We open this week's adventure in Ponyville. It was a bank holiday Monday, meaning no school today. That is why, as we arrive in the Golden Oak Library, we find Springer and Scootaloo up in her room, playing a card game.
The two were each holding up a bunch of cards, with several more cards laying on the floor. Springer reached out and grabbed one of Scootaloo's, taking it out of her hoof before looking at it. "Ha!" He cheered as he saw it was a ten of spades, "High card!"
Scootaloo let out a low growl, "Don't celebrate to soon. I've still got plenty of high cards."
"Yeah, yeah..." Springer replied, waving his paw before leaning forward with a smirk, "But for how long?"
For those wondering what they were playing, it was quite simple. The players split a deck of cards between them and then take turns removing cards from the opponent's hand. When both players only have one card, they show them to each other and the one with the highest card value wins. The score went from two to ace, with the only thing that could beat an ace being a joker. The joker though, can be beaten by anything that's not an ace.
At this point in the game, the two only had two cards each and it was Scootaloo's turn. The little filly's hoof moved between one card and the other, until she grabbed one, "Oh yeah! I got a queen!"
Springer frowned before holding up his paw and looking between the two cards. He picked one and pulled it out, smiling when he saw what it was. "Yes! Ace!" He then showed Scootaloo last card. "The one thing that could tie mine," he was holding an ace of diamonds.
Scootaloo frowned at this. "Okay, you win...." She then lowered her head, only for a smirk to appear on her face as she looked back up, "is what I would have said if you had pulled this out!" She flipped her card to reveal-
"JOKER?!" Springer cried out, moaning as he fell onto his back, "Rats....I lost."
Scootaloo laughed at her victory as she herself laid on her back. "That was fun." Several seconds later, she sat back up and asked, "So....what do you wanna do now?"
"No clue," Springer replied with a light groan. "I had ten minutes set aside for a victory dance, but...you kinda blew my schedule out the window."
Scootaloo planted her chin in her hoof and frowned. "I'm bored."
"Me too. Still...better than going shopping."
"Yeah..."
Earlier, Flash and Twilight had asked them and Spike if they wanted to come with them to the market. The two were getting the stuff they needed for their trip to the Crystal Empire tomorrow, where Cadance had asked them to help with welcoming the head of the Equestria Games. The Equestria Games were the biggest sporting events to ever take place in Equestria, the event itself happening once every four years. Every city in Equestria would send its representatives to the games, which were held in different cities each time.
With the return of the Crystal Empire, Cadance and Shining Armor wanted the games to be hosted there as a way to get the ponies of the empire and Equestria to better connect with one another. But the games locations weren't up to them, as they would have to appeal to the representatives. And that was where Flash, Twilight and the rest of their friends came into play, as Cadance had asked them to do everything in their power to help show the empire's great merits.
Springer and Scootaloo had declined the older ponies' offer to go, but now were bored out of their mind. As such, Scootaloo let out a sigh, "Too bad Sweetie and Applebloom are helping their siblings. We were planning on trying for our skydiving cutie marks."
Springer gave her a bewildered, eyebrow-raised glance, "Skydiving?"
"Sure. Its sounds awesome for a cutie mark."
"Right..." Springer replied as he looked away, knowing full well to not question the crusaders' cutie mark getting antics at this point. "Good luck with that."
In that moment though, their conversation was cut by the sound of Spike screaming downstairs.
"WHY?!?!?!"
The jakhowl and filly's heads shot towards the door. They then glanced back at each other before leaping to their feet and rushing out the room, running down the hall. "Spike!" Springer yelled as he burst through the house, creating a pair of Steel Paw claws on his paws. "What's the matter?! Are we under attack?!"
Scootaloo looked around the room. "Spike?"
"Down here."
The two looked down and saw Spike laying on the floor, a mopey expression on his face. He also had a heart emblazoned apron on, along with a bowl of cake mix and an empty measuring cup next to him.
Springer and Scootaloo stepped over to him. "Err...Spike? You okay there?"
"Yeah, you're looking a little...down."
"Hoo," Twilight's pet owl Owlowiscious added as it flew over and sat on Scootaloo's back.
"Spike," Scootaloo replied to the owl. "The one of the floor."
"Hoo."
"I said-grr...nevermind," Scootaloo grumbled as she looked back at the dragon. "So...what's up?" Spike didn't reply, as he instead picked up an empty measuring cup and held it out to them. Springer and Scootaloo shared a glance before turning back to him. "That's an empty cup Spike."
"Yup," Spike replied.
Springer took the cup and looked it over. "Does the cup...symbolise anything?"
"Yup."
"What?" Scootaloo asked him.
"My own lack of restraint," Spike said as he took the cup back. "I was about to bake a brilliant jewel cake, but I accidently ate all the jewels I was gonna bake into it. Now, I have nothing."
"You could still bake a normal cake," Scootaloo suggested. "That'd be just as good."
"Maybe better since we could all have a piece," Springer finished.
Spike glared at the two before staring back at the cup, "I have no jewels...I have no cake...I'm a sad little dragon with nothing to-"
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
The group of four's attention quickly turned towards the door, the sound of a gentle knocking echoing up into the room. "Who is it?" Spike called as he and the others headed downstairs. There, the front door opened to reveal Fluttershy and Angel.
"Hello everypony," Fluttershy said before noticing Spike's attire. "Oh, oh goodness." she looked away, "I-I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Spike let out a low sigh, "Well, I do have this cake to not bake."
Fluttershy and Angel shared a confused glance. "Oh...sorry, is this a bad time?"
She was about to turn around, only for Spike to motion her to come inside, "Sorry, inside joke. Come on in."
"Yeah," Springer continued as she stepped inside. "Though if you're looking for Flash and Twilight, they're at the market."
Fluttershy then blushed before pointing to the drake in the room. "Actually, I was looking for you Spike."
Spike tilted his head before pointing a claw at his chest. "Me?"
Fluttershy nodded. "It's just that...Princess Cadance needs us to do a great job welcoming the Head of the Equestria Games when she visits the Crystal Empire tomorrow-"
"Oh, I know all about that," Spike grumbled in an annoyed tone before sticking his claw into his mixing bowl. "As if I wouldn't be any help at welcoming."
"Oh, don't be such a baby," Scootaloo told him.
"Yeah!" Springer agreed, nodding. "I wasn't invited either and you don't see me complaining."
"Well, you've got a reason to not go," Spike barked back, pointing at the jakhowl. "You've got patrol duty. Me? I've got nothing!"
Fluttershy suddenly looked embarrassed as she started to backpedal, fearing she had just unintentionally started an argument. "Oh, I don't know what was I thinking. Of course you might be upset for not being invited, and...here I am, coming to ask you for a favor." With that, she turned around and began to head out. "You were probably going to say no anyway. All I had to offer you in exchange was one little jewel."
"What was that?!" Spike exclaimed, somehow disappearing and reappearing right in front of the pegasi.
Fluttershy yelped in surprise, leaping into the air and grabbing a hovering Owlowiscious. The mare and owl shared a glance, a nervous smile for Fluttershy and a glare from the owl. The pegasi let the pet go, soon fluttering back to the ground before reaching into her saddlebag, pulling out a large green jewel.
Upon seeing it, Spike's eyes were literally replaced with images of the jewel as he leaned forward and licked his lips. "That's a really big one," he then leaned forward so much that he lost his balance, his face soon kissing the floor. He looked back up and now saw Fluttershy about to put the jewel away, only to leap and grab it, rubbing against his cheek as he landed, "A really big, juicy, perfect-for-a-cake-topper jewel."
"Ooookay." Springer cringed to Scootaloo as their faces scrunched up at the slightly creepy sight. "The second he starts calling that thing his precious, I'm out of here."
"Ditto," Scootaloo added.
Fluttershy just blinked at the sight before stepping over to Spike. "Does that mean you'll do it?"
To anypony aside from Fluttershy, it was obvious that Spike was not paying attention to her. "Yeah...sure."
Fluttershy smiled and rubbed her head against his. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" She stepped away and removed the bunny that was currently riding on her head. "So while I'm gone, you'll take care of Angel." In this moment, the rabbit looked horrified, as he knew where this was going. "And tomorrow is Tuesday, which is his tail-fluffing day, and it's really important for him to look good."
It was in this moment that Spike finally returned to reality, causing him to look over at her. "Wait, what?!" He moved over to her and glared at the bunny. "You want me to take care of him?" Angel glared back at the dragon, blowing a raspberry at him.
"Why'd you want Spike to do it?" Springer asked as he pointed to the rabbit. "Doesn't Iron get along with him better than anypony else?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, I couldn't ask Iron. With Flash gone, he'll be far too busy on patrol."
"Anypony else notice how much Iron picks up my brother's slack?" Scootaloo asked nopony in particular.
Fluttershy turned to Spike, taking the jewel back. "If it's too much trouble, I can always see if there's somepony else." She put the jewel back in her bag and headed for the door, only to feel the bag get heavier. She looked back and saw Spike was now digging in the bag for the gemstone.
"We already agreed on the whole jewel thing," he told her as he jumped out with it in his claws. "So I'll just-"
Fluttershy smiled and rubbed her head against his. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She looked over at her pet. "Angel, aren't you just excited?" Considering Angel was close to tears, Springer, Scootaloo and Owlowiscious could tell he was not excited. Unforunately for the bunny, Fluttershy didn't seem to notice as she put him down and headed to the door. "See you tomorrow," she said as she stepped outside. As she left, Angel blew them another raspberry.
Ignoring this, they all waved her off, only for Spike to suddenly get a brilliant idea. "You know..." he said as he put the jewel inside the cup. "She's not the only pony with a pet that might need some watching." A sinister looking smirk appeared on his face, causing Springer to shiver.
"Watch it Spike," Springer told the dragon. "Remember what happened the last time you got greedy? You almost tore the town apart with that greed growth spurt."
"Yeah!" Scootaloo added, nodding. "I don't wanna go through that again. You destroyed my room with your rampage in the house!"
"It'll be fine," Spike told them before taking off his apron and stepping out the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some clientele to meet with." With that, he closed the door.
In watching him go, Springer, Scootaloo and Owlowiscious all frowned, only for Springer to comment with a sigh, "Those in agreement that this will end it total unmitigated disaster, raise your wing."
"Agreed," Scootaloo said as she did so.
"Hoo," Owlicious hooted as he did the same.
Springer just sighed again, facepawing and praying that this time, whatever would happen would result in less destruction.
The next day...
Springer yawned as he and Flash finished their morning patrol.
The two had to do it much earlier since Flash and the others were heading to the Crystal Empire as soon as they got back to the library. Flash smirked as he looked back at the jakhowl on his back, chuckling under his breath. "I warned you about what would happen if you stayed up too late."
"I couldn't help it," Springer replied as he put his paw over his mouth. "I came up with a super cool idea for a comic character and I had to write it all down before I forgot it." He then showed a big smirk, "It's about a jakhowl superhero."
Flash rolled his eyes, shaking his head while letting out a laugh. "Sounds interesting. Question, can you actually draw?"
Springer frowned. "Well...I'm not really sure. Never really tried it."
Flash laughed again. "Maybe see if you have that skill before quitting your day job."
In that moment, they arrived at the library and landed in front of the open door. When they stepped inside, they found Rainbow in there with Tank flying around. Rainbow was watching as Tank flew around, a nervous look on her face. "All I'm saying is, you might wanna think about a helmet," the mare told the dragon while he was currently reading a cookbook while holding a cup of jewels. "You only want to get hit in the head by a flying turtle...once."
"Agreed," Flash said before ducking to avoid said flying turtle.
Unfortunately, Spike wasn't paying attention to the warnings. Instead, he appeared to be fantasizing about the cake he would be making. "A thousand plus carats of pure deliciousness...."
"Yo Spike!" Flash called out to him. "Focus, would ya?!"
In that moment, the rest of their friends arrived along with their pets. Applejack stepped over to the dragon, Winona on a leash next to her. "Looks like you got a regular pet day care in here, Spike." She tossed the leash to the young drake, who just managed to catch it. "You'll still be able to get some good play time with Winona like you said would, won't ya?" She stroked her dog's head. "She tends to get a little wild if she doesn't get her exercise."
"Exercise..." Spike muttered half heartedly while looking back at his book. "Sure, of course." But in that moment, Winona saw Gummy and Opal rushing by and started chasing after them, dragging Spike along with her.
"WHOA!" He cried as he was pulled along the floor before slamming into the bookcase, just as Twilight and Owlowiscious came downstairs and saw them all.
"I don't remember seeing critters on the invite list," she told them as she blinked at the sight.
Applejack chuckled at this. "That's 'cause we're leavin' 'em here with Spike. He's gonna do a little critter-sittin' for us."
Twilight turned to the dragon, pure suspicion on her face. "Oh really?"
Spike, after peeling himself off the bookcase, turned and gave her an innocent smile. It didn't last long though, as in that moment, Tank slammed into his head.
"Rainbow did warn you about the helmet," Flash told him with a smirk.
"This is gonna be a disaster," Springer said as he grabbed a nearby pad and pencil before jumping up to the top of one of the bookcases. "And I am not gonna get involved." Safely out of the mayhem, the jakhowl began to see if he really could draw.
As he did this, the last of the group arrived. Fluttershy stepped into the library with Angel and a basket of fur cleaning products, which she placed on the floor before turning to them. "So sorry I'm late," she explained before turning to Angel. "Silly bunny had hidden his brush." Everypony looked at Angel, who was still scowling with his arms crossed, his tail also in curlers. "Be sure you get plenty on his tail, or it won't get as poofy as he likes it."
In that moment, they all heard the sound of the train, causing them to look at a nearby window while Applejack turned to everypony else. "Come on ya'll, or we're gonna miss the train." She leaned down to Winona, "one more for the road?" Winona barked happily before jumping onto her back, her owner rubbing her belly.
"No! No no no!" Pinkie yelled to Gummy, her pet alligator. "I love you more."
No response.
"No, I love you more!"
No response.
"I LOVE YOU MORE!!! WAAAAHHHHH!!!" Pinkie cried, a cartoony waterfall of tears bursting out of her eyes.
While this was happening, Flash was standing by the door, watching them all. He then noticed something that made him smirk, his hoof soon pointing to one Rainbow Dash. "Aha! I Saw that!"
The pegasus blushed, having been caught rubbing noses with Tank. "You saw nothing."
Fluttershy was still trying to console Angel. "Oh, I promise it'll be okay. I'll fluff your tail twice next week." Angel's reply was to rapidly lower his ears to show he was not amused. "Three times?" His ears raised back up before turning to her, nodding his agreement.
"Oh, I know," Rarity told Opal as she wrapped a scarf around her neck. "It's a chilly eighty one point two in here. Spike, take care of this, would you please?"
Spike held a thumbs up at her. "You got it!" He then turned to Twilight. "So, uhh...what are you thinking about that hooting little friend of yours? Suppose you want me to keep an eye on him too."
Twilight thought about this for a moment before giving him a worried look, "That would be nice. Thought, are you sure you don't already have your claws full?"
"Nah, pshaw." Spike replied with a wave. "I'll be fine. But, uh, just between you and me," he whispered into her ear before holding up his gem cup. "I gotta give priority to the...paying customers."
Twilight sighed before pulling out a small gem and tossing it into the cup.
"Yes," Spike cheered with a fist pump before turning to Flash. "And I'm sure Springer would-"
"No," Flash deadpanned as he flashed his hoof in Spike's face. "If anything, I should be paying him to keep an eye on you."
Springer heard this and leaned over the edge of the bookshelf. "I take my payment in comics and candy."
Flash rolled his eyes before walking out the door, the rest of the gang following. Twilight was the last and turned to Spike once she was outside. "You absolutely sure you can do this?"
Spike smirked as he shook his hips. "Of course. Wouldn't have agreed to it if I couldn't. Piece of cake." He then reached around the door and pulled out his hat and cookbook. "Speaking of cake, I got a little something I need to attend to."
Twilight frowned at this. "Yeah, like keeping an eye on a house full of critters." She then heard Spike lick his lips, causing her frown to turn into a full-on glare.
Spike, realizing his mistake, turned to her. "Uh, yeah, uh, that was totally what I was talking about." He then motioned for to get going. "Relax. Go to your welcoming thing in the Crystal Empire. Spike's got it all under control."
Twilight nodded, albeit nervously, and started heading over to the train station. Seeing this, Spike stepped back into the library and shut the door. But no sooner had he turned around, that he found the six of the seven animals causing major mayhem.
Winona was rushing around, her leash catching onto multiple things and dragging them behind her. Gummy was pulling books off the bookshelves, tossing them on the floor while Opal was ripping up the window's curtains and Angel hopping around frantically. Owlowiscious however, tried to help by grabbing Winona's leash, only for the border collie to drag her along as well.
But before Spike could even think about what to do, his head was suddenly struck by a flying tortoise. "Augh!" Spike yelled as he fell over from the blow. Soon recovering, he finally realized what he had just gotten himself into, his eyes now seeing the destruction of several crazed pets.
He then looked up at the only one capable of helping him, Springer. "A little help?" He asked.
Springer lowered the notepad enough for him to see Spike over the top. "Got any candy?"
Spike raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Um...no?"
"Got any comics I haven't read?"
"No."
The jakhowl raised the notepad again. "Sorry, not helping."
"Oh, come on! I thought we were friends!"
"We are friends," Springer replied as he began to erase what he had just drawn. "But if you can charge your friends for favors, why can't I?"
Spike's face began to turn red, ready to shout out in anger, only to stop himself. He knew he couldn't fully deny what Springer was saying, though he also knew he didn't have time for it. Instead, he turned to animals and yelled, "Alright, I'll do it myself. Sidekicks, front and center!" Winona barked before rushing over and sitting in front of the dragon, but she was the only one. "There are six of you, but there's only one right here in front of me." He then spotted tank flying overhead and leapt up to grab him, dragging him down and placing him next to Winona. "Two!"
"Hoo?" Owlowiscious hooted as he appeared from behind him.
Spike rolled his eyes and grabbed the owl, placing him next to Tank. "Spike, the boss of you, that's who."
Springer put the notepad to the side, now watching in amusement. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for some popcorn right now." He snapped his paw's fingers. "Popcorn! I need to ask Flash to teach me how to make some. Better write that down..."
Spike shot him a foul look before turning back to the animals, pointing at each one as he counted. "One, two, three!" He looked around before hearing a sound coming from upstairs, soon grumbling as went up there, only to return ten seconds later carrying a thrashing Opal. "Nngh!" He growled as he tried to avoid her claws. "come on, number four!" He stepped over to the others, only to feel himself trip and hit the ground. He let out a low groan, soon seeing that it was Gummy who tripped him, along with sucking on his foot. Spike then jiggled Gummy off his foot and placed him next to Opal. "One, two, three, four, five...argh, who's missing?"
It was here that the two of them heard the sound of the front door opening, the duo now seeing Angel Bunny on the house's welcome mat. The rabbit gave them a hefty salute, only to immediately disappear into a cloud of dust. Spike just glared at the spot the rabbit had been. "Angel!" he yelled, only for Tank to fly into his head again. "Augh!"
Springer snickered as he leapt off the shelf. "Well, that escalated quickly."
Spike moaned as he got up. "You're gonna help me now, right? Please."
Springer shrugged, a small smirk soon appearing on his face. "Sure, why not?" With that, he picked up all the leashes that the ponies had left before quickly connecting them to the animals. He then handed the leashes to Spike. "You're still in charge of them. Once we find Angel, you're back to being on your own."
"Fine..." Spike grumbled as he grabbed the devices, only to feel an immediate tug. He glared back at the jakhowl, "Now will you please use your aura thingy to track him down?!"
Springer rolled his eyes but did as he was told, closing his eyes and opening his aura. He reached out and connected to every single aura in town, going through them one at a time. "Hmmm...got him. Gotta say, that rabbit can move. He's already halfway across town."
"Great..." Spike grumbles as his claws felt the tension of the leashes, "So where's he heading?"
"I think he's trying to get back to Fluttershy's cottage, but it looks like he's off course. He'll end up at Sweet Apple Acres before he gets anywhere else."
"What?! If he get's there, I'll never find him in the farm's orchards!" He rushed towards the door, only to notice the brush in the basket that Fluttershy had brought. "Wait a minute, I got an idea." he said as grabbed the brush and held it up to Springer. "Here, take a whiff."
Springer raised an eyebrow at this. "Excuse me?"
"Sniff it, then you can track Angel's scent."
Springer glared at him, swatting the brush away with a growl, "I'm not that kind of canine. Try Winona."
Spike let out a sigh, switching his view to the border collie, who took a few whiffs of the brush before barking. "Good. Now, retrieve!" Winona barked again before rushing out the door, dragging Spike and the other pets out of the door with her.
Springer chuckled at this as he stepped outside, shutting the door behind him, "I'm sure he'll be fine."
The jakhowl decided to do a quick patrol around the town, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary. He then headed to their forest training ground, where he did a little practice with Steel Paw and Aura Blast accuracy before heading back out. On his way back, Springer headed over to Bon Bon's sweet shop to get some sugar-free candy. But as he made his way passed Sweet Apple Acres.
Spike was walking up the road while carrying a bunch of bowls, eggs, cutlery and a big bag of sugar. However, he was also missing not one, but six cuddly creatures. Springer raised an eyebrow before stopping right in front of him, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. Spike soon noticed his presence and stopped, looking around his mountain of baking supplies to lock eyes with him. "What?"
"Aren't you missing something?" Springer asked. "Or should I say, six somethings?"
Spike replied with a chuckle. "I managed to find somepony else to take them off my claws."
"Who?"
"Scootaloo and her friends," he said as he started walking past the jakhowl. He then pointed to the crusader clubhouse, a smirk on his face. "Angel and I was able to convince them into looking after them for the rest of the day. And all it cost me, was one little jewel."
"You don't deserve any of those jewels," Springer told him as he followed the dragon. "They were given to you so you would look after them! I should take them all off you and give them to the CMC!"
Spike stopped before turning to glare at him. "You wouldn't."
Springer responded by crossing his arms. "You know I would, and you also know you couldn't stop me."
Spike frowned at this, only to turn and continue walking anyways, "Gonna put in some flour, and add a little sugar for my five de-li-cious jewels!"
Springer growled with his paws clenched, ready to go through with his threat. That is, till him and Spike heard Sweetie Belle's voice. "But pink feathers would look so good with your eyes!"
Hearing this made the two stop, turning towards the clubhouse with confused looks on their faces, That is, till Spike just shrugged as he turned back to his route, "Meh, that bird could use a little color."
"Has anyone seen Tank's head?" They heard Scootaloo ask, causing them both to freeze in horror. "Where's his head?!"
Spike dropped all his baking gear and rushed towards the clubhouse, Springer on his tail, arriving there before slamming open the door. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THAT TURTLE!?"
"Tortoise," Springer corrected as he leapt inside.
"NOW'S NOT THE TIME!" Spike yelled as both he and Springer looked over at Scootaloo, who was currently standing next to a headless Tank. Before the two of them could have a heart attack, Tank's head popped out of his shell.
"Ohhhhh," Scootaloo said as she saw this, "I totally forgot he could do that." She looked away embarrassed. "Heh...sorry."
Spike rolled his eyes while Springer clutched his chest, the jakhowl panting heavily, "don't...do that...again."
It was here that the duo saw that the clubhouse was now in worse shape than the library. Opal was scratching at the walls, Tank was flying around aimlessly and in the corner was a bathtub that Angel was hopping over as Gummy leapt out to try and bite him. The place was also covered in paint, along with the animals and crusaders. Springer turned to give Spike a knowing glance, which the dragon ignored and focused on the fillies.
"Yeah..." Applebloom groaned as she tried to keep Angel Bunny under control, "So, pretty sure critter-sittin' cutie marks are out."
"And our critter-grooming cutie marks probably aren't going to appear anytime soon either," Sweetie continued as she pointed up at Owlicious. The owl was covered in pink paint, with a brush and clip stuck to him.
"Hoo."
Spike sighed before walking over to them. "Alright, load 'em up. And you can gimme back that jewel I gave you."
Applebloom raised an eyebrow at this. "Sorry, we don't have it anymore."
"What?! Why not?!"
Scootaloo responded by pointing at the window. "How do you think we paid for the industrial-sized pet hair dryer?"
Spike and Springer both turned to the window, looking outside to see Winona being pinned by a powerful wind that was being created by a gigantic machine. Spike moaned as he slapped his claw into his face, while Springer turned to Scootaloo. "Remind me to suggest to your siblings, a lesson in buying more than you actually need." The crusaders replied with nervous chuckles.
Soon enough, Spike and Springer had the animals back on their leashes and were heading back to town. But with Springer refusing to still help him, Spike was forced to hold them all and soon found himself being dragged all over the place. Springer laughed as he followed him, enjoying the trouble Spike was getting into from his own greed. He then watched as Spike slam into a tree in the middle of town. "Ow. That had to hurt." His laughter increased when several of the animals began to run around the tree, causing Spike to be tied to it. Angel quickly joined the jakhowl in his laughter.
As he watched the dragon struggle to get free, he felt the presence of a familiar aura and turned to see the zebra Zecora stepping over to them. She smiled at Springer before turning to Spike. "Zecora knows just what to do, about all this bad mojo that's floating around you."
Spike turned to glare at the animals. "I'm thinking a cage and a great big lock might be next."
The zebra chuckled before moving her face close to Spike's. "Zecora can take the bad away, if you do just what I say."
Spike's eyes went from anger to joy as. "Really?"
Zecora nodded. "But before I can do my duty," she pointed to his cup of gems. "I am going to need some of your booty."
Spike moved his tail, which was holding the cup, away from her. But a few seconds later, he sighed before pulling a claw free and rummaging into the cup. He pulled out an orange jewel, which he tossed at Zecora.
She caught the gem on her nose and moved away from them. This caused Spike to give her a confused look. "Where are you going?"
Zecora moved over to a nearby filly-guide, who was standing next to a donation box. "You think jewels are what you need, but there's no worse mojo than dragon greed."
Spike suddenly realised what she intended to do, causing him to gasp as he finally pulled himself free and rushing towards the zebra. He probably would have made it, if Springer had not tripped him up. Spike fell to the ground with a thud, recovering just in time to watch as Zecora drop the gem into the box. Despair plastered itself on Spike's face while Springer crouched down and patted the dragon on his head. "Don't worry, its not the end of the world."
Spike turned to the jakhowl and growled, only to hear the sound of Angel laughing. This caused him to growl even more, only to now see the rest of the animals beginning to fight. "AUGH! You gotta be kidding me!"
Springer could now see smoke coming out of the dragon's nose and ears, his danger sense telling him to back away slowly. It was then that he noticed Spike looking at something, only to go into a thinking posture. Moving next to the dragon, he saw he was looking at a basket full of ribbons. "Spike, what are you thinking?"
Spike turned back to him, a smirk on his face. "You'll see."
Ten minutes later...
Springer walked with his jaw slacked, watching as Spike pushed a large ball made up of the six pets. He had used the ribbon to tie them up into that position, then started pushing it towards the library. "I'm pretty sure this counts as animal cruelty."
"They brought it on themselves," Spike told him in a cheeky tone. "I'm done being nice, so now I'm taking the gloves off."
Springer just shook his head, facepawing. "You ever hear of karma? This will only end badly for you."
"Oh please, what could possibly go wrong?" But in that moment, the two of them passed by Granny Smith. The old earth pony spotted Winona in the ball, followed by the rest of the animals, and frowned at the two of them.
"Don't look at me," Springer told her as he pointed as Spike.
Granny focused on Spike, who chuckled nervously as he patted the ball. "Just taking good care of everyone's animals." Granny didn't look convinced, causing Spike to start panicking.
"Told you. Karma."
Spike rushed over to her, grabbing her by the very loose cheeks. "What am I gonna have to do to get this to go away?" He finally let go of her cheeks, but she still didn't look happy. Spike sighed, knowing he was busted, then turned to look at his gem cup. He moaned before pulling out a purple one, handing it to the Granny Smith. "And this is just between you and me, okay? No other pony has to hear a word about it."
However, in that moment, the sound of several animal cries echoed into their ears. Before they could even look around to see what was happening, the six pets rushed by and trampled Spike into the ground. Granny grinned down at the young dragon. "A word about what now?"
Springer snickered and high hoofed the elderly earth pony, but after looking back at Spike, he felt his danger senses raising again. Spike's entire body had turned red, smoke blasting out of him. But before Springer could say anything to him, Owlicious landed on his head and tried to spin it around. "What's up?" He asked as he allowed his head to spin, seeing exactly what Owlicious was worried about. His eyes went wide and he reached over and poked Spike on the shoulder, "err...Spike?"
Spike, who was dusting himself off, turned to them. "This better be important."
Springer didn't reply. Instead, he simply pointed in a direction. Spike followed his finger and saw he was pointing at a train, and on that train was a particular white rabbit. Seeing this, Spike's eyes went wide before quickly turning to a glare. "Angel!" He rushed towards it, Springer and the pets on his tail. He rushed onto the platform, but before he could get on the train, he was stopped by the conductor.
"I can't have all of these animals on my train," he pointed to Springer and the pets. "Not without tickets and not without chaperones."
Spike once again began to panic. "All I need is to get on for one minute, grab a bunny, and get off! Promise!"
The conductor laughed at this, "Likely story. No chaperone, no train."
Spike was about to give up, only for his ears to perk up as he heard the sound of familiar laughter. He looked around and then smiled, Springer watching him rush off before returning a few seconds later with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He placed them in front of the conductor. "Is three ponies enough?" The train pony held up his hoof, obviously expecting something to pay for the tickets. Spike sighed before reaching into his cup and pulling out the gem Twilight had given him. He placed it in the pony's hoof before climbing on board, looking into his significantly emptier cup. "At least I have you two left, my delectable little treasures."
They all climbed onboard as the overhead speaker announced. "All aboard for the Crystal Empire!"
"CRYSTAL EMPIRE?!" The three fillies cried, shock and amazement in their eyes.
"I've always wanted to see the Crystal Empire!" Scootaloo added.
Springer turned to her with eyebrows raised. "You've only known its existence for a few months."
"Yeah...but in that time, I've been wanting to see it. If we hadn't have had school today, I'm sure Flash would have let me go."
Sweetie was also giddy at the prospect of going. "I wish I were dressed for it, but still...THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!" That last statement was done in the most cutest little squeal that Springer had ever heard.
Spike meanwhile, turned back to look at them. "We're not really going! We just needed to get on the train so I can get that rabbit! And when I do, we're off!"
"What?!" Scootaloo yelped.
"But that's not fair!" Applebloom moaned.
Spike wasn't listening though. Instead, he was looking around for the rabbit in question, only to see him sitting on a train seat, soon smirking and blowing a raspberry. "There he is!" Spike cried as he leapt at him. The rabbit tried to get away, but Spike managed to grab him. They fell and rolled on the floor, Angel held firmly in the dragon's claws as he glared at him. But before Spike could say anything, the train suddenly jerked and they all realised what that meant.
"Next stop, the Crystal Empire."
Spike's eyes went wide before he rushed towards the back of the train. "No, no, no, no, no, no!"
Springer sighed as he sat down. "Welp, looks like we're going after all." This of course got the response of cheers from the crusaders, who were all to happy to be heading to the empire.
Spike and Angel soon returned, and as he did, the animals all started running wild. Luckily, Springer and the crusaders were able to help him get them all under control. The conductor from before then showed up, warning them that if they did not keep the animals under control, they would be forced off at the next stop. Luckily, he was willing to suggest they use one of the empty box cars.
While in the carriage, Springer leaned against the door to make sure nopony opened the door and let the animals out. The crusaders meanwhile, were talking about the Crystal Empire. "So it seems like the Crystal Empire would be really cold, but I've heard that it's not!" Applebloom said first. "My sis says its as warm as can be!"
"Do you think the walls are crystal?" Scootaloo asked before she gasped. "Maybe even see-through! Can you imagine see-through walls?"
"We have those in Ponyville. They're called windows." Springer remarked, making the crusaders all laugh. As they did this, Springer felt a certain sensation in his stomach, only for the organ to start growling. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and he could feel the hunger getting to him. That, and his nose, which suddenly got a whiff of a beautiful smell. His mouth began to water as he whispered, "Mmm...Donuts..."
Unfortunately, the animals also picked up on the smell and rushed towards the door, knocking over Springer in a mad rush. "Whoa!" He yelled as he hit the floor, the animals running right over him.
"Springer!" Spike yelped as he rushed over to the door, only the hear the sound of clatter as the animals all made a mess. The dragon flinched at the sound before slowly opening his eyes, seeing the donut vendor standing in front of him and he did not look happy. Easy to see why, since he was covered in donut cream and had a cat, dog and alligator biting onto him. Spike knew where this was heading and looked down at his two remaining gems before looking away and holding out the smaller of the two. "Take it! Just take it!"
The vender took the gem and managed to pry the animals off him. Once everyone was back inside, Spike turned and glared at Springer. "Hey, don't go blaming me. I haven't eaten anything all day."
"Well neither have I," Spike told him as he stomach growled. "We'd still be in Ponyville right now if you'd just helped me earlier!"
The animals and crusaders were all silently watching this, all of them knowing this was gonna go badly.
Springer let out a low grumble as he walked over and leaned down at the drake, "We'd still be in Ponyville if you had been patient and waited until after Flash and the others had come back to make your stupid cake. Then you could just look after the animals...LIKE YOU PROMISED TO DO IN EXCHANGE FOR THOSE GEMS!" He poked Spike in the chest. "We're only in this mess because you got greedy."
"Err...guys," Scootaloo tried to intervene. "Maybe you should-"
"NOT NOW!" Spike and Springer yelled, causing the nine other occupants to all flinch away.
The dragon and jakhowl continued to glare at each other, Springer continuing their argument. "You can be so selfish sometimes," he poked Spike in the chest again. "In fact, I'm amazed you haven't grown twice as big by now."
"Oh, don't think your so high and mighty," Spike said as he poked Springer back. "You're not perfect either fuzzball!"
"I never said I was," Springer replied, his tone's volume increasing. "But at least I keep my promises! And guess what that's got me? The trust to keep our entire town safe!" Springer fully leaned towards Spike, the eyes completely locked. "Instead, you think you can just be greedy and get away with anything! Heck, you can't even be trusted to take care of a baby phoenix!"
Time froze between the two after that, for as soon as Springer said those words, he instantly regretted them.
Everypony watched as Spike froze completely, obviously remembering Peewee. Peewee had been a baby phoenix, which had hatched from the egg that Spike has saved when he and Springer went to the Dragon Lands. He had done well at first, but over time, the responsibilities of looking after a young creature proved to much for him and he was forced to return him to his family.
Everypony watched and waited for Spike's response, but he had none. And so, Spriner spoke up, "Spike, I didn't mean-"
"Save it!" Spike yelled, turning around and sitting down on a nearby seat, avoiding everyone's gaze as he did. Springer wanted to say something back, but knew he should keep his mouth shut and instead, sat back down.
The rest of journey was filled with tension.
Everyone, even the pets, sat in relative silence the whole way there. Eventually, the overhead speaker announced that they would soon be arriving at their destination, causing the crusaders to move over to the window. There, they spotted the top of the crystal castle, causing their eyes to go wide as they saw the rest of the city.
"So beautiful..." Scootaloo gasped as the train pulled into the station and came to a stop.
"Well, enjoy it while you can," Spike told them. "Because we're not getting out of this car until we're back in Ponyville!"
The three all frowned at this while Applebloom stepped over to him. "There is no way, no how, we're comin' all the way to the Crystal Empire without lookin' around!"
"I'm with Spike on this one," Springer said as he stood back up to keep anyone from getting through the door. "What if Flash or one of the girls sees us?"
"That's a risk we're willing to take," Scootaloo replied as the three of them stood together in front of the jakhowl.
Spike leapt off his seat and stood by Springer, "Nopony's getting past us."
The three fillies smirked at the two before Scootaloo flexed out her wings, allowing Applebloom and Sweetie to pull a feather free. "Don't make us use these," Applebloom said as she and Sweetie got closer.
"You wouldn't," Spike growled back.
"That's just-urk!" Springer tried to add, only to quickly close his eyes, his paws clapping with burning aura.
The four blinked at him, Sweetie speaking up, "What are you doing?"
"I'm shutting my aura connection with Flash," the jakhowl replied. "I can sense him, he's close."
"How close?"
"Real close. I think he might be on the platform, about to board the train."
"Oh no," Spike gulped before taking a deep breath, turning to the others, "Its cool everypony. As long as we stay in the car, we'll be fine."
That plan however, was not to come to pass. Angel had jumped up on the window and had seen his owner, causing him to bang on the window to grab her attention. When that didn't work, he looked around for a way to escape, a plan formulating in his head. He then leapt off the window, quickly running over to Tank and kicking him toward Spike and Springer. The two saw the tortoise coming and barely managed to duck in time, causing Tank to hit the door and knock it down. Springer and Spike glanced at the broken door, but before they could do anything, Angel leapt onto and off of Spike's head before rushing down the corridor.
"Oh no! Get back here!" Spike yelled before rushing after him, Springer, the animals and crusaders on his tail. As they ran, they soon made their way to the last carriage. But as they made their way there, Spike then spotted Twilight and the others boarding the train. This caused him to gasp in horror before pulling Springer and the pets behind a large trunk.
"What do we do?" Springer asked him.
"Stay out of sight," Spike instantly replied.
"That might not be so easy," Springer pointed at the three fillies. Spike followed his view and saw what he meant, as the three were standing out in the open while looking at vendor table.
"Wow!" Scootaloo gasped as they stared at a crystal snow globe that had a model of the city inside it, "Just...wow!"
The girls giggled as they looked at it, their volume way beyond being heard. "I'm in crystal heaven!" Sweetie cried happily.
"Shhh!" Spike told them, "They're right there!" The crusaders moved so they to were behind the trunk, allowing them to see their siblings and friends. It was here that Spike saw what he was looking for, his claw soon pointing at it, "There's the bunny!" He turned to Springer. "Get them back on board!" With that, he rushed after the rabbit while Springer did as he was told.
"Come on!" Springer said as he motioned them all back into the train.
"Awww!" The three moaned as they boarded once again.
As they got on the train, they saw that their previous car had already been filled and the rest of the box cars were occupied. This forced them all to head back into the open cars, where they waited in a hope that Spike would get Angel in time. After about a minute, Spike rushed into the car carrying a crying Angel. "We made it!"
"Without seeing the palace!" Sweetie groaned.
"We got bigger problems," Springer said as he pointed at the door leading to the next car. The group looked into the car and saw what he meant. Twilight and the others were heading their way.
"I think this car's empty," Twilight said as she made her way to the door.
Spike began to panic, trying to think of a way out of this. The only cars left behind them were the box cars, which were all full, leaving only one alternative. "Everybody down!"
They all did as he said, the crusaders all ducked under a seat while Spike, Springer and the animals went under another. "There has to be a better solution!" Sweetie whispered before Spike shushed her.
The baby dragon crossed his claws, as sweat began to pour down his face. "Oh...please don't sit down, please don't sit down!"
"Whooeee!" They heard Applejack say as she stepped up next to the seat they were under. "My dogs are barkin'." She sat down on the seat,just as Winona let out a bark. Spike shut Winona's mouth with his claw as Applejack continued, "Did ya'll hear that? They really are."
As they all breathed a sigh of relief, they continued to listen to the ponies. "Are you sure you're okay Flash?" They heard Twilight ask the apprentice knight. "Maybe you should have gone to the hospital."
"Relax Twilight. The best she did was clip my wing. I'm fine...though my ears are still ringing."
Twilight let out a long, familiar sigh. "if you say so."
Springer raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what his partner was talking about. That is, till Rainbow spoke up, "Bummer Spike and Springer had to miss out on all this. They woulda' had fun here."
In that moment, Angel hopped up next to Spike and shined a sinister smile at him. "I'm sure he's having a great time watching all the critters back at home," Twilight then said as she sat down. Unbeknownst to her, Angel hopped under her seat and prepared to hit it with his foot.
"Think he's still got a handle on things?" Applejack asked.
Spike's eyes shrunk at this, knowing that he definitely did not have a handle on things. In fact, he knew he was about to be in for the mother of all punishments. But then, he heard what Twilight said next. "If he's staying calm and collected, I bet he's doing a terrific job as a leader." Hearing those words, Spike looked over the events of the day and realized he had this all coming. He should have done what he had promised, instead of being greedy. Now there was only one thing left to do.
"Go ahead bunny, do your worst." Angel smirked and was about to do just that, but then, Spike said, "I deserve it."Angel's feet came to a stop just a few inches from the seat, only for the bunny to turn back to Spike. The drake let out a silent sigh, "Springer was right. I was being greedy and I ignored you. I tried to pawn you off on someone else." He reached over and removed the curlers from Angel's tail, "I didn't take these silly things out, or fluff this like I was supposed to." He sat back and sighed. "I wasn't really thinking about you at all. Any of you. I just wanted the jewels." He turned to all the pets. "I hope you'll all forgive me someday." Winona replied by licking him,while the others simply smiled at him. "You will?"
Springer shined a small smile at this. "I think you've learned your lesson." But in that moment, Spike's stomach once again growled. It was definitely loud enough for the ponies to hear, and no doubt that would look for it.
"Oh great," Spike whimpered. "I'm gonna be the one who gives us away."
That is, till Angel seemed to have other plans as they bunny turned away and rushed down the corridor.
"Where're you going?" Springer asked.
Spike once again began to panic. Not only was he about to be busted, but he was now one pet short. That is, till Angel reappeared with the green gem he had been forced to throw away earlier. "Where did you–" Spike tried to ask, only for his stomach to once again growl.
"Did ya'll hear that?" Applejack asked.
Hearing this, Angel shoved the gem into Spike's mouth, the dragon instinctively taking a bite out of it. That one bite was enough to state his hunger, stopping his stomach's rumbling. With that done, the nine of them looked up at the seats and hoped the ponies did not look under them.
"Guess it was nothing," Flash said as the train began to pull away.
They all breathed a sigh of relief.
After several hours of uncomfortably hiding, the group eventually heard the announcer call out that Ponyville was their next stop. Soon enough, the train hit the station and ponies began to disembark. This allowed the group to come out of their hiding place and rush to the back entrance, where they leapt off the train and turned towards the station.
As the train pulled away, they saw their friends walking down the platform. "Hello!" Spike exclaimed, getting their attention. The ponies turned towards them, none noticing how they were all panting. "Thought we'd meet you at the station!"
The ponies jumped off the platform and started making their way to them as Sweetie added as she rushed up to Rarity, "So we could hear all about the Crystal Empire, and find out if you brought us one of those crystal snow globes that they sell at the train station!"
Rarity then looked down at her suspiciously. "How did you know about the snow globes?"
They all turned to her, the older ponies expecting an answer while the rest all panicked. Sweetie just shined an innocent smile, "Um...lucky guess?"
The others seemed to buy this while Flash moved over to Springer. "Hey bud."
"Hey..." Springer replied before noticing Flash's left wing had several blackened feathers on the tip. "What happened to you?"
Flash looked at it and chuckled. "Oh, that's a tale in a half. I'll tell you when we're back at the library."
With that, they all returned to the library. Spike and Springer were at the back of the group, the jakhowl turning to the dragon. "Long day, huh?"
"You said it," Spike replied.
"Sorry I brought up Peewee. I was just...you know."
"It's cool," Spike said with a shrug. "You did what you thought I needed to hear to learn my lesson. Which I did. From now on, I'll reap the rewards of my actions after I've earned them."
Springer smiled as they arrived at the library. "So, what are you thinking?" Twilight asked as she, Flash and Scootaloo headed upstairs. "Bake 'em into a jewel pie? Ooh, six-layer gem cake sounds pretty good!"
Spike smiled as he picked up his previously discarded mixing bowl. "Yeah, it does." He held his last gem over the bowl and dropped it, only for his tongue to shoot out and grab it.
But before he could pull it into his mouth however, Springer reached out and grabbed the tongue. Springer rolled his eyes at Spike before taking the gem. "Maybe I should hold onto this, at least until you're supposed to eat it."
Spike chuckled nervously. "Thanks."
In that moment, Flash stepped back downstairs, now relieved of his saddlebag and Lightbringer, and looked at the two suspiciously. "So, how did Sweetie know about the snow globe?" He asked, causing the two to freeze in place.
"Um...like she said," Spike told him while trying to hide a gulp. "Lucky guess."
"You sure?" Flash asked with raised eyebrows, "So it doesn't have anything to do with me spotting, say...Angel on the train from the Crystal Empire? Him running out of the car and then coming back with a jewel, which looks an awful lot like the one you guys have now?"
The two were now sweating buckets as Flash crossed his hooves.
"Well?" Flash said in a low, yet very demanding tone. "I'm waiting."