//------------------------------// // The Trouble We Get in // Story: Mended Wings // by Inferno demon Dash //------------------------------// Spike rolled his eyes as he gazed at the dark clouds above outside the window of Sugarcube Corner, the nuzzling and pet-talking that Apple Bloom and Rumble were doing next to him was starting to get annoying. Sweetie Belle trailed her hooves on the table in tiny circles, feeling very uncomfortable and Tender Taps along with Pipsqueak and Dinky were looking everywhere their eyes could except for the couple that were oblivious to their friends awkward shuffling and doing their best to finish the snacks that they had bought. Spike gave a low growl watching Rumble nibble Apple Bloom's right ear gently making her giggle as Spike himself slowly grabbed the large strawberry milkshake in front of him with his left claw, taking a few sips out of the bendy straw while Tender Taps looked over at Sweetie Belle, raising a hoof to hold her own on the table as she only shook her head with a grimace looking at the affectionate teenagers in front of her with a bit of disgust. "Why did I think coming to a couple's outing was a good idea?" Spike asked himself with a claw over his face making Dinky chuckle beside him. "You didn't know we were all going to be here as couples. You just wanted to hang out with some friends, besides...Scootaloo doesn't have anypony yet." She answered with a small grin causing Spike to blush at the unicorn's words, his throat suddenly dry at the prospect of making any sort of move to his crush. "Can we at least get them to stop?" Pipsqueak whispered to his girlfriend, pointing a hoof at the two who appeared as though they were going to start getting naughty in public if something wasn't done soon. "You want to give Rumble blue balls, be my guest, Pip. Where is Scoots anyway?" Spike asked turning his eyes from Pipsqueak to Dinky who was reaching for another chocolate chip cookie on the table with her hoof as she carefully nibbles on it with a shrug. The bakery was nearly empty save for the seven of them, Spike looked around him watching Pinkie Pie clean tables with a rag in her hooves and a bucket of soapy water on the floor next to her as she hummed quietly to herself, Carrot Cake was counting the money they had received so far in the register making Spike wonder what Cup Cake was up to, perhaps doing paperwork or watching over the twins if he had to guess. Spike noticed Pinkie Pie's adopted daughter, Screwball sitting at a table doing what he had to guess was Equinish homework as her brow furrowed in concentration biting the pencil in her mouth before moving her head forward and writing down an answer, a rather large glass of chocolate milk next to her, as he wondered where Discord was at the moment. Rain began to pelt the windows making everypony and the lone dragon save for Apple Bloom and Rumble who probably didn't even notice look at the small droplets of water hitting the reflective glass before Tender Taps cleared his throat loudly, catching the attention of them all. "Well everypony and dragon this was...awkward, I'll admit. But I had fun, I better get home before the weather gets any worse. Want me to take you home, Sweets?" Tender asked with a nervous smile which made her giggle looking back at Apple Bloom and Rumble with a blush before she nodded. They quickly finished their brownie and strawberry shortcake as they stood and told their friends they would see them later, waving goodbye to Pinkie Pie and Screwball who waved back with a large smile on their face as they walked out the door. Spike rubbed the back of his head with a yawn while Dinky and Pipsqueak made some sort of excuse to leave and see them another time as they waved them off, only leaving the drake, the earth pony and pegasus as he snickered with a shake of his head. "Since I doubt you two are hearing anything, I'm going to bail and leave you with the bill for making us have to witness you basically dry humping each other in public, see you guys later." He spoke with a sadistic grin before sliding out of his seat and with a wave telling the three earth ponies that he'll see them next time as he walked out the door, a dark chuckle came out of his mouth hearing Apple Bloom's scream of rage to Pinkie giving them the bill. Spike stepped outside Sugarcube Corner, eyes turning to the sky as it soon began to pour. He sighed and looked around once more for any sign of Scootaloo, not seeing any, he spread his large, leathery draconic wings and prepared for takeoff. With a flap of his draconic wings, he was launched swiftly into the stormy sky, setting a path for the crystal castle he called his home. A few minutes into his flight home, he spotted some movement in the corner of his vision. He turned his head and saw Scootaloo flying towards him through the onslaught of rain. He smiled and switch directions quickly to meet up with her. When he was fifteen feet away from her, it happened. Lightning arced up from the ground and stuck Scootaloo mid-air. He saw her eyes roll into the back of her skull as her body convulsed before going limp, falling through the air towards the ground far below them. Spike shouted her name and quickly went into a vertical nosedive, keeping his wings pressed tightly against his abdomen as he raced towards the falling pegasus. His heart-beat quickened as the ground became closer and closer to them, time was running out. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as he focused solely on reaching Scootaloo. In that moment, nothing else seemed to matter to him. With the ground quickly approaching them, he stretched out his arms. In a few seconds, it'd be upon them. He shut his eyes tightly as he felt her fur beneath his claws. He snapped them open and pulled her to his chest, his wings shot open at the last moment. The force of him pulling up from the nosedive was too great, before he could register what was happening, he heard the snapping of his wings behind him. He turned himself before he crashed hard into the ground to protect Scootaloo. His wings dragged uselessly behind them as he tumbled on the ground for twenty feet before coming to a full stop. Spike's vision was hazy, his fangs had nearly bit his tongue off and he groaned as he slowly pulled Scootaloo up to his chest, his nostrils catching the scent of burnt flesh and her fur was smoking as he tried to stay awake seeing a few ponies farther ahead gallop towards them. "Oh my gods!" He heard someone shout as he attempted to check if the pegasus was breathing. His wings were snapped nearly in half, the pain coursing through his body was enough to make him roar as he glanced at his right leg and saw a large amount of blood with a bone piercing his scales while he held a claw to Scootaloo chest, the claw ran over her right teat on accident as he dragged his arm up which would have made him blush but he didn't have time to be embarrassed by the action with his friend's life in danger. "S-Scootaloo, can you hear me? You're going to be ok, you got that. You're going to be...fine." He croaked out, his mouth tasted like copper and his body convulsed in pain as he watched the ponies get closer to their position. "Spike, Spike?!" He heard a voice shout as he could only blink slowly before his vision turned dark and he curled the pegasus closer to his chest before he blacked out from the amount of pain his body was in, his life in the hooves of those more qualified to aid them now.