally admit 1) it doesn't always come across as intended/"land" and 2) the commas persist throughout the rest of the prose in such a manner, totally unneeded. And I have a thing about interrupting dialogue, I STRONGLY prefer against doing it unless it's necessary to the tone of the dialogue for the action to interrupt it, but that's a stylistic thing again xD. But still, I appreciate you taking the time to elaborate and it's certainly something I'll be much more aware of!

[jocuda]

next chapter pls!! u.u

[WhisperWoods]

5217481

I'm alive and will FINALLY be updating this shortly ;w;

[Chaos_Lord]

I don't suppose you'll be coming back to finish this will you?

[LegendaryGodzilla14]

5218375
2020: Ha Ha No