Spike entered the Timberwolf cave to see Buddy laying on his back. He hopped up when he saw Spike and ran over to him. He let out a laugh as Buddy licked his cheek affectionately. A few timberwolves stared at the display.
“I saw you yesterday, you’re being dramatic.” Spike said playfully, pushing him away. Debbie let out a chirp from the cart, making Spike look at her. A small breeze blew, making her shiver. She cuddled into the blankets, still shaking. A crack of thunder echoed around the forest, causing them to look up. Dark storm clouds rolled in, causing the forest to go dark.
“I forgot that it’s supposed to storm all week. We can’t stay out here, Debbie doesn’t have feathers yet and she’ll be cold.” Spike said. Buddy walked over to Debbie and leaned on her, trying to give her warmth.
“That’s not going to work, you're made out of sticks, I don’t think that’s very warm.” Spike stated. He thought for a moment, wondering where they could go. A drop of rain hit his nose.
“I know where we can go, but we need to hurry before it starts raining.” Spike said. He ran off, holding the cart tightly and Buddy ran after.
They approached the castle of the two sisters. In front of them there was a large, rickety bridge. The bridge swayed with the wind. Spike hooked the cart onto Buddy’s back.
“Make sure you and Debbie get inside safely, I’ll catch up.” Spike stated. Buddy nodded his head and started to cross the bridge. His legs shook with every step and Debbie hid her face in the blankets. A large gust of wind shook the bridge, causing Buddy to run full speed out of panic. The bridge shook wildly as he got to the other side. Buddy and Debbie has made it safely. He let out a bark to Spike.
“It’s fine, I’m coming!” Spike exclaimed. He stepped onto the shaking bridge. The rain had started to pour heavily. He couldn’t fly across, the wind was too strong. It would knock him into the ditch below. With each step he felt the bridge rock back and forth. Without any warning, the bridge collapsed under him.
Spike let out a loud scream and clutched onto the ropes. His hands started to burn from the friction. The bridge slammed into the side of the rock, knocking the wind out of him. He let out shaky breaths, clutching on to the rope. The cold rain poured over his body. Buddy let out a loud bark, causing Spike to look up. He could see the silhouette of Buddy standing at the edge of the cliff.
“I’m right here, don’t worry! Just go inside, I’ll be fine!” Spike reasurred through the howling wind. He look back down and clutched on to the rope, making his knuckles turn white. The claws on his feet dig into the wooden planks. He used all of his strength to pull himself up. His hands burned from the friction. The rain made the burning sensation worse.
“Almost...there.” Spike grunted as he saw the ledge get closer. One of his hands let go of the rope and he dug his claws into the dirt. He pulled himself up, panting heavily. He laid on the ground for a moment, letting the cold rain pour over him. He closed his eyes for a moment. After a what felt an eternity he got up and walked into the castle. He closed the door behind him, making a loud slam.
“Are you two okay?” Spike asked. He touched Debbie’s wing and jerked hand back.
“You’re freezing. I have to get you warmed up.” Spike said. He took his bag out of the cart and sling it over his shoulders. Next, he took Debbie out of the cart and held her wing, leading her to a room. Buddy followed them close behind, whimpering loudly.
They approached a large bedroom with a queen sized bed and a desk in the corner. There was a large window and next to the desk, a large bookshelf pressed against the wall. Spike picked Debbie up and placed her in the bed, wrapping her in blankets. She let out a soft coo, cuddling into the blankets.
“That should warm you up.” Spike stated with a smile. In an instant, Debbie fell asleep. Spike smiled. Buddy let out a whimper while sniffing Spike, looking for injuries. Spike flinched back when his nose pressed against his hands. He looked at his hands to see that they were red with open wounds. He walked over to the bed and pulled out a first aid kit from his bag. He opened it and pulled out some ointment and ace bandages.
Spike rubbed the ointment on his hands. Once he finished, he wrapped them up in bandages. Buddy sniffed his hands.
“I’m fine, see?” Spike said while showing Buddy his hands. Buddy’s tail wagged happily and he licked Spike on the cheek. He pushed him away and wiped his cheek off. Buddy tilted his head and started to sniff the ground. He started to walk, following the scent. He approached a book let out a snuff, scratching his nose. Spike picked up the book. It smell like fancy perfume.
“This must be one of Rarity’s fashion books.” Spike stated. This book was different from the other fashion books. Instead of having fancy dresses in it, it had pictures of saddles and harness. Rarity must have tried to get Applejack into fashion again. Buddy’s tail wagged wildly when he looked at the book.
“What is it?” Spike asked in confusion. He had never seen Buddy that excited, even though he has only known him for four days. Buddy lifted up his paw and pawed at a picture. It was a picture of a stallion wearing a saddle.
“You want a saddle?” Spike asked, cocking an eyebrow. Ponies only wore saddles so it wouldn’t damage there backs when they carried heavy objects. In Sunset Shimmers universe, ponies wore saddles so people could ride them. Buddy nodded his head and hopped up and down. Spike giggled at the display. He flipped to the back of the book and found step by step instructions on how to make a saddle.
“I think Rarity has some fabric here.” Spike said to himself. He looked at the instructions.
“We just need some wood.” Spike thought out loud. A loud crack of thunder came from outside, causing them both to look out the window. Three large trees got struck by lighting, causing them to fall onto the ground with a bang.
That was convenient.
Spike stood in front of Buddy, taking his measurements. Once he finished, he wrote down the measurements. He had already gotten the sketches down and took the bark off of the trees. The wood had been sketched into to make a shape of a saddle.
“It’s a good thing Applejack left some tools here.” Spike said while picking up a buzz saw and placing it on the table. He placed a pair of goggles over his eyes and slipped on gloves. He started to carve. He had seen Big Mac to stuff like this billions of times. He watched him build stuff like chicken coops and fences. He even helped sometimes. It wasn’t to dangerous for him since he had tough scales that were hard to cut through. Buddy laid in the corner of the room, watching Spike’s every move. Chips of wood flew in every direction.
Spike was surprisingly almost done. The wood was very soft. It must have soften when it got struck by lightning. It peeled off easily like a grape.
“And done!” Spike exclaimed, holding up four pieces of a saddle. Buddy tilted his head in confusion.
“It’s not completely done, I still need to put the pieces together and sew over it with leather.” Spike explained. He took a drill out of the tool box and placed the buzz saw on the floor. This was going to be a piece of cake.
Spike held a freshly made saddle in his hands. It had smooth black leather and had a harness connected to the front. Spike walked over to Buddy and started to put the saddle on him. He started with the saddle, placing it on his back gently. Next he pulled the harness around his neck, which secured the harness to his back. After he was finished, Buddy looked at the saddle curiously, smelling at it.
“Do you like it?” Spike asked. With out any warning, Buddy pounced on him and started to lick his face happily. Spike let out sputters and flailed around under his grasp. A loud crack of thunder came from outside, causing Buddy to stop. Spike stood up and wiped the spit off of himself before looking out the window. It was raining even harder than before. The sun was setting and there was no way he could get home in this weather.
They were trapped in the castle.