//------------------------------// // Self improvement // Story: Aggressively Small // by ShowShine //------------------------------// Twilight, Spike, Pinkie pie, and Rarity stood outside of the Canterlot Boutique. Pinkie hopped on a trampoline excitedly. “I...can’t...believe...the...Grand...Galloping...Gala...is....tonight!” Pinkie shouted with each jump. “Pinkie pie please stop shouting, I’m trying to concentrate.” Twilight said, her face buried in a book. Pinkie pie continued jumping with a large grin a little giggles. “Pinkie Pie! Stop that right now. It's time to prepare for the Gala, and I refuse to let you put on your new dress when you're all sweaty.” Rarity said sternly. Pinkie stopped jumped and landed on the trampoline with a small bounce. “What’s Twilight doing?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head. “She’s working on this awesome new spell for the Gala!” Spike said excitedly. Rarity looked around. “Where are the others, they’re late.” She said as she look down the street. “Hold your horses girl. We’re right here.” Applejack said as she, Fluttershy, and Rainbow dash approached them. “Perfect! I’m ready.” Twilight said happily. Spike put down an apple in front of Twilight. “Ooh an apple. Are we making apple pie?” Pinkie asked. “Shh. Watch.” Spike said as he pointed to Twilight. Twilights magic started to glow around the apple. The apple rapidly grew in size and parts of it started to break apart. Long branches grew out of the bottom and curved around, resembling to wheels. Golden swirls covered the apple and a small wooden door appeared. Twilight had made an apple carriage. Everyone ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ at the magic trick. “That is so cool!” Pinkie shouted with a large grin on her face. “Thanks, but that’s just the start. Fluttershy, did you bring the mice?” Twilight asked. “Yes, will they be safe Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as she put four white mice on the ground. They sniffed around curiously. “You have my word.” Twilight said. Her horn started to glow and magic covered the mice. The mice legs started to grow and there bodies got longer. Soon the stood up straight and resembled to horses with whiskers and large mouse ears. Everyone grimaced in disgust at the sight. “Isn’t it cool? The spell last until midnight.” Twilight boasted. Spike turned his head when he heard a rustle from a nearby bush. Rarity’s cat slowly came out, and her eyes lit up when she saw the horse mice. She prowled down before pounding on one of them. “Opalescence, no!” Rarity shouted. The horse mouse whinnied in fear and all of them ran off into the distance before they were completely out of sight. “Wait! Come back! Those horses were supposed to pull our carriage. How will we get to the Gala?” Twilight said in distress. Spike sympathetically patted Twilights shoulder. Rarity put her hoof on her head and look up to the sky. “Whatever shall we do?” She said sarcastically before walking over to two stallions. She flipped her hair and batted her eyes to show off some charm. “Uh... ahem. Excuse me. Uh, would you boys mind pulling our carriage to the Gala? She said with a bright smile. Both stallions looked at each other before eagerly nodded there heads. “Oh. Yeah, right.” Twilight said in a defeated tone. Spike knocked on the door of one of the rooms in the boutique. “Can I come in?” Spike asked. “Sure thing buddy.” Rainbow dash said. Spike heard the door knob jiggle before aruptly stopping. He heard Rarity let out a loud gasp from the other side of the door. “And watch us while we dress? Absolutely not!” Rarity said dramatically. Applejack cleared her throat. “But Rarity, we don’t usally wear clothes.” She pointed out. He heard Rarity let out a groan before the door swung open. “Well I’m sorry if some of us have standards!” Rarity said as she marched off. He walked inside to see Twilight and Pinkie sitting under hair dryers. Pinkie took the dryer off of her head to reveal that her mane was completely straight. Within a few second it instantly poofed back up. “I’m so excited for the Grand Galloping Gala! It’ll be so much fun!” Pinkie said as she tried to do a cartwheel. Rarity yanked on her tail with magic, causing Pinkie to fall back. “I can’t wait to meet him.” Rarity said dreamily, pink dusting her cheeks. Rainbow dash smirked. “I can’t wait to meet the Wonderbolts! If I impress them then they’ll ask me to be a part of the team.” She said confidently while zipping around the room. “I just want to sell enough fritters for my family.” Applejack said, tipping her hat to the side. “I,um like the animals.” Fluttershy said softly. Twilght took her head from under the dryer and smiled. “I can’t wait to talk to Princess Celestia about magic spells!” Twilight said, clapping her hooves together. Rarity cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Spike darling, if you are going to be in here, can you at least turn around while we dress?” Rarity asked. Spike playfully rolled his eyes and turned around. From the side of his eye he saw his tuxedo laying on the table. It was only a shirt, tie, and jacket. He reached out for it and started to put it on. Once Spike finished putting on his white shirt he put on the jacket. It was a dark blue to match Twilights dress. He started to tie his tie which was a light grey. After struggling for a few minutes he turned around. “Can one of you help me tie this please?” He asked. He was taken aback when all of the mares wore beautiful dresses. “You all look gorgeous!” Spike exclaimed. Rarity smiled and walked up to him. “Thank you I worked very hard on making these dresses as you recall.” Rarity said as she tied his tie into a perfect bow. “Let go, I want to see the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow dash said as she bolted out of the boutique and into the carriage. Everyone followed behind and entered the carriage. Before Spike could get in, Twilight stopped him. “Thanks for being my date for the Gala.” Twilight said. Spike smiled. “It’s no problem. It’s like taking my sister who can’t get a date to prom because she doesn’t have friends.” Spike said as he hopped into the carriage. Twilight was taken aback by that comment. “Gee, thanks.” She said sarcastically as she walked into the carriage. Tonight was going to be the best night ever. They all walked through the castle doors and gasped in amazement. The floors were shiny and tiled, the windows were large and spotless. A large carpet was layed out on the floor, leading to the throne. To top it all off there was a large statue of an alicorn on a table in the center of the room. Ponies were scattered around the room, talking quietly. “This is going to be. So. Much. Fun!” Pinkie shouted before running off to look at everything. Applejack pushed a green cart inside. “Everythin here is so fancy like.” Applejack marveled. “With so many ponies here I can sell my treats in no time.” Applejack said as she pushed the cart outside into the garden. “I can’t wait to see all of the exotic animals.” Fluttershy said excitedly before following Applejack outside. “Oh my Celestia the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew over towards them. Rarity scoffed. “How could they act so immature at the most high class Gala.” Rarity said. Prince Blueblood walked past, making Rarity’s face go red. She shook her head and cleared her throat. “If you excuse me I have a very important stallion to attend.” Rarity said before following Prince Blueblood. Spike chuckled and turned to Twilight, only to realize that she was already with Princess Celestia. Spike ran up to catch up with her. Ponies stared at him in disgust as he ran up the stairs to Twilight and Tia. He made it up the stairs and stood next to Twilight. Celestia smiled at him. “Hello Spike.” She said sweetly. Spike smiled. “Hi Tia.” He said with a wave. “Welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala.” She said as she shook a stallions hoof. The stallion turned away to walk down the stairs. Once his back was fully turned, he let out a girlish giggle while hopping down the stairs. Spike and Tia held back a laugh at the childish sight. Tonight was going to be fun. They had only been at the Gala for twenty minutes and it was already boring. Twilight could barely speak to the Princess with all of these ponies here. Spike didn’t notice Twilights dissapointment but he sure did notice all the ponies. He claws picked at the skin on his hands as he tried to control his breathing. ”So many ponies, so many ponies, so many ponies.” Spike repeated in his head. His eyes welled up with tears and he desperately tried not to cry. Twilight put her hoof on Spikes shoulder making him jump. “Are you okay? Do we need to go home?” Twilight asked. Spike shook his head. He didn’t want to ruin Twilights big night. “No I just need some fresh air.” Spike managed to get out through his shortened breaths. He nearly ran down the stairs,but stopped himself from more staring which would have made everything worse. Spike started to speed walk until he made it outside to the garden. He let in a deep breath of fresh air and he instantly felt better. He wiped the tears from his eyes. Ponies were outside, but not as many inside. He let out a sigh of relief and started to walk around. Soon he spotted Rarity attempting to flirt with Prince Blueblood but he wasn’t paying any attention. “Hey Rarity, how’s it going?” Spike asked. Rarity let out a defeated sigh. “I wish I could say it was going well. No matter how hard I try he just doesn’t pay attention.” Rarity said in a sad tone. “I told you that he was a jerk.” Spike said. Prince Blueblood turned around and let out a loud gasp when he saw Spike. “You’re the same dragon that burned all of my satin suits!” He shouted, hiding behind Rarity. Spike grinned. “Yeah and I’m coming for your velvet suits next.” He said. Prince Blueblood put his hoof up to his forehead and fainted to the ground. Rarity gasped. “Spike that behavior was completely uncalled for!” Rarity said sternly. Spike chuckled. “He’s a jerk anyway, I say that he deserved...” Spike trailed off when he noticed a crowd forming around them. Spike felt his heart to speed up again. Ponies started to whisper. ”What did he do to the Prince?” ”Who invited a dragon here?” “He should be banished for doing that to the Prince.” They murmured. Spike felt his hands start to shake. This was way worse than being on the stage with Tia. This time all the attention was on him. “Spike are you okay?” Rarity asked. Spike managed to weakly nod his head. “I... just need water.” He choked out. Rarity tilted her head before giving an understanding nod. He looked around until he found a small opening in the crowd. He squeezed through the judgemental ponies and made it out to the other side. He started to walk to as far away from the Garden as he could. Once he couldn’t hear anymore chatter he stopped walking and took in a deep breath. His throat was dry. “I’m so thirsty but I don’t want to go back around the ponies.” He muttered to himself. Suddenly and idea popped into his head. “I can get in the castle kitchen to get water.” He said. His scales drooped when he remembered the problem to that. “Right but the security is extra tight tonight to make sure no one breaks in.” He muttered. Suddenly he got another idea. “The tree!” Spike exclaimed. He rounded the corner to see the large tree. The area was abandoned and the window was open, as usual. He approached the tree and jumped up, letting his claws dig into the bark. He climbed up as if he was climbing a ladder. Luckily, thanks to all of his sword fighting he had been gaining muscle which made it easier to climb the tree. Spike made it to the branch in front of the window and adjusted himself onto it. He got on all fours and jumped through the window flawlessly. He landed on the floor with a thud. He walked up to the door and opened. Spike looked both ways down the hallway to see nobody was there. “Perfect.” He whispered. He tiptoed down the hallway, making sure no guards heard him. Even if they did spot him it didn’t really matter, they already know him. It was fun to be sneaky, it was in a dragons nature. Spike made it to the main hallway and saw guards walking across the long hallway in front of the kitchen. ”Every ten seconds there’s an opening between between me and the door. The Royal Guards won’t turn around for another five seconds so the gives me a solid three seconds to get through the door without being seen. Spike thought to himself. Both Royal Guards walked to the end of the hallway and Spike bolted into action. He silently sprinted towards the door and open it before sliding in and closing it silently. “Works like charm.” Spike said cockily. He turned around and jumped when he saw Princess Luna standing there, holding a cookie jar in her hooves and half a cookie sticking out of her mouth. “Oh,um hi.” Spike said with an awkward wave. Luna awkwardly waved back as she swallowed her cookie. “What are you doing here?” Luna asked. Spike sheepishly rubbed his arm. “I couldn’t handle being around all the ponies at the Gala, it felt so suffocating.” Spike said. Luna let out a groan. “At least you can go to the Gala, sister says it is best that I stay here due to ponies still being frightened of Nightmare Moon.” Luna said. “But everyone saw you after you were reformed, they shouldn’t be afraid.” Spike stated. Luna let out a sigh. “I wish that were the case but unfortunately it is not.” Luna said sadly. Spike gave her a sympathetic look. Suddenly there silence was broken when Luna’s stomach growled loudly. She blushed. “I am sorry, I have barely eaten all day.” Luna apologized. Spike rubbed his stomach. “Me either, I could really go for a doughnut right now.” Spike said. Luna tilted her head in confusion. “What are doughed nuts?” Luna asked. Spike stared at her like she had two heads. “You’ve never had a doughnut before?” He asked. She shook her head. “I have been on the moon for a thousand years.” Luna reminded him. Spike cringed at his oblivious nature. “I know a perfect place to get donuts!” Spike said. Luna and Spike sat at a table in Donut Joes shop with two boxes of donuts and a mug of hot chocolate in front of them. Spike picked up a donut and munched on it. Luna looked at them skeptically. “Are you sure these doughed nuts are safe?” Luna asked while inspecting one closely. “They’re perfectly safe, try one.” Spike said. Luna picked up a donut and took a small bite. Her eyes widened at the taste and she shoveled three into her mouth at once. Spike laughed at the sight. “I’m guessing they’re good.” Spike said. Before he knew it, both boxes of donuts were gone in less than thirty seconds. Luna slammed her hooves on the table. “I DEMAND ANOTHER BOX OF DOUGHED NUTS!” She shouted, making Spike flinch. Pony Joe ran over in fear and place five boxes of doughnuts done before running away. “Luna, I think I see why ponies are still scared of you. You’re too demanding, this isn’t a thousand years ago. You can relax and not yell when you want something. That can be your first step to improvement.” Spike said. Luna nodded her head. “I understand. Speaking of improvement, I have been watching your dreams lately.” Luna said. Spike froze up. “Every night is the same nightmare and every time I try to enter it does not work.” Luna said. “The only explanation is that it is a memory, which is why I cannot alter it.” Luna explained. Spike let out a sigh. “Please don’t tell Twilight, I don’t won’t her to worry about me, she’s already stressed enough as she is.” Spike said while burying his head in his hands. Luna put her hoof on his shoulder. “The key to self improvement is not being to dependent on other. You need to care for yourself too. If you don’t care for yourself, you can’t properly protect others.” Luna said. Spike let out another sigh. “I know, I just don’t want to lose anyone.” Spike said sadly. Luna put her hoof on her chin, thinking for a little while before she got an idea. “How about you write a journal expressing your feelings that no one has to know about. That will be a start.” Luna said. Spike smiled slightly. “Yeah, that’s a good start.”