Spike packed his backpack with supplies like a first aid kit, five water canteens, three sandwiches, a container filled with gems, and a small bag of dog treats for him and Buddy.
“Where are you going?” Twilight asked. Spike closed the bag.
“I’m going back to the forest.” Spike said. Twilight gave a look of surprise.
“Wow and it’s not even 10’oclock. What made you want to go back?” Twilight asked. Spike froze for a few seconds.
“I just find it peaceful.” Spike said as he slung his bag over his shoulders. He walked out the front door and waved to Twilight.
“Bye Twilight, see you later.” Spike said. He heard the door close behind him and he made his way to the forest.
Spike walked around the forest, looking for any sign of his new companion.
“Buddy, are you here? I brought you some snacks!” Spike said while shaking the bag of dog treats. He froze when he felt a hot breath on his neck. He jumped forwards and turned around fearfully. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Buddy sitting there.
“Don’t do that, you nearly scared me to death.” Spike scolded. Buddy let out a whimper. Spike pet his snout softly. He pulled out a dog treat and placed it in the palm of his hand. Buddy sniffed it curiously.
“It’s safe to eat.” Spike said. Buddy licked it out of his hand without hesitation. He chewed noisily on the treat. When he was finished, he licked his lips. Spike thought of what he could do for a few hours.
“Let’s go visit Peewee, but you have to promise not to eat him.” Spike said. Buddy rolled his eyes before letting out a reassuring bark. Spike smiled.
“Okay then, let’s go.” Spike said while walking away. Buddy limped after him. Spike listened to the birds chirping and the animals chatting to each other. Behind all of the peaceful noises, he heard a sharp cry.
“Do you hear that?” Spike asked Buddy, who tilted his head in confusion, not able to hear a thing. Spike followed the noise until he reached a large boulder. Under the rock there was a cockatrice with its tail stuck under it. It let out loud shrills of pain as it tried to get out. Spike slowly made his way over to it. The cockatrice opened its wings and let out a his, trying to turn Spike into stone. He closed his eyes and turned his head.
“I promise I’m not trying to hurt you, I just want to help you.” Spike said, showing the cockatrice his hands to show that the were empty. The cockatrice continued to hiss a Buddy in fear.
“Buddy stand over there, you’re scaring her.” Spike said. Buddy walked a few feet away, causing the cockatrice to calm down. He put his hands on the boulder and pushed as hard as he could. The boulder tipped over before landing on the ground with a bang. Spike put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. The cockatrice hopped up and rubbed his cheek with her head. Spike chuckled.
“You’re welcome, Now let’s get that tail fixed up.” Spike said. Her tail was red and crushed, but luckily not broken. Spike grabbed his first aid kit and pulled out a roll of ace bandages. He looked around and grabbed two sticks. He broke on of them so they could be the same length.
“Sorry if this hurts.” Spike apologized in advanced. He pulled out her tail to make it straight, making her screech in pain. He put a stick on the sides of her tail and wrapped the bandage around the top. Once he was finished, he wrapped the bandage around at the bottom, making a splint.
“And done!” Spike said. The cockatrice happily flapped her wings and nuzzled his cheek. The cockatrices stomach growled and she looked at Spike.
“Do you want some of my sandwich?” Spike asked. The cockatrice shook her head and gestured for Spike to follow her. Spike followed the cockatrice and Buddy followed a few feet behind. They soon entered a dark part of the forest, filled with cockatrice nest and sleeping cockatrice. The cockatrice pointed to a nest that had three eggs laying in it. She then pointed at Spike and then back at the eggs.
“You want me to watch your eggs?” Spike asked in surprise. The cockatrice smiled and nodded her head. Spike thought about it for a few moments.
”I can’t just leave them out here to die, anything can take them while she’s out.” Spike thought to himself.
“I’ll do it.” Spike said. The cockatrice hopped happily and left. Spike slowly sat down next to the nest, and Buddy laid down next to him. He stared at the eggs for a while. They were so small. How could anyone be afraid of cockatrice’s? Sure they turned creatures into stone, but that’s just self defense. Other than that, they were sweet creatures. Spikes thoughts got cut of when his stomach growled. He pulled a sandwich from out of his bag and was about to take a bite, when he noticed Buddy staring at the sandwich, licking his lips. Spike rolled his eyes and reached into his bag.
He pulled out the bag of dog treats and placed it in front of Buddy. He tore the bag open with his teeth and ate the treats loudly. Spike tried to take a bite, but turned around when he noticed a cockatrice standing next to him, just staring. He looked at the cockatrice in confusion.
Without any warning, the cockatrice slowly crawled onto Spike lap and took the sandwich out of his hand, eating it whole. Spike stared in shock, processing what just happened. He reached into his bag to pull out another sandwich. As soon a he took the sandwich out of the plastic wrap, the cockatrice ate it in one gulp. Buddy snickered, making Spike glare at him. Spike pulled out his last sandwich and looking the cockatrice in the eye.
“Listen you thief, this is my last sandwich so get your own food.” Spike said. The cockatrice stuck his tongue out a him. Spike slowly unwrapped the sandwich while looking the cockatrice dead in the eye. As soon as the sandwich was fully unwrapped, Spike tried to stuff the sandwich in his mouth but was stopped by the cockatrice grabbing it and eating it. He let out a defeated sigh. Buddy pushed over his remaining dog treats to Spike.
“Thanks.” Spike said as he munched on one of the treats. The cockatrice still sat in Spikes lap, not leaving anytime soon.
“I’m gonna name you Bandit because you steal things that aren’t yours.” Spike said bitterly while stuffing more treats into his mouth. Bandit licked his talons without giving him a single thought. The cockatrice from earlier showed up, holding a piece of meat in her mouth. Spike tried not to gag at the sight.
“You’re eggs are just fine...” Spike trailed off as he thought of a name for the cockatrice.
“Beatrice!” Spike said. Beatrice flapped her wings happily at that name. Spike stood up, causing Bandit to roll off of his lap, making him squawk angrily.
“I’ll see you two later.” Spike said. Bandit turned his back and Beatrice waved her wing goodbye. Spike walked away and Buddy followed behind him. They walked through the forest until the reached a part with trees that were fading from there color and phoenix’s chirping anxiously.
“Peewee!” Spike exclaimed. Peewee flew down from his nest, looking stressed out. Spike frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Spike asked. Peewee led Spike behind a few bushes to reveal shriveled up berry bushes and a ditch, which was supposed to be a lake. A few phoenixes laid there dehydrated, extremely skinny, or both. Spike stared at it in surprise. That was there only source of food and water. Spike looked at Peewee.
“I can fix this.”