~ II ~
Games that Don't Need to be Played
There was a certain bliss in keeping so close to him. I'd lost out on countless positives during my reign in a period I'd... rather not think about. But of them was in keeping close to a guy. To be next to someone strong and tall, the heat falling off his scales subtle and different, a masculine strength to it I'd never know had existed before.
Even as we strolled through the packed, earth-paved lane of ponies and booths, a small carnival having set on the outskirts of the town, I kept close to him, much closer than I needed to. It was actually against my goal to have my fur an inch away from his scales.
But something about his body, even done unconsciously, beckoned me closer to him.
Above, the distant head of the dragon whipped around, unsure of itself, looking everywhere except at the source of his anxiety. It delighted me of how much of an impact I had on this boy. All with little teasing strung into a game of lust.
Much better than the last boy, the dear who meant so much to me, who left so... never mind.
“You alright?” I was blinking into reality, only to see the brilliant glows of green settling on me. Spike's pointed muzzle consumed the bottom of my gaze while the rest became fixated on the greatness of his eyes. Sharp but kind. Truly divine. “Looks like you've spaced out there for a second.”
“Hmm?” With a sharp shake of my head, those thoughts became banished, the pains of the past not preventing the pleasures of the present. With a step, my side pressed into his, using his stiff hip for support. “Just thinking about some things I'd rather not. Strange how some things can creep up on you, huh?”
Spike chuckled. In an act of smoothness beyond him, his arm swung over the back of my neck, nestling itself there, holding me close against him. Once more I was blinking as its heated weight hugged me in a sweetness unfelt before.
And the dragon did it so easily, not by a trick or a scheme, but because for a second, something terribly real struck me so suddenly. I exhaled sharply and tried to clear my mind. Being frizzed by nothing always made me talk weird.
“Story of my life on that one... especially lately.” Spike scratched the back of his head, his eyes then lightning up while his head inched back. He suddenly became aware of something as he glanced down at me. “Hey. I know this is a mock date and all that, but... is this okay?”
“Of course it is, Spikey.” Something cracked within my chest, a horrible, minuscule snap. It didn't hurt me. It didn't wound me. But it did something to me. It depleted me of will and soul. The building warmth now starting to fade. “And don't say this is a mock date to a mare. You could seriously hurt her feelings.”
“Maybe if it isn't a ploy.”
“I heard that.”
He chuckled at that. Despite whatever he felt, I snuggled my head deeper into his hold, something which he locked all so pleasantly. We walked and we walked. Some of the passing mares came to stare at us. Something in their eyes made me feel pleased with myself. Not only were they starting at an apparent couple...
…but also a dragon off the market.
Was this what normal mares got to feel upon snatching their prize? To lord over it all others, to indulge in the bliss, the greatness of being with a guy—all while fending him off to those also hungry? I giggled my delusions away. Without a doubt I was building up the wrong kind of energy.
There was still villainy in this mare after all, then.
But by the time that feel-goodness had passed, however, I glanced up the dragon, smiling, only to find that he was not. I scrunched my muzzle. Wasn't he happy to hold me? The way his digits brushed over my fur, searching my skin proved he found me pleasant.
“Now it's my turn to ask the question,” I said with a laugh, my heart thundering beneath it, unable to keep my hooves straight as we began the incline of a hill. Had I done something wrong? Should I have led in-front while swishing my tail about? “Is everything okay with you?”
“I'm always okay,” Spike said as his eyes followed a couple passing on our left, the kind unable to get enough of the other. Hooves searching, muzzles touching, laughter spewing. The type of intense love disgusting to everyone else. “Just never great it seems.”
My expression dropped at that. The stroking fires of my chest told me to take advantage of this, to allow my hooves to drape over his shoulder, kissing him all over his face, whispering sweet little things into his non-existent ear.
But something caught the better of me. Unplanned and dangerously spontaneous. “What makes you say something like that? You see another villain in the distance?”
“Besides the one around my arm—not at all.” He shook his head as his mouth blew another harsh exhale. “Seems like that's the only time I matter, though.”
I blinked at that. “Wha... what makes you say something like that?”
He blinked as well as if catching himself. “Sorry. Didn't mean to turn a downer on you—“
“The breeze is good and your body is warm enough that I think I can handle whatever your words have to say to me.” I nuzzled his hip, not due to a ploy, but for the honest joy of being there for him. It felt heavier. I snuggled because that's what cute little mares do. But now... it felt beyond a mere act. “So how about it, big guy? How many times have conned your way into my room with chocolate ice cream?”
He smirked weakly. “You were upset then? I just always tug around a tub of ice cream to be safe.”
“Always out to save a mare and her pride, huh?”
“Lesson I learned from Rarity... Rarity.” That name was a throne in his heart as much as my own, no longer a threat but still a pain, an actual pain—not one that was just bothersome. “I was supposed to take her out here. Once upon a time, at least.”
“You mean inside your fantasy, right?”
Spike gave me a sideways grin from above. “So you're able to see through me as well, huh?”
“Villains are always transparent with each other.” I slid a hoof across his abdomen and threw myself, dramatically like another, into the fall. “We were meant to be together, you and I, the strength of a dragon, the magic of a unicorn, claiming the world together.” I laid my cheek against his scales, six pecs of hardness brushing against me. With an evil giggle, I continued. “So whaddya say, partner.”
“Think I'll have to pass, sorry.”
“Good that you did.” I pulled myself from his stomach, allowing us to resume our walk, but my eyes kept locked on where I left. They weren't big, but they were there. This dragon had some muscles on him in a fashion I more than just admired. “Taking over the world is boring anyway. Too much work.”
Spike chuckled, nodding while he did so, though his large eyes still welled with his sadness. Enough joking around. “But seriously. You and Rarity were supposed to come here?”
“Something like that,” he continued while gazing forward, but not looking at anything outright. “Could have been any place, really, if it was her and me. We'd go for walks and hold each other close. Sneak in kisses and talking about everything. Just being a... really happy couple together.”
He lifted his chin and blew out some air—steam accompanying it.
I guess dragons burned other kinds of fires as well.
“I dunno what I thought was going to come from it... but I always had this sense it was going to go somewhere. That... by being with her... my life would finally become something more.” He shook his head, in that special kind of way that only I knew, the fashion of trying to rid something that wouldn't go away. His frown still kept with him after. “That I wouldn't need to get roped in with the girls for my life to feel special. We wouldn't need to be fighting a villain for ponies to care for me... truly care for me...”
“But ponies do care for you!” I stepped in front of him, out of his warm embrace and right into his opposition. Standing before someone so sleek and tall hammered at my heart with a fear born of many facets. But I steeled myself, abiding by the wounds in my spirit. “Do you seriously doubt the girls wouldn't have your back during the off-seasons? That none of us think for you, care for you?”
Spike bowed his head. “Of course you girls do.”
“Then why are you talking like you don't know that?”
“Because I don't always feel that.” His head may not have raised, but his eyes certainly did, their green intensity painful on the heart. Strong and piercing. Able to burn through anything with their sincerity. How could such a normally passive creature go so extreme? “I don't blame you girls for it, either. Everyone has lives. We all hang out. Sometimes we do things. But I... I never feel like I belong. Only that I'm there.”
“Spike...”
“Twilight thinks about me, maybe, but she also has a kingdom to maintain.” Spike sighed upon returning to his full height, the shadow casting over me thicker than before. I stepped back only to regret it. “And you're learning to return to this world as a normal mare, carrying on like Twilight is. You're both smart and beautiful mares that deserve to live your lives to your fullest.”
He then turned his head and looked to a distant hill, the light breeze pushing on the sides of his spines. “But I thought that, one day, I would find a mare that we could share the same life with. That I could feel important to her, that she could feel important to me, the two of us... I dunno. Complete?”
My eyes dropped to my hooves. I laughed dryly. When did my forelegs look so small? “Is that what love is, then? When everyone is too busy with their own lives... to find somepony to share the same one with?” I also gazed out into the distance. My body felt calmly hollow. “I supposed that would make midnight walks less lonely.”
“You go on those too?”
“That I do... but never around here.”
Spike chuckled. Both us stood next to each other, but not yet together, that distance between us feeling... needed. Something wasn't right. When had all of this become so real? My plan was to woo the dragon. But I... I never knew he was expecting so much more.
And that... I wanted more as well.
Dragons were greedy creatures.
But maybe mares were too.
“Hey,” I started with a dry throat, breaking through it with faint courage. “Spike? How about... you and I make this midnight different?” I turned my head up to face the side of his, admiring how lost he looked. So young and boyish. Genuine and earnest. Grown so old without a wrinkle in his scales. “Call it a scheme if you like. But I would really like to spend this midnight with you.”
Spike chuckled. Lifting a foot from the paved path and onto the patch of grass, the other one followed, joined by a long inhale, a quick exhale, and soon his bottom meeting the ground. He crossed his legs, content to enjoy the sunlight and the occasional breeze, something about him now changed.
“Not like I have anything better going on tonight.” He caught himself at once, sputtering when he spoke next. “T-That didn't come out right. I mean, spending the night out with you sounds like it would be fun.” He smiled as he glanced over at me. “Even if you're only a pretend date.”
Such a dense little boy. Though I suppose his luck with mares has been rotten. Taking to his side, entering the same breeze and sunlight, I think the refreshing of my mind spoke of this not being only his fault. I'd been leading him on. Never able to outright say what I wanted.
The heart can only crack so many times.
And sometimes we tease in the hopes of it leading to certainty.
“So you wanting to be with a mare... you hope more of a life will come from it?” I sat next to him on the hillside, one of the few times we felt equal to each other. He sat all the way back while leaning onto his claws while I sat slightly hunched. “But you don't need a mare for that, y'know. What's wrong with entering the world alone?”
“Got me there.” Spike's muzzle was below mine now, which I met with a giggle, the first time in a while I had to look down to see him. There was something peaceful about him. Though I loved to see him squirm. Having him not in my control, outside of my certainty... I... I don't know. It was pleasant in a wholesome way that I couldn't explain. That despite being freed from my plans, he still sat down next to me, out of his own choice rather than from underneath one of my ploys. “Supposed I'm scared. I don't know where to go. If the world were up to me, I'd probably spend it in my room.”
I laughed and, without thinking, nudged my hoof over his claw. “No wonder why you need a mare in your life. Hopeless by yourself, aren't you?”
“Always had a mare there,” he replied with a laugh as well. “Guess I can't take care of myself.” He sat up properly for his claw to hold my hoof, squeezing it. A stroke of love, making me feel whole. “Suppose that's a lesson I'll have to learn and write to the princess, huh? Twilight will enjoy reading that.”
“If... she knew what you and I were going to do tonight—you may wanna blot out some words in black ink.” I looked over to the hopeless boy with a sultry expression born of bravado, but one done to better serve him. “You want to experience the highs of life? Actually living as it were?”
With a confused expression the boy nodded his head anyway.
“That's good,” I replied with a thundering in my belly, knowing I was about to take the kid to a place where he shouldn't go—but maybe if he did, we could both properly live, like all the other mares and stallions, the normal life had at night. “Because where we're going, there will be plenty of music and partying, drinks and dancing, and plenty of mares looking to flick their tail all over yours.”
I laughed after the slur of my words. Little thumps broke into the air. The sounds caught him by surprise as they did me. Both of us looked over the dragon's back to find his long tail beating all over the ground like a happy little dog.
“So that's your trick, is it?” Even though he already held my hoof, I broke out of it, flinching when I did, but stroking up and down his arm all the same. “Just mares flicking their tails is enough to get you excited?”
He glanced away with a blush and a gulp.
I now had something new to use on the boy.
And had gained another point over Twilight Sparkle.