"Ah, it's so nice to finally be able to say 'I have wings'!" A jubilant Spike hovered just outside the Castle Of Friendship that evening, having finished his latest test flight with his new acquisitions. "No more being grounded for this guy, it's the wild blue yonder from now on all the way!"
Certain considerations, like how he was going to squeeze into his old Halloween costume, and the expense the Crystal Empire would accrue at making the necessary adjustments to his statue, were not exactly high on his list of current concerns. For now, he was only focused on enjoying the new freedom on offer to him, as well as avoiding those terrible crash landin... ow!
Well, that's at least one thing I gotta work on he winced painfully, as he picked himself from his unseemly tumble into the wall of his crystalline home. How does Twilight make it look so easy? Years of practise, I suppose. I hope I can still bum lifts from her every now and then, until I've fully gotten use to these things.
After dusting himself down and opening up the huge front doors of the castle, the newly airborne dragon was most perturbed to discover there were no lights on in the large building. Don't tell me Twilights forgotten to fire up the lanterns again. You'd think with me saving Rarity and Zecora from the clutches of that giant roc, I'd at least get a day off. But even 'heroes' don't always get what they want, I guess. Ho hum. Now, where did I put that torch...
Thinking that perhaps the answer to that question might lay in the grande hall (he wasn't dumb enough to keep such a combustible item near his impressive comic book collection) he stumbled inside there with uncertainty. Somehow navigating his way through there to his assigned seat, he was just about to search the general area, when he tripped over something tied to the table nearby.
Ow! Not again... the accident-prone dragon winced as he hit the floor for the second time in almost as many minutes. Maybe when I was around Zecora's earlier, it would've been frugal to grab some soothing ointment along with that scales cream. Celestia knows, the regularity with which I'm falling over right now, I definitely need it...
The irked drake's frustration with his ongoing clumsiness however was quickly forgotten, as he happened to finally locate the cause of his latest tumble. Huh? Is this... a bunch of balloons? What on Equestria are these doing...
"Surprise"! A multitude of happy voices were heard to call out in unison, as at least two horns were lit up to permeate the darkness and finally shed some light on the situation.
It took a moment for Spike's slit eyes to grow accustomed to the sudden glare emanating from everywhere in the hall, but once he could see again, to say he was surprised would be like describing Celestia as being fond of cake.
Speaking of cake, the first thing he noticed was a ginormous green and purple one right in the middle of the table, with 'CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW RINGS' spelt out using the finest sugary frosting.
Pinkie Pie was responsible for that obvious typo of course, but Spike was much too startled by the unexpected appearance of her and the rest of his closest equine friends to get mad about that. Or the balloons she'd rather hazardously tied around everywhere in seemingly the most dangerous spots, as he'd discovered to his cost.
"Sorry about the hush-hush celebration, Spike, but me and the girls couldn't let such a long-awaited milestone to pass by in your life without acknowledging it in some small way. Besides, Pinkie would've had a hernia if we hadn't let her take this opportunity to throw a special party." Twilight trotted over to embrace her longest, most dearest friend in a well-deserved hug.
"That's right! I mean, it's not everyday you get to acquire nice jewellery!" Pinkie's obscenely wide grin seemed to stretch the entire length of her face, but it soon reformed itself into an expression of amazement. "Wait a second... you have wings too?! Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh this calls for a double shindig! I better go out to get more balloons, hats... and bake another cake. I'll be back in about five minutes everypony, tops. Don't start pin the tail on the donkey without me! And tell Crankle Doodle that unfortunate incident last time wasn't my fault, my blindfold just kinda slipped..."
"Well darling, now that we have a break from the silliness..." Rarity rolled her eyes slightly as Pinkie went to zip outside in a pinkish blur. "I have to tell you that you were so brave, standing up to that nasty buzzard who tried to drag me and Zecora off to it's lair! I can't begin to imagine how distressing it would've been to be stuck in some far-off nest, waiting to be digested. I'm also glad that you finally managed to get rid of that horrible stench which was following you around, after all, it isn't the done thing for a professional model to turn up to a show smelling like a sewer drain. By the way, I have a very good idea for a new line of dresses, based on a few of the roc feathers that fell down after you heroically chased it away. I'm going to call it 'Fashion Rocs'! Will you be available tomorrow for a private fitting?"
"Hey, give the poor guy an evening off, will ya!" It was Rainbow Dash to the rescue, as she managed to lead Spike away from Rarity's blatant overtures. "I'll tell you the greatest thing about flying. The fact you have no limits, no boundaries, nothing stopping you from doing whatever you want at any speed you wish. I tell ya, if it was up to me, I'd probably never land on the ground again. I think just about the worst experience in my life was the day I injured ol' rightie here, and I was stuck in that darn hospital bed until I recovered. Apart from that whole discovering-Daring-Do thing of course, but mostly it was sheer torture."
"Um, actually, walking on all fours isn't too bad, most of the time." Trust Fluttershy to butt in at this point, holding a radically different point of view from her fellow flight school graduate. "It allows me to connect with my little friends who can't fly, as well as pick flowers, drink tea, build animal sanctuaries... I guess what I'm trying to say is, I like spending time on the ground a lot. Okay, I'm done."
"You said it, Missy!" Applejack coming down on the yellow pegasus's side was somehow quite a predictable ever. "Why, I don't know where us Apples would be without the feel of the compost under our hooves, or the sight of the crops we grow every year growing to fruition! You skydivin' daredevils may like the wide expanses up there, but me and my kin are quite happy with our lot here on good ol' terra firma, let me tell you!"
Uh oh. Something tells me this is going to turn into yet another argument between Dash and Applejack, just like the other week during the class outing. Spike noted with alarm, deciding wisely that this was the right moment to make himself scarce.
Ducking out from under the scrutiny of the squabbling duo, he grabbed a clawful of miniature gems from a bowl that his thoughtful friends had put together, and scanned the hall to see who else was in attendance.
Hmm, I see Starlight has had an early night again. Never mind, I'll save her some cake, or cake(s) as the case may be later. There's no sign of Smoulder either, unfortunately. It's a shame, because I would've liked to thank her for helping me out through this whole stupid molt phase... Hang on, are those the Crusaders over there? I'm surprised they're allowed to stay up so late. Maybe their families are allowing them to do it just this once, on account of the awesomeness of the guy they're here to honour. I'll just pop over and say hello...
Strange though, that as he approached the three fillies in the corner, none of them turned their head an inch to acknowledge his presence. Instead, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle seemed far more occupied with speaking to Scootaloo, who was making an odd sound that Spike was pretty sure he'd never heard coming from the tough young pegasus before.
Wait just a second. Is Scoots actually... crying?
As Spike stood there frozen in shock at this revelation, Apple Bloom finally lifted up her mane long enough to spot the young dragon standing watch over them, and she abruptly turned around to address him directly. "Oh, sorry Spike. I kinda didn't see you there. Apologies for not having a good time like everypony else, but we Crusaders are sorta in the middle of a crisis here. Don't worry 'bout us, we'll be fine! Don't let us spoil your big day."
Sadly, as much as Spike would've liked to do just that, his big scaly heart just couldn't stand leaving any of his friends in distress without trying to at least help. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to..."
"It's sort of a personal matter, no offence." Now it was Sweetie's turn to chime in, and like Apple Bloom, she wasn't about to reveal anything whatsoever. "Don't fret about it, though. Scootaloo's problems have nothing to do with you, Spike! W-Well, maybe that's not entirely true. E-Erm, how can I put this without sounding rude..."
If it had been Sweetie's mission to throw Spike off the scent then she'd failed miserably, as he was now more curious than ever. "What do you mean 'not entirely true'? I haven't spoken to Scootaloo in weeks! What could I possibly have done to..."
"J-Just shut up! Shut up, everyone! Y-You don't understand..." Scootaloo's scrambled sob and loud screaming echoed around the chamber, and was even enough to put a premature end to Applejack and Rainbow Dash's short feud. Everypony in there watched in stunned silence as the orange pegasus leapt to her hooves and galloped off, with the other two Crusaders bowing their heads shamefully at their abject failure to cheer her up.
Wanting to get to the root of the problem instantly, Spike asked the downcast pair. "Quick, tell me what's wrong with her. If it's anything to do with me, then I must know now. Otherwise, how else am I going to fix it?"
Apple Bloom's face at this juncture was a masterpiece in hesitation, but she finally answered anyway. "I-It ain't really our place to say, but if you wanna go and talk to her..."
"...You better hurry, because once she gets moving on that deathtrap scooter of hers, even flying full pelt with those new wings of yours won't be enough to catch her!" Sweetie finished the shared thought for both of them, and the two remaining Crusaders indicated with their hooves where their absent friend might have gone.
"Alright, I'll return as soon as I can. See you, everypony!" were Spike's final words in the castle for now, as he flapped his wings once more to charge off outdoors.
It wasn't much trouble for the flying dragon to locate Scootaloo, but he was lucky to discover the young pegasus when he did. If it hadn't been for the safety conscious nature of his target, stopping as she did to securely tie her helmet on before departing, he might never have got there in time.
As it was though, he saw her just as she was about to climb aboard her scooter around the back of the castle, where she'd been parked. Deciding to get to the bottom of this once and for all, the determined dragon landed right on the front of her vehicle, to prevent any quick getaways...
Or at least, he tried to.
"Hey dude, what gives?" Scootaloo asked at first upon seeing a familiar reptilian figure descend from on high, just before his face hit the dirt instead. "Whoa. You've really got to work on your landing, it's terrible."
"Yes, yes... I am aware of this." Spike snorted in annoyance. He'd bothered to make the trip out here to discuss the pegasus's problems, not his own obvious shortcomings. "But enough about me. How are you doing? It didn't escape my attention you were crying a lot in there, and when Sweetie mentioned my name, I couldn't help but see a slight glint in your eye. If what you're going through now is anything to do with me, then I think I have the right to know... if only so I can try to make up for whatever is I've supposedly done."
"N-No, it's not that. I-It's just, seeing you up there... a-and thinking about my own situation... k-kinda made me realise..." Scootaloo seemed to be in great internal turmoil, as warring factions between wanting to express her feelings and showing any kind of weakness vied for supremacy.
"Hey, it's okay! I'm sort of Twilight's biggest confidante since the day I was hatched, so it's not like I haven't heard my fair share of problems over the years. You can tell me..." Spike deigned to venture forward and rest his claw tentatively on Scootaloo's shoulder. She knew, like Rainbow Dash, the young pegasus could be a bit of a difficult nut to crack, but if Dash could be a bit of a softie sometimes, Spike could see no reason why the rainbow-coloured pony's biggest fan couldn't also display similar traits of openness.
"...T-That I'll probably never be able to fly, and it's absolutely killing me!" Scootaloo's defences were finally shattered by Spike's attentive administrations, and he brushed off Spike's claw brusquely before bursting into tears once more. "I-I know what you're going to say next, because I've heard it all before. 'I should be patient', 'they'll develop eventually', 'being a late bloomer is nothing to be ashamed of'... so just drop it, okay? I'm going to be a 'flightless freak' for the rest of my life, and there's nothing anypony can do about i-it..."
Spike watched Scootaloo profusely sob into her hooves for a few more minutes, as he carefully considered the filly's predicament. Eventually, when the morose pegasus had finally more or less emptied her tear ducts dry, and went to stare through moist eyes at the thoughtful dragon, what he had to say was not entirely what she'd expected.
"To be honest with you Scoots, I wasn't about to tell you anything of the sort. I appreciate that those other ponies who told you that stuff were trying to make you feel better, but clearly their words have had the opposite effect. So here's a dose of truthfulness for you: your current situation sucks."
"H-Huh?!" Scootaloo sniffled with surprise at Spike's honest words. Out of everyone who'd tried to comfort and solace her before, she'd never heard any of them speak like this before.
"It's true." Spike continued, without a moment's pause. "I've hung around a lot of other dragon's before, and I can tell you how difficult it was, being the only non-flyer among them. I got ridiculed, insulted, bullied... I'd even go as far as to say it made me feel completely worthless at times."
"And... this is supposed to help me?" Scootallo arced a confused eyebrow at this point, wandering where exactly this discussion was going.
"Anyway, despite all the name-calling, mocking and constant harassment..." it was at this point Spike's words took on a new tone of optimism. "Guess which 'wingless wonder' won the legendary Gauntlet Of Fire contest , giving myself the chance to become ruler over them all? Of course I turned it down, though: there were better candidates available in the Dragon Kingdom already, and besides I can't see how Twilight could survive without me. I mean, have you even seen her try to wax a floor before? It isn't pretty!"
"W-Wait... so you beat all those tough dragon dudes, who were much bigger than you, and able to fly and stuff..." Scootaloo couldn't believe what she'd just heard, and stared at Spike almost with stars in her eyes. "...All on your own?"
"Well, I did have a little help from two ponies in bad camouflage along the way." Spike chuckled to himself at the memories associated with the day. "But apart from that, I pretty much did everything by myself, yes."
"...And you turned down the chance to be their king, so you could return here and do Twilight's chores every single day? Are you nuts?" Scootaloo's initial respect for Spike had now turned to incredulity, and she heavily implied the dragon might very well be insane.
"Um, you're kind of missing the point here." Spike frowned at what he saw as Scootaloo's inability to read between the lines. "The moral of the story is, that if even a little non-flying squirt like me can almost become Dragon Lord, who knows what great things you could accomplish if you put your mind to it, wings or no wings? A-And I'll have you know, my friendship with Twilight is about much more than personal servitude..."
"Gotcha!!" A suddenly much more cheerful Scootaloo tapped Spike playfully on the nose. "I was only kidding! I know exactly what you mean. If I ever had to separate from my Crusader buddies permanently, I don't know what I'd do. I'd even turn down the chance to be Dash's apprentice or something, if it never meant seeing my best pals again. Speaking of them, I'd better go back and tell them I'm alright. Thanks for the pep talk Spike, you're pretty good at them! We really should hang out more. Well, smell ya later!"
Spike didn't really have much time to say his own farewell or chastise Scootaloo for that ill-judged 'smell' remark, before the orange pegasus ran back into the hall, seemingly much happier than when she'd left it.
Oh well, at least I managed to do my job, even if she forgot to remove her helmet before returning to the party. Spike thought to himself, but before he could follow her inside the castle, another one of his close friends landed nearby to block his path.
"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing out here? W-Were you eavesdropping a moment ago?" Spike questioned the presence of the multi-hued pegasus.
"You didn't think I was going to let my number one fan run off in floods of tears without trying to help her out, did ya?" Dash informed the dragon with a friendly wink. "As it turns out though, she didn't need my assistance at all, because you handled it so well all by yourself! I can't tell you how grateful I am, so I'm going to give you a reward!"
"A-A reward?" The prospect of getting a 'reward' from the town's biggest prankster somehow filled Spike full of dread. "Hey, it's not one of those cookies that turns your tongue a really funny colour, is it? Because if it is a..."
"Relax, Spike, I threw those out months ago." Rainbow Dash sighed upon being reminded of that unsavoury incident, and the associated undead frights that came with it. "No, this is me giving you lessons of how to land after flying. I've actually seen you try it before, not a pretty sight. You know I've got good credentials too, if you remember how I taught Twilight after she became an alicorn. So how about it then? I'll work you hard, but I'll work you fair."
"U-Um, well okay, I guess..." Spike murmured gratefully. He was not sure how else to respond, everything was just moving so fast.
"Great. Shall we start at the crack of dawn, then? That suits me fine! Make sure you're awake and ready on time though, I don't want to have to use a bucket of water to get you up, like I did with the egghead..." Dash said those words in a cryptic way so Spike didn't know if she was joking or not, and he didn't have the chance to ask either, as Rainbow's next act was to dive right back into the party.
After all, that delicious Zap Apple cider wasn't going to drink itself.
"What have I gotten myself into now. I'm Twilight's assistant, local celebrity in the Crystal Empire, Dash's student and a professional model for Rarity." Spike sighed to himself, as he sat on Scoot's vacant scooter in a vain attempt to get a grip. "Well, I don't quite know, but I'll tell you what I'm going to do next: Hide all the unused pails in Ponyville."
Unbeknownst to the contemplative dragon, Pinkie had returned early from her party supplies expedition, and was currently engaged into subterfuge out in the bushes atop a large cake, cursing her dumb luck.
"What? Landing lessons?! Oh great, now I'm going to have to bake a third cake. Strap an apron on, Gummy, and grab me a sack full of flour. It's gonna be a long night."