//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Kung Fu Dragon 2 // by CartoonNerd12 //------------------------------// "You guys got away?!" Shining Armor inquired in amazement. Rainbow muttered, "Barely… we had to fall out of a window just to do it…" Cadence mentioned, "Well I'm glad you're safe, but… you know we can't escape this time until Flurry is back with us." Applejack said, "Which is why we're going to sneak around the palace once night falls and we'll find her." Spike started say, "Exactly, and once we-" AJ interjected, "There's no we this time, Spike, you're staying here where it's safe." The dragon gawked, "What…? Why?!" "Because you let Chrysalis get the better of you. It's too risky for you to run into her again." she started to moved away from him. "But… but… but I have to go back!" he yelled. She turned around swiftly causing everyone to be stun into silence. Applejack stated in a hard tone, "You're staying here." Spike scowled deeply and proclaimed, "I'm going, and you can't stop me…" Applejack braced herself, "Then try to get past me…" The two went into an intense stare-off as Spike slowly moved to the side of the room, with her following, making a circle. He demanded, "What does it matter to you if I do go? Why are you being so overprotective of me?!" "I'm just tryin' to stop you from making a mistake!" "There's no mistake in me trying to find the truth!" "The truth about what, Spike! Tell me!" He bellowed out, "The truth about who I am!" causing an echo in the room. There was an eerie quiet among the group as Spike panted and said softly to the point of tears, "She knows, okay? The queen knows why I'm living with the ponies instead of other dragons… She's my only chance of knowing where I come from… who I am…" The girls were at the point of tears as he continued, "Look you guys who exactly who you are and what you're suppose to do with your life… I have no idea of who I am or what I'm supposed to… I need this… I need to know… Because it's all I'm going to have left once you my friends, all leave to do your own thing…" He faced Applejack who's eyes were brimming with tears. "So you see… I have to go… Just like you have to go… Only you'll get to live your life without missing anything. You'll get have everything you could want…" A painful expression came over her face and suddenly in one leap, she pressed her body to his and gave a huge kiss on his lips! Spike's eyes had widened in shock from the impact while everyone else around them was aghast as their mouths dropped wide open. Once she let go from the lip lock, she whispered to him, "Not everything…" she started moving away from him while he was still stunned from her sudden smooch. Rarity cleared her throat, "We'll just… follow her…" she and the other Elements went after Applejack. Shining turned to his wife, "Did we miss something here?" But Cadence didn't reply as she looked at the dragon that was still dazed, "Spike? Are you okay?" But Spike couldn't say anything, the kiss Applejack gave him had overwhelmed him with feelings he never could have imagine. Suddenly the words they've exchanged in the last couple of days made sense now. And even when they were on the train, it confirmed it. She had been in love with him all this time. The question now was did he love her as well? He shook his head out the daze. That kind of question was something he couldn't answer right now not when he had too many other questions that he needed the answers to. Like why he lived in Canterlot instead of wherever his parents had lived… That settled it. He was going to seek out the Changeling Queen. "You were wrong, Zecora… it appears the dragon that was destined to stop me had been nothing but a fluke in your fortune-telling." Chrysalis expressed to the zebra while they were still in the throne room. "It is not a fluke, for you see, the dragon is right where he supposed to be…" "But how can he possibly hope to defeat me when he doesn't even know his own past and extract his revenge upon me. It will only be matter of time until all of Equestria will be mine…" "You choose to fill the glass that has no bottom, alas. The subjugation of the whole world truly will never make you happy. End this madness and hate before it's too late…" "And why would I want to do that? I have dreaming of controlling Equestria since I was young, well, younger… But the point is, happiness must be taken, and I will take mine…" there was a pause before she told a nearby changeling guard, "Set the zebra free, she is no longer of use to me. I've gotten what I want from her." Zecora was escorted away as she thought, You have chosen your path to downfall, fate has now declared that the dragon shall win after all… The Elements snuck around the dark palace hallways looking for signs of Flurry being nearby. Rarity slowly started out, "So… you and Spike… I mean we knew something was going on between you two but we never once thought you would…" Applejack glared back and uttered, "You know this isn't the time to discuss that…" "I beg to differ!" the unicorn shouted quietly, "But this is the perfect time for you to explain what exactly happen down for you to osculate Spikey like that." Rainbow added, "Yeah, so spill it, AJ!" Applejack sighed, "Look, I didn't know I had feelins' for him until recently. It was part of why I wanted to go back to my home at Sweet Apple Acres. So I could get away from my emotions. I figured he would never return my affections and I dared not to hope he would… Watching him grow older and wiser in these last three years drew me to him. Looking back, I can even remember how I had this strange feeling toward him when we first met him… how he dropped out of the sky like that… I think that's when I first started falling for him…" The girls gaped at her with Pinkie going, "Wow…" Rainbow motioned, "So just we're clear on this, the rest of us love him like a brother but you're the one who loves him to the point where wedding bells could sound off." Applejack scoffed, "Wedding bells… Even if by some miracle he did feel that way toward me, you know it won't work. Not when I need to go back to Sweet Apple Acres and he has his life as the Dragon Warrior in Canterlot. Our lives are too complicated for a relationship to work." "That is so sad!" Pinkie was on the verge of tears. Fluttershy was too, "It is!" Rarity insisted, "Darling, I'm sure you and Spikey could make it work! You can just visit him on the holidays while he visits you in the summer!" "That's only a short-term solution. What's happens if we end up wanting a more permanent solution? One of us would have to make the sacrifice of living somewhere else." "She has a point." Rainbow shrugged. AJ said, "Trust me, gals, it's better this way. Now come on, we got a princess to find." she kept moving on. Spike carefully moved past the changeling patrols going about the hallways. He found himself near the throne room where he could hear the queen shouting orders, he ducked out of the way just in time as changelings flew out of the room. He slowly moved toward the room when a snide voice called out. "Greeting dragon… Won't you come in?" He saw her approaching him with a wicked glint in her eye. With a determined look he went up to her, demanding, "Tell me what happened that night!" She played being innocent, "What night?" He gritted his teeth, "That night." "Ah, that night…" "Yes." before he inquired, "We are talking about the same night, right?" She gave a low chuckle, "Yes, I was there… Yes, I watched as your parents abandoned you… It's a terrible thing…" she flew above him and ran out of the room. Spike yelled out, "Oh, no you don't! You're not getting off that easy!" he raced after her. Meanwhile, the girls found themselves in a hallway that was surrounded by more changelings while keeping out of sight. Rainbow Dash whispered, "Flurry has to be here! There's no way they need this many guards on one floor!" Applejack uttered, "We need a distraction." Pinkie waved her hoof, "Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!" AJ stated, "Okay, Pinkie, it's up to you to distract them while we keep searching the floor until we find the room Flurry Heart's in." The hyper mare saluted, "I won't let you down!" she went into action. A single spotlight came on the mare making the changelings turn her way as she proclaimed, "Good evening, Changelings! I would say 'Good evening, ladies and gentlechangelings' but it's really hard to tell what gender you all are!" she made a rim shot on a drum. She kept going, "So anyway, here are some jokes that I know will make you laugh like crazy! What do you get when you cross a…" The girls moved past the changelings watching Pinkie as Rainbow muttered, "I'd asked where she got that spotlight on herself but it is Pinkie Pie so it's best not to question it…" The others did random agreements as they started searching rooms. "Nothing." Dash pointed. "Same here." Rarity replied. "Buckus here…" Applejack told them. "She's not in this one." said Fluttershy. They kept on looking until Rainbow Dash quietly shouted out, "Hey! Over here!" They went to her to find Flurry was sleeping on a rug in the room. Applejack signaled Fluttershy to pick her up and butter cream mare put the tiny alicorn on her back. They saw Pinkie's distraction was still working and were about to move away when the Queen herself appeared and she shouted to her subjects. "You idiots! It's a distraction! Stop them!" The changelings turned to them and hissed. Fluttershy gulped, "Oh, dear…" The girls braced themselves as the changelings headed toward them. Applejack bared her teeth of the incoming battle when she saw Spike rushing after the queen who saw him and gave an evil smug look. AJ knew that meant something bad for the dragon. She tried to go after them but changelings blocked her way. But the other girls had seen Spike going after the queen and Rainbow pounced at them as she told Applejack, "Go! We got them! Save your boyfriend!" AJ wanted to object but there was no time as she stepped over the changelings to make her way to where the dragon and queen went. Spike had chased Chrysalis all the way to the top of the Crystal Palace. There was a low chuckle as queen made herself known. "Are you willing to die to find the truth?" she asked. "You bet I am! Although I'd prefer not to…" A voice cried out then, "Spike, keep away from her!" Applejack made it up the top of the stairs. Spike locked gazes with her for a brief moment before yelling, "Stay out of this, Applejack!" The cowgirl shouted, "No! I won't let you get hurt!" Chrysalis could sense a deep affection from their exchange which made her smirk more evilly. Applejack continued, "There has to be another way for you to find the truth about yourself!" Chrysalis smugly pointed out, "Oh, but there isn't my little pony… For I'm the only one who knows what happened that night…" she turned to Spike, "And you want to know so badly, don't you…? That knowing will heal you, huh? Fill some crater in your soul? Well, here's your answer… Your parents didn't love you…" Spike's breath stop short and his eyes glossed over with tears. Applejack was in shock and yelled out, "That can't be true! You have to be lying!" "Am I?" she grinned, "You'll never know…" then with one swift move she used her magic to bring Applejack to her and began to drain her love! Spike saw the pain on Applejack's face and yelled in anguish, "NOO!" he rushed to save her when Chrysalis pulled a fast one on him by blasting him at full strength causing him to fly out of the tower and in the direction of where the Frozen North was! Applejack saw the whole thing in horror and screeched out, "NOOO!" The Changeling Queen cackled loudly to her victory. Meanwhile, back in Canterlot, a lavender alicorn woke up with a startle and a pain in her heart as she uttered, "It can't be… Spike…" Tears dripped from her eyes.