• Published 19th Feb 2013
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The Lion and the Lamb - CrazyChickenLady



After following a baby griffon into a dangerous situation, Fluttershy finds herself rescued by a kind-hearted dragon and ends up befriending him.

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Chapter Forty-One: Getting Ready

Chapter Forty-One: Getting Ready

“Just a little longer, Fluttershy, and you’ll have beautiful curls!” Rarity gushed, pressing her hooves to her cheeks, her face practically glowing.

“Rarity, are you sure she’s gonna need makeup?” Rainbow Dash queried. She understood the need for a dress and didn’t question fixing up the pale yellow mare’s mane, but she was beginning to think makeup was a little too much.

“Of course! Makeup is a must for a night out with a nice stallion… male.”

“Ah wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t comin’ outta mah own mouth, but… Ah agree with Rarity, Dash,” Applejack stated, allowing Chenoa to climb onto her back. “Ah mean, they’re going to the Mareiot. That’s exactly a place you can jus’ run a wet comb through yer mane an’ call it done. It’s like one of them high society fares.”

“High society?” Fluttershy whimpered, every single lock of her thick, long mane coiled around hair rollers. “Oh, dear.”

“Eh, don’t worry yer pretty little head over it, Fluttershy. It’s not like yer gonna see anypony famous there, and Ah doubt anypony will recognize ya anyway.”

“I guess. But, it just kinda makes Fluttershy look like she’s trying too hard to win Smokey’s heart. Believe me,” she said, placing a hoof over her chest, “I know a thing or two about trying too hard.”

The alabaster unicorn was tempted to point out to the cyan pegasus that she always seemed to try too hard. It was a bit of a stretch from the truth, but it was understandable when one could witness how hard she trained herself when performing her flight maneuvers. She brushed it off and applied a layer of mascara to Fluttershy’s eyelashes.

“There you are. Now, we just need the powder, the blush, lipstick, perfume, a bit of glitter spray for your mane…”

“Well, hay, if it’s anything’, Ah wouldn’t be gettin’ too much on fer this mahself, either. Get mah mane done, a hooficure, and a nice dress and Ah’d be just dandy. No sense in going through all the froo-froo. Though, Ah ain’t never been on a date before, so what do Ah know?”

The farmer shrugged as Fluttershy grimaced at the concept of powder. She recalled her brief days as a fashion model, during backstage when she had been all but assaulted by the makeup artists.

“Well, Applejack. If you took the time to… clean up a bit, maybe you’ll get noticed more.”

Replacing her mascara back into her traveling kit, Rarity took out the powder and a soft brush and proceeded to pat it lightly to Fluttershy’s face.

Applejack snorted, indignant.

“What--? Why Ah never! Maybe if you weren’t too into those gussy froo-froo--”

“Alright, girls, break it up,” Twilight Sparkle interrupted. “We really ought to be focusing on Fluttershy here. It’s her big night after all!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie’s head burst from the bucket of hair rollers -- said bucket being far too small to logically hold her body -- and still wearing the dragon costume. “Focus, girls!”

“Well, excuse me all ta Tartarus, but what exactly are we supposed to be doin’?” Applejack countered. “All we really need ta do is get Fluttershy all gussied up and dressed and Rarity’s doin’ a fine job just handlin’ that all on her own!”

“You can tell her how beautiful she looks when I’m done,” Rarity answered, finishing with the powder and dropping it back into the bag. Fishing out the blush, she applied a tiny amount to both cheeks. “I’m sure Smokey will be speechless when he gets an eyeful of her!”

“… That sounds a little… unfulfilling, but I suppose we can handle that,” said Twilight Sparkle, a smile tipping her lips.

Applejack blinked, taking a small sniff as she turned from Chenoa to the air… then over towards Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie, are you… still wearing that costume?”

“Um, yeah! Can’t you see?”

“Haven’t you taken it off? Not once?”

“Nope, nope, nope!”

“… That explains the odd stench Ah’ve been smelling. Ah was beginnin’ at think it was the baby.”

Rarity paused, to lightly glare at Pinkie Pie, somewhat bewildered over her revelation.

“Really. I thought you would have at least taken it off and washed it! And showered!” she admonished.

“Aww, but I like wearing this!”

Twilight Sparkle, pretty much doing the same thing, ignited her horn and lifted the roller basket, still with Pinkie Pie in it.

“Alright, Pinkie. Let’s get you in the tub.”

As she exited the room, turning down the hall and disappearing from view, Twilight Sparkle’s voice could still be heard.

“How the hay did you get in there, anyway?”

“Sorry, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “That’s a trade secret!”

While the drama continued on with the gaggle of mares, Smokey was located downstairs with Spike, Angel, Ross, the doves, and several of Fluttershy’s animal friends. He was not having much luck getting his costume to look right due to the multiple spines jutting from his head, neck, back, and tail.

“I don’t know about this, Spike. Somepony’s going to notice my back…” the red-scaled dragon sighed as he shimmied out of the pony costume. The coloration was a simple chestnut made of rich brown minky fabric to give it that furry appearance with long orange-brown faux hair making up the mane and tail. The tail itself was long enough to fit his own, but it was fixed to make it appear as if the hair had been grown that long. The wing covers were layered with feathers, allowing him to at least stretch out his wings when he wanted to.

“At least it’s better than the ramshackle dragon costume Rarity made when she, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash followed me during the great dragon migration,” Spike stated, taking note of the outfit. “Maybe we can drape something over the back with the tuxedo to help hide the bumps? Like a cape?”

“We could… but that wouldn’t fix the back of my neck or head…”

Though the mane could help cover the bumps that would be showing, there was always a chance that the fabric could shift.

“Hmmm,” the small lavender dragon hummed. “I don’t suppose we could throw a hood over them or -- wait! I got it!” He then broke into a run towards the staircase. “I could ask Rarity real fast! Maybe she might have an idea!”

“Hold on!” Smokey held out his hand into the baby draconian’s direction as his eyes scanned the animals scattered about the area. “Wasn’t Angel here a minute ago?”

The reptilian’s own rabbit nodded, lifting a paw to point it where he had seen the missing mammal go. Smokey was about to ask him why Angel was gone -- he thought the little guy was going to remain with them -- , but he didn’t need to. The white leporidae hopped back into the room holding a roll of duct tape between his front paws.

The winged dragon blinked down at the rabbit. Apparently he had an idea…

Spike halted, halfway up the stairs. He had forgotten all about Angel, up until he spotted the snow white bunny.

“Oh! That’s brilliant! We can just tape the spines down! At least, that’s what I think he’s getting at…”

The rabbit nodded in confirmation. He had to give the small dragon some credit -- he caught onto his mindset quicker than Fluttershy sometimes…

Smokey grinned, appreciating Angels ingenuity.

“Good thinking, Angel! We’ll give it a shot.”

Eager to put the bunny’s idea to the test, he dropped down on his knees and elbows and lowered his belly to the floor for easy access to his spines. Each one of his spiked extremities were very flexible, so folding them over and taping them down wouldn’t be an issue at all.

Heading over, Spike climbed onto Smokey’s back to assist Angel with taping his spines down one by one. Between the two of them and Ross joining in, it didn’t take long before all of them were pressed against his head and body and firmly secured down.

“There! That ought to take care of it. Though, I’d imagine you’d want to take a good shower to get the residue off after taking off the tape.” There was a brief silence. “Gee, Twilight must be rubbing off on me. That sounds like something she’d say.”

The larger dragon chuckled, rising up onto his feet.

“That wouldn’t surprise me. You do live with her.” Another moment of silence passed, a wide grin breaking out on his maw as a thought crossed his mind. “Spike, if it’s all right with Miss Twilight, why don’t we go out and you can show me how to hunt for gems sometime?”

“Sure! I can ask when I get a chance. Honestly, I actually find it much easier if I go with her or Rarity. Those two have a gem-finding spell that helps them locate exactly where they are. All I have to do is dig ‘em up!” Spike beamed, turning his gaze upstairs as he thought of Rarity, before snapping himself out of his trance. “Though, really, it’s not that difficult. You just gotta know how to sniff ‘em out and they’re relatively simple to find.”

“Oh, I see. I just thought it would be something for us to do,” the taller draconic being said with a shrug. Inwardly, he was disappointed. He was actually looking forward to doing something with Spike that dragons usually do.

“I can still teach you!” Spike reassured, a smile on his face. “You’ve never been gem hunting before, right? Have you ever gotten a good whiff of gemstones?”

“Not really. Before I met Miss Fluttershy, I did not even know dragons ate gems. What… do they taste like?” he inquired, his eyes widening as curiosity as he stepped into his costume again.

“Incredible! Each gem has its own flavor, too! Like rubies taste kinda like cherries, but fire rubies have this sort of rich, spicy flavor on top of its sweetness! Man, I can’t believe you haven’t!” Spike gave a chuckle, beginning to slightly salivate at the thought of the mentioned precious stones. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on!”

“Well, I haven’t met another dragon until you, so I think that justifies it. I have no doubt you know more about dragons than I do,” Smokey responded with a playful smirk.

“Heh. Tell me about it. I learned a lot from the dragon migration. Maybe more than I ever wanted to know. It… makes me really glad I met you, Smokey. Even though you’re far older than me, I feel a lot better knowing I’m not the only dragon who was raised by ponies.”

The older dragon smiled warmly as he inserted his arms into the costume one at a time. His luck really had turned around since he met Fluttershy and Chenoa… He made more friends, even though almost the entire population of Ponyville was afraid of him. And one of them was another dragon like him…

“I know how you feel, Spike. I thought I was the only pony-raised dragon in the world before I met you.”

“Yeah!” Spike then donned an unsure and contemplative expression. “I’m curious. Since you’re older and all, ah… what have you really learned about the world? You’ve been places, right? Seen a bunch of ponies, did a bunch of things -- I mean, I don’t really get to go to a lot of places. I’ve been to Canterlot, lived here in Ponyville, the Crystal Empire, and Manehattan, but most of the time whenever Twilight and the others go anywhere, I get stuck watching the library…”

He lowered his gaze to the floor.

“It’s… almost not fair, y’know? I know she needs somepony here, but I’d like to go out more often.”

Smokey felt a pang of sympathy for the baby dragon, but he retained his smile.

“Well… Yes and no… I have been to many places, but met far less ponies than you would think.” The dragon’s smile faltered. “Personally, that is. Since I am… a dragon. Many ponies I’ve encountered were too afraid to even get near me. Let alone get to know me. Those I have met didn’t really treat me like one of their own.”

Just as unpleasant memories began to flood his mind, Smokey quickly pushed them away and forced back his smile.

“Anyway! You are young… Miss Twilight possibly keeps you here so you will be safe,” he hypothesized. “You’re very lucky to have ponies around who care so much about you.”

“Yeah, I can understand. You were probably already almost full-grown when you started traveling. I suppose ponies around here can trust me far easier since I’m so young -- though…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “But, yeah, I understand why Twilight wants me here. If I were in her position, I’d want to be safe, too. And it’s not like I don’t take advantage of her not being here. I get to sleep in a lot longer when she’s off on her grand epic adventures. It’s just…

“I don’t know. I have saved the Crystal Empire -- not to brag or anything -- but, I kind of want to be the hero and save the day more often, y’know?”

“I’m certain you will get plenty of chances to do that. I don’t think I’ve done anything heroic before meeting Miss Fluttershy and Chenoa.”

Smokey didn’t really count raising Ross and his doves or protecting them from wild animals that wanted to eat them as heroic deeds; he considered them as kind deeds.

Bending over and stretching out his arms, he grasped onto the head of his costume between his covered hands. It wasn’t convincing, but Rarity had insisted that he would blend right in. There were eye holes for him to view out of and an opening where his mouth would be located after slipping it over his head.

Spike had to admit Rarity had… well, he wouldn’t exactly say she had outdone herself, but she did improve on the design from the dragon costume she had used for herself, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash since the migration.

Not that it was saying much. The costume was still clearly large and bulky, as if something was inside, and the mane and tail and… well, he wouldn’t say it aloud, but if anyone was really fooled by this then either the equines were far easier to dupe than he cared to admit or they were just really that stupid.

He gave the disguised dragon a grin and a thumbs up.

“Lookin’ great there, Smokey! Shall we call the girls down and get their reaction?”

“Sure. After I get this tuxedo on,” he said, reaching for the light blue button up shirt first, only to drop it, unable to grab it with his hands covered. “I might need a little help…”

Groaning, Angel couldn’t help but slap a paw to his face and shake his head.

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