//------------------------------// // Chapter 4. Bugged Out // Story: Bite-Sized Spike // by ShrunkenBro //------------------------------// Spike slid down to the tip of the leaf then grasped onto the edges he gave a big inhale and held it in for a few seconds and then exhaled Spike slid himself off the tip and fell down "WAAH!" Spike screamed as he smacked into another leaf "Ow!" Spike shouted the leaf dipped making Spike fall off and hit another. "Ow!" Spike shouted again and again as he fell into leaf after leaf till finally hitting the gravel. "Ow! Dang it." Spike growled then picked himself up and spat out what dirt clogs that got in his mouth Spike huffed in frustration. Spike could hear some movement above him twigs started falling hitting hi on the head "Hey! What the,..." Spike looked up seeing a huge spider with long black legs and a yellow and black colored abdomen crawling on the branches Spike froze in fear the spider didn't seem to notice him yet, he watched as the spider hide itself into the leaves Spike looked further up seeing a web with three cocoons of the spider's past victims Spike gulped nervously he felt waves of air and looked to see a monarch butterfly heading right for the web "WAIT!" Spike tried to warn the butterfly but to his effort the monarch got caught on the spider's web. "No stop!" Spike nervously bite his claws watching the butterfly struggle in the web the movement attracted the spider, "Uh wha,..." Spike continued to watch as the spider slowly crawled towards the helpless butterfly its fangs flickered and dripped with saliva the spider raised its first long hairy leg ready to clam the poor butterfly "NOOO!" Spike roared and opened his jaws and shot a blast of green flames at the spider catching the web on fire missing both the spider and butterfly, the butterfly pulled and retreated from the web Spike smiled feeling great that he just saved the butterfly's life Spike a loud hiss rang in his ears making him jump the spider spotted Spike and was not happy. Spike ran screaming at the top of his lungs into the grass with the angry spider close behind him the dragon dogged the swinging claw trying to strike him the spider leaped up landing in front of Spike blocking his path "AHH!" Spike yipped quickly dashing under the spider and continued running Spike kept running till he reached the end of the grass and found himself a marble walkway Spike turned his head to see the spider still in chase Spike stumbled and tried to keep running but feel down with a thud Spike turned to see the spider leaping in the air ready to clam Spike as its next victim the dragon froze in fear the spider was like a clawed hand of beast ready to snatch him away Spike had only one chance he concentrated on the spider it had been many months since he had done this the baby dragon inhaled swallowing a gulp of air and felt a stir in his stomach the spider was now on top of him ready to finish Spike but the dragon opened his mouth letting out a sparkling green flame that swallowed the spider whole making the arachnid vanish into thin air Spike sigh in relief again he had a feeling he was going to be doing that a lot today. Somewhere in the castle Princess Celestia was taking a break from past meeting she had gone to her studies a relaxing cup of tea by the fire would relax the princess Celestia rested on the soft red couch and used her magic to lift the cup up to her muzzle and sipped it Celestia smiled then jumped seeing a flash of light "What's this?" she asked as the little spark of green hazed away and in its place was a spider that landed perfectly on Celestia's nose the alicron froze with her eyes wide and her jaw in a frightened frown "Eee." Celestia tried to stay calm but the spider started to crawl further to her eyes, Celestia couldn't stay calm no longer the alicorn threw her hooves and head up in panic and let out a loud scream "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Spike could hear a distant scream from far away he didn't know how far the screamer was but even to his now tiny ears he could tell it was loud a sudden loud stomping made Spike jump he looked up to see one of many of Canterlot's Guard Ponies a green stallion with a blond tail and Spike assumed mane as well came stomping right for him "Oh no not again!" Spike yelled and started running as the guard stallion followed behind. The huge hooves pounded into the ground hard, but Spike had been getting used to this situation, and so was able to keep his feet as he dived to the side, just barely getting out from under the shadow of the massive thing before it struck the ground beside him. As with Shining Armor’s before it, the hoof falling so close to his body sent the tiny dragon skidding across the ground, grunting in annoyance as he bounced across the loose stone, sending a few fist sized pebbles spraying around him, before he finally came to a halt. Looking past, he watched as the stallion turned a corner, and then was gone, leaving the dragon all on his own, and causing him to sigh in relief, and frustration both at the same time. This was getting ridiculous, with the dangers and stuff of being a few inches high. Still, he was alive, after a tumble like that. Getting up and dusting himself off, the dragon wondered just where he should go next, when he heard a loud roaring sound, which caused him to grip the side of his head it block it out. He only had to turn around for the source, sadly, as it was nearby. The source was a pony, a mare he thought, though it was hard to tell from this angle, and on her back was a contraption like a vacuum, but from his size, he knew it was blowing, rather than sucking, as the tube at the end moved back and forth. This first caused a nice, light breeze, when she was several yards away, but as she moved closer, the wind from the hose grew stronger, and when she get to where Spike was, the gale blew him into the air, forcing him to grab onto a passing leaf, as he sailed high into the sky. Spike flopped back and forth on the floating leaf. Spike quickly pulled up on the edges, making the leaf float in the air more softly. Spike started to smile, remembering one of the days when him, Twilight, Shining Armor and Cadence went to the beach. He remembered the time Shining tried to teach Spike how to surf. Spike stood on the leaf, sinking his clawed toes into the plant to keep him from falling off. Spike held his arms out and dipped forward making the leaf float down and then up. "YAAHAA!" Spike laughed loudly enjoying the flight "I should teach Rainbow Dash how to do this." Spike said to himself with a big smile "Ok just gotta get that pony's attention." Spike directed the leaf to float to the pony holding the odd contraption Spike could see that the mare was a Earth pony who wore a white T-shirt with a logo on it. Her coat was light red and her mane that she had tied in a ponytail was lime green. Spike could see white freckles on her cheeks and forehead. Spike dipped the leaf and hovered it slowly towards her face Spike waved his arms up and down and shouted. "HEY! HEY! HEY!" even if his shouts couldn't be heard due to his size or the racket the loud contraption was making. "Dang it." Spike leaned back making the leaf go back up in the air floating above the mare's head. "Hmm how am I gonna get her attention?" Spike asked himself rubbing under his chin "Ohh I got it." a light bulb popped above Spikes head "She'll see me if I get in her face." Spike leaned forward dipping the leaf down passing her forehead right when Spike was about to turned a large hoof came flying up under him making him and the leaf fly up and toss around in the air. "WHOA! WHOA!" Spike yelled then got the leaf back into a steady flout the dragon huffed in frustration making steam come out of his ears he was not about to lose this opportunity. Spike flouted back above the mare's face and dipped down right for her forehead the leaf brushed against the pony's mane getting tangled and caught Spike quickly grabbed the grease locks of the mare's hair like a climber scaling a mountain Spike could feel the warm sweaty fur under his feet making him grimes. "Eeeew!" Spike growled then slowly used the hair to scale his way down her forehead. The mare blinked shaking her head trying to shake off whatever was on her face Spike flew up into the air the tiny drake slammed down on the hot fur Spike then found himself sticking to the mare's sweaty fur, "Oh yuck." Spike pulled his face from the fur and covered his nose trying to bare the smell Spike slid down to the mare's muzzle and clung to the center between the two nostrils Spike kept his distance from them he didn't won't to repeat what happened last time with Twilight "Hey! Down here look down here!" Spike shouted but was then tossed up and landed down on the muzzle. The mare scuffed her nose not even paying attention to the itch on her nose just keeping to her work she wiggled her nose up and down now getting irritated, "UH YOU STUPID BUGS!" the mare growled her shout was like a booming sounds of an explosion to the miniscule drake the mare her hoof up to her nose to brush off the poor tiny dragon. Spike quickly tired to move away slipping on the sweaty fur like a wet rug the hoof came brushing against the giant mare's nose ready to smash Spike but the dragon quickly leaped into the hoof grabbing the tufts of fur around her hoof. Spike held on prayed the mare didn't see him and mistake him for a bug again. Spike watched as the world around him moved away from the mare's forehead and down to her mouth, "Uh oh" Spike thought thinking he just might have to repeat history, "FEEEW!" the mare sighed her small exhale nearly blew Spike off the side of her hoof the mare moved the same hoof up to her forehead to wipe away the sweat Spike could see he was approaching a new forest of hair and took a leap of faith landing safely in the green steamy mane. The mane around him was as hot and steamy as it had looked from the outside, with him falling face first into a large puddle of sticky stuff, and then having to wipe it off himself as he crawled out of it. Around him, the strands of hair were curled and twisted, some with a twig or two stuck between them as the mare kept up her job, blowing debris off the paths of the garden with her device, and making the place look overall cleaner. “Well, this is another fine mess,” said the tiny dragon to himself as he looked around, still shaking himself periodically to try and get as much of the sweat off him as he could, even as more of it sometimes came out of her scalp. Luckily, he was far enough back that even when she wiped her hoof through her mane, he wasn’t in its path, giving him a nice, if somewhat smelly, riding place as she walked up and down the path. After watching her work for a few minutes, or maybe an hour, it was kind of hard to tell, the mare finally stopped, sighing to herself, as more of the garden staff began to work on the piles of stuff she had left around. As Spike watched, he heard a loud roaring sound from behind, and wondered if that blower thing was acting up, only to realize that it wasn’t from the device, but from the pony herself, who was apparently hungry. She said little as she set the device down in some shed and then made her way through the palace. As she walked, her mane began to dry out, the sweat evaporating, but causing the air to become like a miasma around him, gagging the little dragon who coughed and choked but went unremarked as the mare made her way through the palace, finally arriving in a large mess hall at the back of the building where the staff and guards ate. “Hmm, let’s see, what should I get?” she said to herself, mumbling, and Spike, still swooning a little, heard only a few words, as he staggered forward. His state left him in little condition to do much, as the mare went over the tables of food stuff, before finally grabbing a tray and starting down the line. Of course, this became a problem when the mare shook her head at one of the dishes, and the motion tossed the young dragon around, finally knocking him off the edge of her head, and towards the table below. "WHY DO I KEEP FALLING!" Spike screamed his little body making a speeding dash for the food below him Spike started to flip threw free falls making him air sick the tiny dragon could only see the speeding motion around as he fell not even knowing if he was going to hit something soft or hard he'd just hope it wouldn't be the end of him. To Be Continued.