//------------------------------// // Twilight and Spike // Story: Pinkie and the Raptor // by Lycan_01 //------------------------------// "I'm bored..." Spike grumbled. "You didn't have to tag along you know..." Twilight replied with a slight roll of her eyes. The purple unicorn and her draconic companion had just entered the Everfree Forest, and were casually walking along the trail that led to Zecora's hut. Twilight usually went by her place once or twice a week, to socialize and discuss magic, alchemy, culture, and other scholarly topics. "Yeah, I know," Spike shrugged. "But I haven't seen Zecora in a while. I thought it'd be nice to say hi." Twilight stopped trotting and turned to stare at him, clearly dubious. Finally, Spike rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, and, uh... Maybe ask about a potion or something to make me more manly or something? You know, uh, to better get Rarity's attention? Eh heh heh..." he chuckled nervously. Twilight continued to stare for a moment, before sighing and shaking her head. "Come on, lover boy," she said with a playful smile. "We can't be late. And the sooner we get there the better. You don't even want to know what sort of stuff lives out here." "Like what?" Spike asked curiously. "Besides, y'know, manticores and parasprites and-" Boing. Boing. "Pinkie Pie?" the unicorn and dragon both asked in unison. There was no mistaking that familiar sound of hopping hooves coming from around the corner just ahead of them. Twilight and Spike stopped walking for a moment, expecting their friend hop into view. And their suspicions were correct. A few seconds later, Pinkie Pie bounded around the corner, appearing on the path in front of them. They did not, however, expect a velociraptor to hop out alongside Pinkie from behind the bushes. "WHAT IS THAT?!" Spike screamed, flailing his arms and falling back onto his tail in shock. "IS THAT A VELOCIRAPTOR?!" Twilight shrieked in confused horror, backpedaling a few steps to put some distance between herself and the dinosaur. Pinkie and the raptor immediately stopped dead in their tracks. "Hi Twilight! Hi Spike!" Pinkie Pie cheerfully waved. The raptor simply tilted its head from side to side in confusion. "PINKIE!! RAPTOR!! WHAT?!" Twilight exclaimed, her mind barely able to process what it was seeing. "Oh, you mean Utah?" Pinkie tilted her head, mimicking the raptor's actions. "He's my new friend." Twilight and Spike stared. An awkward silence fell over the four creatures. Finally, Twilight spoke up. "Okay, wait. There are so many things wrong with this situation..." the purple unicorn observed. Her voice was now much calmer than before, though her tone was audibly tense. Slowly, the raised a hoof to her forehead, and began to massage her brow. "First of all, where did you find a velociraptor? Second of all, how did you befriend it? Third of all, why? And fourth of all...... Utah?" she quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, uh..." Spike weakly muttered, "What she said." Pinkie simply flashed her characteristic grin. "One, I found him the forest. Two, I tamed him with cupcakes. Three, I thought he was hungry and might want a friend," she gleefully replied. "And four, I dunno, it just seemed to fit." Twilight and Spike stared. "Okay, I'm not even going to try to touch the 'taming with cupcakes' and 'needed a friend' points. But seriously, Utah?" Twilight asked, her expression one of sheer confusion. Utah the velociraptor tilted his head from side to side again. What was she saying about him? He didn't quite follow. Pinkie shrugged. "Like I said, it just seemed... right." "But he's a velociraptor," Twilight deadpanned. "Well, duh," Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes playfully. "He's certainly not a T-Rex." "Which mean's he's not a Utahraptor," the unicorn answered. "So why name him Utah?" Pinkie tilted her head curiously. "A what now?" Twilight facehooved. This was hurting her brain. "Nevermind. Okay. Fine. Utah the Velociraptor. That works, I guess..." Of course it works, Utah thought. It was his name after all. Wait, since when could it understand pony speech? Utah blinked a few times, dumbstruck. What did those cupcakes have in them?! "Y'know..." Spike muttered, cautiously approaching Utah. "Now that I'm not terrified he wants to eat my liver... He's actually pretty cool." "Yup!" Pinkie chimed. "You can come closer. He won't bite. Or scratch. Or eviscerate." Spike took a few steps closer. Utah curiously watching the small purple lizard-thing slowly approach him. Spike took a few more steps. Utah continued to stare. "I don't know if I like the way he's looking at me, come to think of it..." the dragon muttered, taking a step back. "I promise you Spike, he's harmless. Watch, I'll prove it. Hey Utah," Pinkie turned to the raptor, "Want a hug?" Hug? Utah blinked. What is a hu- Without warning, the pink pony threw her forelegs around him and squeezed him tightly. Utah let out a surprised squawk. What was she doing? Was this a trap? An attack? Some weird mating ritual? A challenge for dominance of the pack? The raptor's mind raced. It thought about trying to escape, twisting free or leaping back from her. But it very quickly calmed itself down, and realized Pinkie wasn't attacking it or anything. In fact, this strange embrace - a "hug" as she called it - was strangely nice. Very comfortable, oddly soothing... And that was how Utah discovered that hugs were awesome. "Wow..." Spike stared. "Pinkie totally just hugged a raptor." "They're supposed to have feathers..." Twilight muttered to herself, staring into space. "Why doesn't it have feathers? Why...? Scales...? Feathers...?" Spike ignored the scholar's mental breakdown, returning his attention to the dinosaur. "Well, if he's really harmless..." The purple dragon walked up to Utah, much more casual and less cautious than before. He stopped a foot or so in front of him, leaned forward, and began to stare at the massive talons on Utah's feet. "Woooooaaaaah... Coooooooool..." the baby dragon crooned. Utah was still lost in hug-induced bliss. He had no idea his claws were being ogled. Eventually, Pinkie broke the embrace, and trotted a few steps back. "See? Perfectly harmless!" she exclaimed happily. Utah finally regained his sense, and looked down at the baby dragon in front of him. "Awesome..." Spike blinked, studying the claws on Utah's forelimbs. "Y'know, I wonder if Zecora has a potion to turn me into a raptor...?" "His name is Utah, but he's a velociraptor..." Twilight babbled, nearly catatonic. "Velociraptor mongoliensis... Not Utahraptor ostrommaysorum Utah... Raptor......" "Oh boy..." Spike frowned. "Uh... I better get her to Zecora's. Get her mind off of all this. Or what's left of her mind, at least..." "Okie-dokie!" Pinkie replied. "Tell Zecora I said hi! Me and Utah are going into town, so I can give him more cupcakes and introduce him to the rest of our friends..." "Velociraptors were pack hunters. They worked together with their friends, too... Predatory friendship magic..." Twilight babbled. Spike gently grabbed a hold of one of her hooves, and slowly led her away. "Myyyy little raptor...." she sang off-key. Pinkie and Utah both stared as the dragon and unicorn made their departure. Then, in unison, they both shrugged. "Huh. Oh hey, Applejack's farm isn't too far from here. Want to go say hi to her?" Pinkie asked her raptor friend. Utah nodded in agreement. "Yay! Alrighty, lets go!" And with that, Pinkie Pie began to hop along the forest path once again, with Utah leaping into the air and quickly following suit. Boing. Boing. Boing.