Dragon Contemplation

by frenettek314


Emotions Spike

As the sun shone on the upstairs floor of a cozy, serene, bedroom inside a well-secluded cottage, Fluttershy slowly fluttered her eyes open as a soft smile appeared on her lips, taking in the warmth the air radiating around her. Today was going to be a much better day than yesterday. The determined sense of positivity she provided herself gave her the fuel needed to fully rise out of bed and prepare for the day ahead.

She had to admit that her reaction to Rainbow and Twilight's pleas yesterday was... excessive. After running until her hooves practically couldn't muster a gallop anymore, she collapsed in fear and frustration in regards to her rather insistent friends. She kept telling them that just because she conquered a dragon one time, that didn't mean she wanted to go and watch a whole flock of them.

But as she slowly became more relaxed lying on the cold, yet inviting floors of the Everfree Forest, she realized that maybe her friends were trying to help her after all. She admitted to herself that she could be more bold, and she also knew her friends would never intentionally place her in any sort of danger; maybe she should've talked it out instead of...

Fluttershy silently gasped as she realized what her adrenaline and fear-filled mind had done. She had pushed and kicked her oldest friend before running away like a mad-mare. To say she was embarrassed and ashamed of herself was the understatement of the century. After taking the time to calm herself down, she returned back to Ponyville where she had later found Rainbow on a nighttime fly, quickly hugging her and apologizing for her rather abrasive actions.

The pegasus had expected Rainbow to be quite bitter with her, but she was surprisingly very forgiving as she also apologized for "egging her on" to go to the migration. The two friends having quickly reconciled then decided to call it a night with Rainbow saying that today was a "long story" - Fluttershy hoped with that that the migration itself went fine.

As the timid mare began feeding her animals alongside a couple morning chores, she thought back to the migration with concern etched on her face as she slowly thought about one dragon in particular. She knew he was so excited to see other dragons and possibly take away any knowledge from them. Despite her own refusal at going, she had hoped Spike was able to enjoy the migration in her place as she deeply cared for the baby drake ever since she met him.

"I hope Spike had fun. Maybe I should see him today."



But then her own mind stopped her as she began worrying about another possibility.


What if it went bad? What if he doesn't want to talk to me?


Fluttershy's mind constantly battled back and forth between herself - a common occurrence for the introverted pegasus as she consistently worried about her friends. Spike however was a special case as she often had trouble coming into contact with him, worried about hurting another creature's feelings. Ponies were a breed of their own, she could battle through them despite her nature, Spike however....


He knows I'm always there....Right?


As Twilight and Spike were in the midst of breakfast, Twilight couldn't help but notice something was off with Spike. The dragon in question appeared to have not gotten much sleep as his eyes carried several bags underneath them, and he was very monotone both in responses and movement this morning. The thing that worried her the most however was the redness with which Spike's eyes possessed. They appeared to have been stained from crying, but Spike repeatedly insisted that he was "fine", before continuing to sulk, much to the skepticism of his guardian who suddenly feared he was hiding something from her. Something important.


Deciding not to annoy the dragon further and instead maintaining careful surveillance of him, she stooped out of her thoughts as she came up with a great idea for Spike's first day back home.

"Hey, Spike! Why don't we gather our friends and have a picnic to welcome you home!"

Spike at first, seemed ecstatic at the idea as Twilight beamed at him. A picnic with all hi.... his thoughts suddenly paused and the the faint glimmer of happiness in his eyes disappeared as he dared to respond to the unicorn.

"All my...friends?" Spike spoke rather haphazardly, hoping Twilight wouldn't recognize the tone he coated his voice in.

While Twilight did find his response peculiar, she shrugged it off and continued on. "Of course, we can invite Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity..."

"...and Fluttershy."

As soon as her name rang in his ears, Spike suddenly felt himself tense up as he quickly looked away from Twilight as well as his breakfast - hoping Twilight wouldn't ask him to turn around and see the turmoil written on his face.

"...That's ok." he quickly uttered in a rather heavy voice. "I have some chores I want to do today."

Twilight looked at the baby dragon with eyes etched in overwhelming concern, never seeing Spike so emotionally distant from anything before. Even with the migration itself, Spike would openly express his sorrows and worries; seeing him shut down made Twilight worried.

"Spike, I wouldn't expect you to work if I wasn't, you can always do chores whenever..."

"I want to get them done!" Spike interrupted Twilight before slowly approaching an unorganized book and attempting to place it back in its proper location.

Suddenly, Twilight realized the moment Spike tensed up and decided to voice her concerns on the matter.

"Is there something about Fluttershy that's bothering yo...."

"I'm fine!" Spike quickly exclaimed over Twilight before slowly heading downstairs to alphabetize Twilight's potions. As he approached the stairs, he slowly turned to look back at Twilight, her face contorted into a deep amount of sympathy and concern as she had a hoof reached out to him from her seat at the breakfast table.

Spike hated to see Twilight look so worried, it drove his heart wild to see her berating herself for his problems. In a last ditch effort to appease any sort of concerns or worries Twilight possessed, Spike slowly smiled towards her.

"I'll see you later?" Spike asked before taking the steps needed to reach to his destination.

Twilight could only whisper back in shock after he was already out of sight.

"Yeah. See you."


Against her better judgement, Twilight decided to host a picnic with her friends anyways. It took the tension away from the situation at hoof, and maybe her friends would be able to offer her any advice if she explained her predicament.

Currently the six friends were perched on top of a big hill under a shady tree, a little ways off from the center of Ponyville. The gang of ponies happily munched on tea and sandwiches and discussed the events that had transpired the day before. As Rarity and Rainbow were recounting the tale of Spike's quest to the three ponies who weren't there then, they all couldn't help but shock at the realization of what transpired.

"So they wanted Spike to smash a baby phoenix egg and they wouldn't accept him otherwise?!" exclaimed Applejack, whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates, realizing how brutish and barbaric the other dragons Spike was with were.

"Indeed. Luckily, Spikey-Wikey managed to stand against it and realized his true family is right here with him." recapped Rarity with a warm smile on her face, still very happy Spike decided to return with the ponies rather than those who were willing to bully and torment him.

"That's a relief. We need Spike. He's our best friend and we wouldn't have even been able to hold a goodbye party." Pinkie concluded, her lips quivering at the thought of having to say goodbye to a friend AND a party. Those poor cupcakes.

"How is Spike? Is he ok? Does he need anything?" quickly asked Fluttershy, with a tone of motherly worry as she shook a little in her hooves at the thought of the sweet creature being in any sort of pain.

"Spike wasn't the one who got trampled on..." quipped Rainbow as she rubbed her still aching stomach with a small smirk on her face.

"Oh my goodness! I... um... I'm so so sorry... I didn't mean..." Fluttershy stuttered before a comforting blue hoof propped up on her shoulder as a signal of "all is forgiven".

"No sweat," Rainbow replied. "I know you're sorry and it was kind of my fault too." she reaffirmed as she quickly hugged the kind pegasus as a sign of goodwill.

At the mention of the dragon, Twilight took the opportunity to finally share her piece with all her friends closely paying attention.

"Speaking of Spike, I think something's wrong." Twilight concluded sadly, her eyes shifting downcast for a split second before refocusing on the reactions of the others.

"Is this about yesterday?" Rainbow asked slightly annoyed. "I thought we told him.." but she was cut off by the sounds of the studious unicorn once again.

"No! This was just this morning and I feel like I have an idea what it's about." Twilight spoke.

"What is it then?" asked Rarity, appearing quite concerned as well as the others who were all moving their heads closer to the unicorn's direction, anxious to hear what was going on with the dragon in their lives.

"I invited him to the picnic this morning, but he tensed up and walked away as soon as I mentioned Fluttershy." she concluded solemnly.

Immediately, all eyes shifted towards the yellow pegasus with concern, wondering why Spike would have any issue with the seemingly lovable pony in front of them.

Fluttershy herself, took this news to heart as she quite loudly gasped before her eyes glistened with fear and worry.

"Oh, goodness.. I didn't know... I hope I didn't upset him in any way." Fluttershy claimed as she slowly put her cup of tea down, now fully concerned with whatever strife the drake could have against her.

"What could be wrong with him and Fluttershy?" pondered a curious Applejack. "Ain't like him to be upset with someone like this... have you said anything to him recently?" she regarded the pegasus across from her.

With a silent shake of her head, the group was now more confused with what was bothering him before Pinkie broke the silence.

"Maybe it has something to do with the Dragon Migration. Fluttershy was the only one who wasn't there." she nonchalantly reasoned as the ponies around her could only stare with upmost fascination. The idea of that happening now appeared to be a very likely possibility.

"That... that's actually a very good idea, Pinkie." Twilight coughed, impressed with the often random pony's clever use of logic and common sense. "But why would he be upset about her not being there?" she asked, puzzled once again.

Suddenly, Fluttershy bounced up from her position on the blanket, with a look of determination in her wide blue eyes. Her confident stature and physique was admired by all as she knew what she had to do.

"I'm going to find out."


Meanwhile...




After a while of occupying his mind with chores, Spike quickly realized something as he scanned across the spick and span library, everything seemingly organized and polished.

Spike was bored...

His stomach rumbled, waiting for acknowledgment from the rest of the dragon.

...and he was hungry.

As Spike gazed up at a nearby clock - realizing it was a little past lunch time - he also realized that Twilight and the girls wouldn't be home for a while if they were still gone. With that fact having settled it's way into his mind, the young dragon decided that maybe he should stop at Sugarcube Corner for a snack run.

His stomach once again rumbled, seeming to agree with the idea.

With the confirmation from his belly, Spike ventured out to the prized bakery itself, hoping food would ease the pain he was trying to push down.


After the picnic had been cleared up and goodbye's were said, Fluttershy decided she needed to find Spike and hope she could amend any damage their seemingly perfect friendship had. However, she wasn't going alone, as Twilight - concerned for her brother figure, and Rainbow Dash - who still felt bad herself for her behavior at the Dragon Migration and decided she would be there for both their emotional support - ventured out to the middle of Ponyville, on their way to the library to see if the drake was still home.

However, their search was unexpectedly cut short as on their way shortly past Sugarcube Corner walked the dragon in question, on his way to avenge his appetite with cupcakes and possibly some cookies.

In sheer comedic timing, both the trio of ponies and the dragon froze upon recognizing each other. Spike, in particular looked deathly terrified as his eyes froze upon glancing at Fluttershy's worried face alongside the others. He quickly turned around, trying to walk back home before the others could follow him.

Fluttershy, upon seeing Spike begin to walk away from her, quickly flew by his side and tried desperately to grab his attention.

"Hello, Spike. Is everything okay?" she asked in a sweet, caring tone.

However the drake failed to even acknowledge her as he kept trying to walk away from her, the pegasus in question continuing to trot alongside him, determined to help him any way she can. Despite her shy tendencies, Fluttershy always became persistent to help whenever her friends were upset, especially seeing as the supposed friend was upset with her made her even more encouraged to help no matter what.

Twilight and Rainbow could only look at each other with a subtly agreed look of skepticism before following their friends from a safe distance.

"Spike?! Is something wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?!" she pleaded with him, but he continued walking, his brow increasingly narrowing as the pink-maned pegasus continued persisting.

"You know you can talk to me about anything."

He kept walking.

"Would you like to come over and talk about it? I've got tea and cake!"

He kept walking.

"Please, Spike! I'm really worried about you. I want to help."

He kept walking.

Twilight and Rainbow again looked at each other in apprehension, nevertheless following the pair, closer to the library.

"Please Spike! I'm one of your best friends! I want you to be happy!"

At this, Spike finally stopped walking and paused, surprising all three ponies as they suddenly halted as well before they heard the dragon growl a single retort. Tears finding way to his eyes once again, yet not looking behind him at the trio.

"No, you're not."

A tense silence filled the air as neither pony nor dragon dared to speak for what felt like minutes afterwards. Everyone could only freeze in place, either holding in their emotions or remaining shocked at what was just said.

Finally, with a slight sniffle as she looked at the dragon with the upmost concern and sincerity, Fluttershy dared to break the long-winded quiet void.

"Spike.. What do you mean? Of course we're friends. You're one of my best friends in fact. I see you're really hurting right now and I just want to make you feel better." she stated with a nervous, yet hopeful smile, silently praying that was going to be what was needed to get Spike to open up.

As she reached out to try and put a comforting hoof on the dragon's shoulder however, it was quickly swatted away - the drake again refusing to look at her.

"How can you be friends with a dragon? Big, scaly, fire-breathing dragons?" Spike bitterly called out, tears now free flowing from his eyes, his friends all finally able to see the tears falling to the cold hard ground.

As Fluttershy paused with what could be described as a "frozen in time" look, Twilight finally decided to speak out instead.

"Spike, what are you talking about?!" she asked not with any irritation, but with sincere curiosity.

"Can't hold the truth anymore." Spike internally declared as he finally decided to give some leeway to the others as to why he was upset.

"The day of the Dragon Migration, I decided to check on what was taking you three so long. I saw and overheard everything you said, Fluttershy. Everything you feel about dragons. I know."

If the last silence was intense, this one was deafening as Fluttershy, upon understanding what Spike meant silently gasped before putting a hoof over her mouth. Tears finally began to sprinkle out of her big, blue eyes.

"N-no..." she whispered in a sob.

Twilight, though not crying, finally understood what caused Spike to be upset as she looked at him, wanting to pick him up, place him in a hug, and never let go.

"Oh Spike..." she said.

Rainbow Dash just remained speechless with her mouth wide open in shock as she even winced upon hearing Spike's reveal.

Finally, clearing her throat to talk, Fluttershy relentlessly tried to put another hoof around Spike's shoulder and began trying to talk to him.

"Spike. I'm so sorry you heard me saying that. But when I said that, I didn't include you. I never meant to hurt you when I was talking about the dragons. But you're different to me Spike and you'll always be my friend no matter what. You know I'll always lo..." but before she could finish and place Spike into the mother-of-all comfort hugs, he snapped as he quickly released himself from Fluttershy's grasp - finally turning around to glare at the three pestering ponies in front of him - specifically, Fluttershy.

"Don't you dare say you'll always be my friend!" Spike roared in frustration as he proceeded to glare at the pony who had hurt him so.

"You say we're such good friends, but besides my first day in Ponyville, when did you ever show it?! The others have abandoned me in the past but at least I can say they spent time with me!"

"Sp..." Twilight tried to intervene but Spike was too far into his rant to be persuaded to stop.

"What about us?! You laughed when I almost drowned in the cold lake during Winter Wrap Up. You made me watch your animals while you went on a mission - against a dragon no less. I always thought you cared about me and would be there for me but you always act too nervous to even speak to me! You couldn't even attend an important milestone in my life when all my other friends did! But that's not even the worst part! I know that if... that when I grow bigger, you'll be too scared to even be in the same town as me. That's not what a friend is!"

"Sp...Spike. That's not true! I'll alw-" Fluttershy tried to say, more upset than actually shaking with any nerves as she could see the dragon's heart continue to break.

"Don't even say that! I know what you really think! Heck, during my growth spurt on my birthday, YOU CALLED ME A MONSTER!" Spike finally yelled at the top of his lungs before pathetically falling to the ground in a pool of tears.

"SPIKE!" Twilight and Fluttershy both exclaimed as they each galloped up to the dragon, trying desperately to comfort him. Even the "cool" Rainbow Dash couldn't help but check to make sure he was ok from a further distance.

As Spike finally saw the two mares in front of him, his focus again shifted to Fluttershy - but this time instead of anger, he could only sob as he looked up at her with a face of pure agony.

And Fluttershy could tell you, she thought his devastated look was way more upsetting to her than his angry one.

"I was never your friend Fluttershy." Spike whispered, as he bowed his head in shame.

"I was simply this fascinating new creature you just had to get to know... but now that has worn off, now that you know what I really am and what I may become. I'm not a friend. I'm a monster." Spike concluded before his sobs returned full force as he leaned forward into the purple unicorn's embrace.

Twilight's own expression reflected his as she was silently sobbing herself, not knowing the pain Spike kept concerning a mare she thought he liked.

To say Fluttershy's heart shattered would've been the putting it extremely lightly. After the dragon's speech finally ended, Fluttershy could only openly wallow as she felt the worst she has perhaps ever felt. Only one thought resided in her mind:

"What have I done?! I was always worried about being too close to him, but I ended up being too distant. I thought I was being a good friend, but... I'm the real monster!".

Before Rainbow or Twilight could dare attempt to comfort or regard their friend, she took off running in a fit of tears all the way back to her cottage where she slammed the door before hopping on and continuing to sob on her bed. Her tears poured out almost endlessly as her mind constantly repeated one thing:

"I'm a monster!