//------------------------------// // 1. A Fiery Beauty // Story: The Robbing of Spike // by Wow_Gay //------------------------------// Long, long ago, on a world known as Equus, a tale was wrought. A tale of trickery and deceit, of adventure and romance, and of fire and chaos. This is the story of the Robbing of Spike. In Equus, there was a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Immesurably powerful beings, each given a sphere of control to manage and keep nature, and the creatures that inhabited her, in check. There was Celestia, goddess of the Sun and earth, who ruled the pantheon alongside her sister, Luna, goddess of the Moon and stars. Beneath the was Twilight Sparkle, goddess of Magic, and beneath her was her adoptive brother, Spike. Spike was a minor fire god, abandoned by his mother in the forest and found by Celestia. He was raised alongside Twilight, as if he was her very own little brother. Spike loved the world of mortals. He loved to visit their bustling town centers and markets, and play among the gorgeous scenery that decorated the wilderness outside their civilizations. Unfortunately, for as much as she loved her little brother, Lady Twilight was a bit...overprotective... "Spike, if Twilight finds out I allowed you to leave Canterlot at this hour, she'll give me such a tongue lashing!" Thorax called out to the younger god, face awash with nervousness. The fire god giggled as he rolled down a hill, landing in a thick bed of clovers. "Aw, lighten up Thorax. I'll be back before curfew. Come on, play with me!" Thorax frowned. "Your sister will be very upset if anything bad happens to you, Spike." Spike frowned. "She worries too much! I understand that she loves me, but she treats me like...like an infant! I can take care of myself just fine..." He pouted, before shaking his long green hair free of the clovers that stuck to it. "Could you imagine being as smothered as Twilight smothers me?" "I cannot say I can, but Lady Twilight worries about you for a reason, Spike. While you're in no danger from mortals, other gods and goddesses outside of the pantheon may wish to harm you. She wants you to be safe." The forest god explained gently. Spike rolled his eyes and laid down on his back. "What's so bad about the gods outside the pantheon? I mean, some of them cannot be as bad as you all think. What if they're nice!?" "What if they aren't? What if they try to fight you, or worse? Lady Twilight would shed tears innumerable if you were harmed." Spike's annoyed face softened, and he sat up, nervously scratching his neck. "I...I don't want her to cry..." Thorax teleported next to the young god. "I don't want her to either. It's a rather disheartening thing to witness." He crouched down and placed a hand upon Spike's shoulder. "I understand you feel a bit smothered, but Twilight has your best interests in mind, Spike." "Yea, yea, I know..." Spike muttered. "Now, will you come back with me to-" "Alright, alright already! Stop with the serious face, I'll go..." Spike grumbled, grabbing Thorax's hand . Thorax smiled, and in a flash of flame and wind, the two gods vanished, leaving no trace of their existence. "Twilight, I'm fine..." Spike groaned through squished together cheeks. The goddess of magic held his face in her hands, and seemed to be inspecting his face and body for any damages. "What happened to you, where have you been? Your robes are covered in grass stains, you smell of outdoors, and-" "Ugh, would you relax, I'm fine!" Spike snapped, pulling away from her in annoyance. "I went out to play, that's it." Twilight let out an exasperated huff. "Outside of Canterlot? Spike, we have plenty of places to play here, why do you keep running off to the mortal world, huh? "I'm tired of playing here! I've played here for hundreds of years, Twilight!" "Don't you understand you can be hurt out there? The mortal world is unsafe for a god like you-" "'Like me?' What does that mean!?" "I-" Twilight frowned. "You're...Spike you-" Spike's shoulders sagged slightly, and he looked at the polished marble floor. "You're saying I'm weak. Aren't you..." She winced. "I...no, Spike, that's not exactly what I-" Spike wiped across his face with his wrist, letting out a soft noise that sounded like a sob. "Im going to my room, don't follow me." With that he burst into a ball of flame and zipped away and up the stairs, towards his room in the palace. "Spike, wait!" Twilight called after him. Spike flew up to his room and slammed the door behind him, the knob on it slightly malforming as Spike's sweltering hand made contact with it. He practically threw himself onto his bed, his tears hissing away as they made contact with his skin. "I'm not weak! I'm not! I can...I can take care of myself..." Spike whimpered as he fiercely rubbed at his face with his forearm. A hooting noise met his ears and he looked up to see Twilight's pet owl looking down at him quizzically. "Hey. What're you doing in here, huh? Did you sneak out of Twilight's room through the window again? The owl merely hooted, then began playing with a strand of Spike's hair. Spike sighed. "I just wish she'd stop treating me like a child! Is that too much to ask for?" His avian companion merely stepped back and began to preen itself. Spike snorted. "One thing I've always enjoyed about animals: whenever you need to vent, they don't really have a choice but to listen." His hand reached up to stroke the bird's forehead. "Thanks. I appreciate it." The owl hooted pleasantly before spreading it's wings and flying through the curtains and out the open doors that led to the balcony. Spike smirked. "That is one strange bird." His smirk fell as he appeared to be lost in thought. "Birds are so...free. Sometimes I wish I could be one..." Spike flew towards the balcony himself and looked out onto Luna's night. The palace was silent. Frowning, he peered out beyond the barrier that hid Canterlot from mortal eyes. "...I'm not weak. I'm not a child. And sooner or later, Twilight's going to have to accept that..." He walked onto the balcony. "Maybe sooner..." With a flare of emerald fire, Spike flew off. He landed in the meadow of flowers he had been playing in earlier, now made even prettier beneath the moonlight. With a loud whoop of joy, Spike flopped into the flowers and rolled around, his robes growing slightly disheveled as he did so. He sat up and giggled, almost as if he'd gotten some sort of contact high, then took in a great gulp of cool autumn air and sighed. The young god then stood up and wandered around, picking flowers that caught his attention and smelling them, a dreamy expression on his face. The adrenaline was running through him from how he was defying Twilight's wishes and proving his autonomy. Spike was about to head off to another of his favorite spots, a pristine jungle waterfall, when his eyes were drawn to a patch of flowers that were far, far different than any of the others in the meadow. They were large, and a vibrant shade of blue, with hints of violet and indigo strewn throughout. "Wow...pretty..." He reached towards one and picked it, before bringing it towards his face to smell... 'POOF!' A large amount of mist puffed out of the flower, and Spike let out a noise of surprise. "H-Huh!?" Spike dropped the flower in a hurry, and began to cough and gag. "What the...what...w-what was...th-that..." His eyes felt heavy, and his vision began to blur and darken. "Why did...it-" He stumbled, then fell unconscious, body landing in the bed of strange flowers. For a moment, all was silent, nothing but the chirp of crickets. Then, a great tear seemed to rip itself in the very fabric of reality, and from it, a great chariot of gold, drawn by all manner of strange beasts, rode out. Upon it stood a figure, dressed in odd clothes of patchwork. He stepped down from the chariot and walked over to the unconscious young god. He crouched beside the prone form of the young god, and caressed his smooth, porcelain cheek. A thin smile graced the older beings lips. "Beautiful..." He whispered, almost marveling as he did so. He picked the boy up into his arms, and walked back towards his chariot. "I've been waiting for this moment for quite a while, my dear~" He looked towards the beasts drawing his chariot. "Forward. Back towards the castle." A rip opened omce more before the chariot, and it moved forward, disappearing inside before the rip vanished without a trace. Above them, a goddess resting on a cloud had seen what had transpired. "This isn't good. This isn't good at all." Rainbow Dash fretted. "I have to tell Twilight!"