As much as I think that King Thorax needs me, especially after what happened at the Summit incident, there was a time in which I needed him – especially during one of the most painful moments in my life. This occurred just before the first days of summer and I have invited him to Ponyville for a couple of days. If anything, it all began something so simple, as it was a hot day so I took him to the local pond for a swim. While there were a few Changeling guards nearby, we had our fun diving, splashing and floating over the water.
I remember that I was floating on my back, taking in the sun when I suddenly had this idea. “Hey, Thorax! Is it possible for you to shapeshift while swimming?”
He smirked, “Is a Changeling’s favorite holiday Nightmare Night?” Just like that, there was a green fire over the water and in his place was a seapony that dove right under. Flipping over while taking in a deep breath, I too went down to where, in the blurry pond water, I saw his form glide underneath me. While I might have been somewhat blind, I was able to swim and feel around until I touched a fin. From there I was dragged around like I was flying at such speed before going upwards for air.
“Whoa!” I said after we broke through the surface. “Dude, that was so cool!”
“I know, right?” Thorax, still in his seapony form smiled. “This was such a great idea to spend an afternoon. I just wish that we’ve-”I suddenly cut him off as I felt two, very sharp pinches on my back that caused me to hiss. “Spike?”
“Hey, can you see if there’s something on my back?” I asked as I swan to turn myself around, “Something is really stinging all of a sudden.”
There was no sound that came from him.
Curious, I craned my neck around, I saw his expression taken on a look of horror, “What?” I asked, “What’s wrong? Is something on me?”
“Spike,” the King said in alarm. “You’re bleeding!”
“What?” Glancing over my back, I saw two, small red lines on that were over my shoulder blades. At first, I was puzzled as I don’t remember hitting anything down there. What made it even more bewildering is that I know that I’m practically immune to leech bites. “What the-”
“You need to get out of the water,” Thorax swam over to me, grabbing my torso with a fin and practically pulled me to shore.
“Dude, don’t worry about it,” I told him as soon as I felt the sand at my feet. “I’m sure it’s just a cu- OW!” I yelped out as soon as those wounds were exposed to the air. Tartarus! It was like getting stabbed in the back. I was reaching my claws behind me at the source of the sudden pain.
“Guys!” Thorax instantly transformed back to his original self as soon as we were on the sand, waving at the guards. “Guys get over here! Spike’s hurt!”
Two of them galloped in our direction and one of them asked what had happened, “I don’t know!” I told them, “We were just swimming when these appeared on my back.” I hissed, “Celestia it really stings!” I removed my claw away to find, to my shock that there was blood on it. “Guys, something’s seriously wrong.”
“Which way is to the nearest hospital?” Thorax questioned.
How do I describe what I was going through on the way to Ponyville’s hospital? As Thorax carried me on his back, mine felt like someone took a couple of hits with an ax blade. It didn’t help with the fact that I was bleeding all the way there, leaving a dripping, crimson trail. I remembered in that I was in so much pain as I felt something was trying to force its way through the muscles, the nerves, fat, and scales like parasites that threaten to burst out at any moment. There were also tears that I too have shed as if my back was more than just on fire, but as, if someone poured trails of acid on it.
“We’re almost there Spike,” I kept hearing Thorax saying to me. “Just hang on.”
All I could do was whipper, hiss and (from time to time) scream as I felt that something was cutting me from the inside. The Changeling King galloped as fast as he could towards Ponyville’s hospital, no doubt scared to death about the condition I was in. He must have been as soon as he burst through the front doors I heard him scream: “GET ME A DOCTOR! NOW!!”
From there, it was a blur, one moment I was hoisted up to one of those beds with wheels. The next I was x-rayed, and before I knew it was I rushed to the emergency room where somepony put a mask on me, counting down backward before I blacked out. However, I do remember when I woke up; I did so with the thought that I had to remind myself to breathe. From there, I was able to open my eyes to see the floor with a pair of hooves on each side, and the voice of nurses.
“…. So how much anesthesia they had to give him?”
“About seven times the average dose as far as I’m told. I mean I think it kinda makes sense considering that he is a- hold on.” One of the pairs of legs had bend down to which a head peeked under, “Oh hey, he’s up.”
“Water,” I begged, as my throat felt like a desert. A moment later, she returned with a cup that had a straw in it to where I was able to suck up the liquid pretty quickly. “Where am I?”
“Apart of Ponyville hospital,” she replied. “You’re on the second floor in one of its waiting rooms. The doctors had to do surgery on you given what the x-rays showed.”
I blinked, “Surgery? What was wrong with me?”
“Remember that painful feeling you had on your back? Turns out, those were your wings that were trying to force their way out.”
For a good solid ten minutes, I let it sink in. “My what? I have- Ow!”
“Please, don’t move so much,” my nurse warned. “Here, let us get you a mirror so you can see.” After what must have been the longest minute of my life, one of them levitated a mirror up to me and tilted a little to the side. To my shock, they're sticking out from my back and suspended on a series of wires and pulleys was a pair of bat-like wings that still corresponded to the color of my scales. Each wingspan was about half as I was tall. “At the moment, they’re very fragile,” the nurse informed me. “So until both of these are completely dry, it’s best advised that you don’t move for at least a week.”
Yet, among my stunned reaction of having wings on my back, another thought came to me, “Where’s King Thorax?”
“I think we can wheel him into his room now, should we?” the other nurse asked, and just like that they began to move my bed. “The one that brought you to the hospital is waiting for you in your assigned room. Not only that, but you have some visitors too.”
“You mean Princess Twilight is here?”
“Uh-huh. Not only is she here, but so is Princess Celestia, and the Dragon Lord Ember is here too.”
I just let the conversation drop as I was being wheeled through the hospital, watching the tiles on the floor and hooves go by. My mind was racing with the thought that I had a pair of wings that were buried right beneath my scales this whole time! I was trying to figure out how was it that nopony had noticed this until now?
Soon I was rolled into my room in which, the first voice I heard was Thorax's, “Spike, are you okay?”
“Oh gee, I don’t know,” I deadpanned, my humor defense mechanism kicking in. “I just had a pair of wings that nearly ripped me in pieces, but other than that, I feel doing great.”
“Holy crap Spike,” Ember gave a low whistle. “Those are some really sweet wings you got.”
“Yeah, and getting them hurt,” I replied as I was rolled over to my place in the hospital room before the nurses proceeded to hoist me up through some mechanical pulley system. Now that I was able to see anything but the floor, I was now facing my visitors.
“I feel for you Spike,” Ember said as she had her arms folded. “Getting your wings is an agonizing trial, but I must say that you’ve finally undergone a rite of passage for our dragons.”
“Huh?”
“Well among us dragons, getting one’s wings separates from being hatching and someone that’s grown up. Although I’m rather surprised that it’s taken you this long for them to finally kick in. How’s your back anyway?”
“Numb, like everything else.”
I saw Twilight walk around to look behind me. “Still, I am surprised that the doctors were able to use any surgical tools on you at all. I thought scales were impossible to cut through.”
The Dragon Lord shook her head, “Not if there’s something that exposes what’s underneath the scales. Sure, they’re tough, but once you’re able to get under, the flesh is very soft so it’s no surprise that the doctors were able to do anything.”
“Does that mean that I have stitches?” I asked.
Twilight replied as she came round to face me. “Oh yeah, there are. I have to tell you, Spike, that if I had known that this was going to happen or had gotten you a check-up.”
“But we didn’t know,” I pointed it out. “If anything, you might be thanking Thorax for getting me over here at all.”
“She already did,” the Changeling King replied. “And from there she rounded up everyone that could come on such short notice when they heard that you’re in the hospital.”
“I would have invited Luna,” Celestia told me, “But since this is in the middle of the day, I didn’t want to wake her up after the long night she had. Now I admit that I and no doubt Twilight panicked when we got the word. If anything, I had to cancel Day Court to fly down here to see if you were alright.”
“Princess, you didn’t have to,” I began but she stopped me.
“Spike, me and Twilight practically raised you; having you hurt in any way is like hearing that our own child has been injured. It’s shocking to hear and naturally, we’re concerned for your well-being.”
I looked over to Thorax, “Hey, I’m sorry that I’d scared you back there.”
He shook his head, “No, it’s fine. Yes, you did give me several heart attacks along the way, but what’s important is that you’re going to be fine.”
“Uh yeah…” I gave an apologetic look. “I’ve been told that I won’t be able to leave until my wings are dried and my scars recover in a week, I’m sorry to tell you that I have to cut your visit short.”
“I can extend my stay until you recover. Lavender can hold down the Kingdom until I get back.”
“Trust me,” Ember spoke up. “Since he can’t really move for a while, he’s gonna need all the visits he could get, just to prevent him from going stir-crazy. I remembered that as soon as these wings popped out of me, I had to lay face down in a cave where I was pretty much board out of my mind. So if I were you Thorax,” she pointed a claw at me. “I’d try to keep him occupied as long as possible until he’s able to move without flinching.”
“Lord Ember,” Celestia asked, “Since Spike now has wings, would he need to undergo learning how to fly as well?”
“Well of course, but it doesn’t have to be a dragon, just someone who has wings. In a way, it like…” she put a claw to her chin, “What’s that thing you ponies call? That thing that has two wheels and you rotate one of them through a chain?”
I raise an eyebrow, “You mean a bicycle?”
“Yeah! That’s it!” she snapped a claw. “It’s like that. Once you show him, it’ll be easier for him to grasp it. Still, looking at him now, nothing about his wings are torn, which is good. So I congratulate you Spike for becoming a full-fledged adult. I promise you that once you’re able to walk out of here, come to the Dragon Lands where we’ll throw you a coming of age feast.”
After I thanked her, I asked if I could speak with Thorax alone. To which this was granted, leaving me and the King alone. “Again,” I began, “I’m so sorry for all of this.”
“You know Spike, you really ought to stop apologizing for things that are out of your control. Yes, you did scare me – but right now, I’m relieved that you’ll recover, and that’s all it matters.”
“Not to say that it throws my plans out the window. After all, I was planning on taking you out to see a movie since I haven’t seen one myself for a while.”
He waved a hoof, “Plans, who needs them? All I care about is spending time with my Master Consort, regardless of the situation. Plus, I have to agree with Ember, these are magnificent wings you got. If you want, I could teach you how to fly once they’re dry.”
“Really?” I blinked, “You’re willing to do that?”
“Mhmm,” he nodded. “After seeing you in so much pain, I figured that you need someone that’ll help you out with these new appendages. Learn how to take care of them and whatnot. Still, I think it’ll be fun to teach you and, once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to fly from here to the Hive in no time. You don’t have to ask Twilight or Starlight to teleport you or spend your bits on train tickets.”
“I admit, I’m still in shock that I have wings. But when you put it like that, I guess I have a little more freedom of movement now.”
He trotted up to me to nuzzle my face. “You’re going to love flying, just you wait. But for now, you do need to rest, my Knight. After all, you had quite the day and your back needs to heal. Still, I promise that if as long as this hospital lets me, I’ll come to visit you as long and as often as I can.”
“Good. Because I don’t feel like going stir-crazy myself,” We both chuckled at this. After that, he kissed me before I said, “Could you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“The next time you do visit me, bring the phonograph and some records along. If I’m going to like this for a good week, I might as well do it while listening to something to keep me entertained.”
“Like some Maretin?”
I smirked, “Oh now you’re just reading my mind.”