//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15 
// Story: "I don't know how to deal with this!" 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 15
Hidden Depths! A Friendship Forged In Fire?


Upon reaching his and Twilight's bedroom, Spike was eager to actually bond with someone willing to share his interest of comic books. He knew that he would have to take it one step at a time with Crona out of their noted fear of the purple dragon, but he was happy to do so, regardless. However, it was when he was about to search for his comics that a sudden development had taken him by surprise.

"Wh-Wh-What the heck is that thing!?" Spike stammered, shakingly pointing at the glaring growth that hovered over Crona "It just popped out of your back!"

"Don't act so surprised, idiot. Just show us your comics already!" Ragnarok barked at Spike impatiently.

"Sorry. I forgot to introduce Ragnarok to you." Crona said quietly, looking down in embarrassment.

"How long has that thing been living inside of you!?" Spike asked The three soon heard several hoofsteps outside of the room before the door opened up to reveal the other ponies and draconequus making their way inside, the ponies sporting looks of varying anxiety.

"Oh, it's you guys again." Ragnarok groaned "What do you want now?" Spike perked up and darted his head to Twilight while pointing at Ragnarok.

"You knew about this the whole time? Where was I when this thing showed up!?" He asked in shock. Twilight folded her ears back, realizing that it was a bad move on her part to forget about Ragnarok and not introduce him to Spike.

"We're very sorry about that, Spike. It's just that between Crona's inherent fear of you, Ragnarok's brief appearances, and all the things we were occupied with since yesterday, we couldn't find the time to properly introduce them to you." Twilight explained penitently.

"I guess that's fair. So, what is the story with Crona anyways? I've never seen a pony with a talking..." Spike glanced at Crona and Ragnarok before cocking his head to the side "...thing on their back before."

"I'm a demon sword, moron. Get it right!" The rude growth snarled, causing Spike to flinch.

"Wait, what!?" He blurted out before looking at Twilight once more, his gaze pleading for a coherent explanation.

"Well, to put it simply, Spike...Crona's not exactly from this world. In fact, in the world they were born in, Crona used to be what was called a human." She explained "Ragnarok was merely a sentient weapon who was integrated into Crona's body via a gruesome experiment, and he usually reveals himself whenever he feels like it."

"Only problem is that he's a total jerk most of the time." Rainbow Dash added as she shot Ragnarok a look, the two of them staring each other down.

"Whoa..." Spike looked over at Crona, who reflexively averted his gaze "Is all of this true?"

"Yeah. Sorry if I didn't bring it up sooner. I don't know how to deal with long explanations." Crona replied. It slowly looked back at Spike with a nervous glance "You're not mad, are you?" Spike arched an eyebrow at the question.

"Why would I be? I mean, I am surprised by both Ragnarok and the fact that you two are from another world, but I'm not mad about it." The purple dragon smiled "I just need to get used to you both while you try getting over your fear of me. We'll be friends in no time!" Crona gave Spike a ghost of a smile while Ragnarok merely inched down towards Spike over the swordpony's head.

"That's good and all, but where are the comics? You promised us comics!" Ragnarok said impatiently. Spike perked up and then waddled over near his bed, which appeared to resemble a pet basket, before sifting through a pile of comics. Meanwhile, Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief.

"At least nothing bad happened." Fluttershy said with a smile "I think there could be hope from having Crona bond with Spike after all." She said before turning to the others "What's say we give them time to themselves?"

"I don't know, Fluttershy." Twilight interjected "While it's true we're seeing progress with Crona and Spike, a part of me has reservations about Ragnarok messing things up. We all know how crude and unpredictable he can be..."

"Yeah, like a certain draconequus we know." Rainbow Dash chimed in while shooting Discord a look. Discord, for his part, craned his head back with a look of mock hurt as he placed a paw on his chest.

"Moi? Surely, you don't mean that, do you?" Discord asked, feigning ignorance while Rainbow Dash merely snorted in response.

"The bottom line is," Twilight cut in while looking at Rainbow Dash and Discord "at least one of us should stay here and oversee their interaction and intervene when appropriate." Twilight said.

"Or have fun with them, at least." Pinkie piped up "Why bother watching them when you can enjoy what they like as well?"

"Well, in that case, perhaps I'll stay with Crona and Ragnarok." Fluttershy offered "After all, I'm still their caretaker, and I could take this time to know them even more while they befriend Spike." She smiled hopefully at the thought.

"Are you serious, Fluttershy!?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously "Crona, I can understand, but you'd still be willing to put up with more of that jerk's abuse!?"

"You realize that we can here you all, right?"

The group looked at Spike, Crona, and Ragnarok, the latter two staring back at them in confusion. Spike arched an eyebrow.

"If you're wanting to stick around and read some of my comics, be my guest, but could you not badmouth Ragnarok while he's within earshot?" He requested with mild sarcasm "It's kind of annoying to talk bad about someone when they can hear everything you say."

"Preach, brother." Discord quipped with a knowing smirk.

"But Spike, what we're saying is true! He'd be lucky to even treat you like a friend, unlike Crona." Rainbow Dash defended.

"That's enough, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said as she trotted towards Spike, looking back at the others "I know you all have your reservations, but Spike is right: We shouldn't constantly be mean to Ragnarok when he's as much of a friend to us as Crona. All he needs is some time to adjust."

"I never said you could speak for me." Ragnarok muttered bitterly, only for Crona to glance up at him and make him silent.

"So, as I was saying, I'll stay and keep these three company." Fluttershy said warmly "It'll be nice to spend some time with them. I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes."

"If you insist, Fluttershy." Twilight said reluctantly "Just please be careful." She then turned to Ragnarok with a stern glance "As for you, Spike is a very close friend of mine, so I would appreciate it if you would treat him decently." The lavender unicorn stated firmly. She fumed when she was met with Ragnarok sticking his tongue out and placing a paw under one of his eyes, lightly dragging it down.

"Ragnarok, please behave." Fluttershy pleaded, trying to be patient with the rude growth as he irritated Twilight. She was relieved to see Ragnarok comply with a scoff.

"Just call us if that thing causes too much trouble." Rainbow Dash said before she gave Ragnarok a small glare.

"Good luck, Fluttershy!" Pinkie chimed in with a chipper grin. With that, the three ponies and draconequus left the room for the others to bond.

"So, anyways," Spike said as he held up some comics with a grin "These are some of my favorite issues of Power Ponies." He handed a comic to Crona and Ragnarok to look at "I took the liberty of giving you the first issue so you can get started, since you're interested."

"That's very nice of you, Spike." Fluttershy smiled warmly as she sat with Spike and Crona. She would have indulged in a comic or two of her own, but she was more into certain books and the foreign graphic novels that she usually reads to herself at times.

Crona tried turning the page with a hoof, but only succeeded in mildly folding the cover with each attempt. Spike noticed this and supressed a wince, while Fluttershy got near the swordpony.

"Here, Crona. Like this." She said as she smoothened the comic's cover with a hoof before delicately opening it up. Crona watched with intrigue at both Fluttershy's action and the contents inside the comic.

"Thank you." Crona said softly "It really is hard to get used to hooves when I had hands earlier." Spike blinked before he tilted his head to the side.

"What are hands? Are they like claws?" He asked. Crona nodded to the purple dragon with an affirmative hum "Huh. You know, when Discord gave you claws, that was pretty weird, but I shouldn't be coming down on you, since you and Ragnarok are from another world and all."

"No offense to this place, but I miss it back there." Ragnarok complained as he rested atop Crona's head "Things were a lot more fun, and there was more delicious food for us." He then scoffed down at Crona "Too bad this one had to play the hero, but I guess it was necessary if Maka actually beat Medusa..."

"Oh yeah." Crona replied with a smile "I'm glad that Maka's still okay after everything that happened." The swordpony hung its head down as it contemplated, not even paying attention to the comic book on the floor "In fact, if it weren't for Maka, I wouldn't have even been here, meeting Fluttershy, Discord, her friends, and..." Crona looked back up at Spike "...and you."

"I really missed out on a lot, haven't I?" Spike arched an eyebrow as he scratched his head "Who's this Medusa you're talking about?" Fluttershy looked down.

"Crona's wicked mother. I can't believe what she put her own child through..." She piped up morosely.

"I wasn't too happy with being joined with Crona, either, but I did enjoy eating souls to my hearts content that time!" Ragnarok stuck out his tongue voraciously as it was covered in drool. Spike perked up and quickly pulled away the comic in front of Crona before a drop of drool hit the floor.

"Hey! I'm not sure if you know this, but these comics are special to me." Spike said to Ragnarok, his brow furrowed. The growth merely receded his tongue before he cast an indifferent glance towards Spike.

"So?" He shot back callously.

"So the least you can do is be more careful with them!" Spike snapped in response as his eyes narrowed. Both Crona and Fluttershy noticed the growing tension and squeaked in unison before the latter sought to resolve the problem before it could grow any worse.

"Ragnarok, I know that you can be rowdy at times, but don't you think you could at least be more mindful of Spike's belongings? He was kind enough to share them with you and Crona after all." Fluttershy urged softly. Unfortunately, her plea fell on deaf ears as Ragnarok shot a glare.

"And what are you getting on my­ case for, huh?" Ragnarok pointed down at an embarrassed Crona "This one here did more damage than I could've done, and you didn't even raise your voice!"

"Creases on the cover page is one thing, but drool on an open page is another!" Spike countered vehemently "Twilight's got her books, I got these," He held up his comic book for emphasis "and we both take good care of our stuff!"

"Good for you. What's done is done, so why not put a lid on it, huh?" Ragnarok spat with a dismissive wave. Spike, for his part, grew more agitated as he put up with more of the demon sword's remarks.

"Ragnarok!"

Spike, and Fluttershy focused their shocked and respective gazes on Crona, who regarded Ragnarok with a light glare.

"I know you don't like everyone here, and I also know how much you bullied me back then, but could you please stop this? It's hard enough to deal with bonding with Spike when all you're doing is make them angry." Crona interjected, much to Fluttershy and Spike's surprise.

"Whoa. And here I thought Crona was just shy." Spike looked over at Fluttershy "Does this happen a lot?"

"No, this rarely happens." Fluttershy said, though she didn't take her eyes off of Crona and Ragnarok "But Ragnarok does tend to press everypony's buttons, Crona included..."

"I only went through with this because I didn't want to be afraid of Spike anymore. Couldn't you at least be nicer to him? Like you were with Maka?" Crona asked nicely. Ragnarok scoffed before looking away with his arms crossed.

"That time was different. I was at the peak of my power, and she took it all away from us." He then shifted his gaze back down at Crona "She didn't even pay me with the candy she promised when we saved her from that stupid golem."

"You fought a golem!?" Spike asked in shock before grinning "That sounds awesome!" Ragnarok looked over at Spike, and felt a faint sense of pride well up after his remark.

"Sure did. Maka was struggling for her life before turning to us for help. We really stuck it to that golem back then!" Ragnarok chuckled proudly.

"Too bad that chainsaw guy nearly got us that time, though..." Crona murmured as it pawed at the ground.

"Don't tell 'em that!" Ragnarok hissed down at Crona.

"Chainsaw guy?" Spike parroted as he cocked his head to the side. He looked over at Fluttershy, who shrugged with a confused look of her own.

"Just another guy who thought he was tough, but failed to realize that I can harden the wounds in Crona's body after each time he attacked." Ragnarok recovered. He felt proud of himself, knowing that it wasn't a lie, but also hated to be reminded of the time him and Crona nearly died.

"Wow. You can really do that?" Spike asked, visibly impressed by the story.

"Duh~!" Ragnarok responded rudely, to which he was quickly - but softly - reprimanded by Fluttershy.

"You know, a story that exciting reminds me of the time I helped Twilight save the Crystal Empire." Now it was Ragnarok's turn to be curious as he climbed over Crona's head to look down at Spike.

"You? Save an entire empire? That's kinda hard to believe." Ragnarok replied with an unconvinced glance. Spike, for his part, frowned at the demon sword's feedback.

"But it's true! I mean, even I couldn't believe it, but Twilight solved lots of puzzles and traps, and some how managed to reach this thing called the Crystal Heart, then she got trapped, but not before tossing the heart to me." He scratched his head "It's a good thing Shining Armor had the crazy idea to throw Cadence near me, or we never would've won against King Sombra." Ragnarok only stared at Spike after his story before he showed a deadpan expression.

"Now I know you're full of it. Who were the last three you brought up, anyways?" He unabashedly demanded.

"Shining Armor is Twilight's older brother, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or just Cadence, is his wife." Spike then stood up with his claws curled as he tried looking menacing "Meanwhile, King Sombra was this old and evil tyrant who was good with dark magic. He enslaved the Crystal Empire 1000 years ago before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna banished him into an icy prison, although he took the Crystal Empire with him." He smiled smugly "Twilight and I saving the Crystal Empire only happened recently, of course."

"Only about a month ago, really." Fluttershy piped up "I was there along with my friends. As it turns out, it was a part of Twilight's test."

"Test? What test? A test of strength or something?" Ragnarok asked, faintly intrigued by the story despite how ludicrous it sounded to him.

"Did she pass?" Crona asked softly.

"Of course she did!" Fluttershy chirped before looking down pensively "That is, she said so after leaving the castle." She smiled at Crona "Spike and I have a lot more stories to tell if you and Ragnarok would like to listen.

"Well, I don't mind a good nap if all your gonna do is tell me some stories." Ragnarok looked away gruffly before glancing at Spike from the corner of his eye "That is, unless you actually have more exciting stories to tell, but I find that hard to believe with you." Spike took this moment to sport a challenging grin as he pointed at Ragnarok.
"In that case, strap yourself in, Ragnarok, cuz you haven't heard nothing yet!" He said proudly before he carefully set his comics aside and cleared his throat before telling his next tale.

Crona and Ragnarok listened intently to the stories Fluttershy and Spike said to them pertaining to their adventures before the duo came into Equestria themselves, including more details about Discord before he became a friend. At times, Ragnarok would bring up a rude remark, which was only met with a countered remark from Spike.

What made this better for Fluttershy was noticing not only less vitrol in Ragnarok's words than before, but Crona smiling more often than before. She couldn't wait to report to her friends on how successful the bond between Crona, Ragnarok, and Spike was.


End of Chapter 15