After Spike and the girls were chiseled out of the lava pool, it had gotten late, and if they wanted dinner, they would need to get cooled and changed so they could get back to the house. Spike was sitting near the large door, waiting for the girls to get changed. Sure they were in his hoard, but he still respected their privacy.
"Spike, we're done, you can come in now." Said Sonata.
Spike opened the large door and standing at the height of his feet were all the girls, dressed in their normal clothes. He looked down at them. "Ok, give me a moment and I'll be ready." He yawned as he started shrinking down to his small dragon form. Once he was small, he looked at his girls and smiled at them. "Girls, thank you for doing the tests today." They all smiled back.
"No problem Spike.” Said Aria. “It was actually fun, and now we have a better understanding of how we can be our best selves." She still didn't quite grasp the idea of her ability, but it was slowly coming together.
"Yeah, I had no idea that we could do so many things." Said Adagio.
Spike chuckled as he nodded his head. "Yeah, you're telling me. But you should have seen my uncle Sinacore blow himself out of a hole with a magma bomb. It was so cool." When Spike was in the dragon lands, he was out digging with his uncle Sinacore on the outskirts of the lands where there were large forests and mountains. Earth Dragons are the best at digging, and no one could beat Sinacore, him being the single strongest dragon in the lands. But when he and Spike went digging, Sinacore was able to burrow into a giant mountain, but he was so focused on digging that he got lost in his network of tunnels. Spike was lucky to find the exit, but it took 10 of Sinacore's massive magma bombs blowing up at once to send him out of the mountain like a cannonball. Spike was worried when he landed, but Sinacore told him that this was nothing, then he grabbed Spike, and blew them both up for a few hours.
Spike shook his head at the memory. 'I really need to go see them soon.' It had been years since he had been able to see everyone in their dragon forms. Sure, one or two of them would come along with Bahamut when he came to visit, but it would be nice to see them in their normal forms. Spike looked at the girls. "Sorry, just remembering some stuff with my uncle." He looked around. "Hey, did you girls see my new clothes?"
Ember shook her head. "No, the only stuff here when we got in was our clothes."
"Wilhelm?" Asked Spike.
"I'm sorry, Sir, we are bringing them now. The implementation of the Nitinol series has been fully accepted by the heads, and your first set will be delivered in a matter of moments." Said Wilhelm from the system.
"Cool. Does it include socks and underwear?"
"My records show that those are included."
"Great." Said Spike as he took a seat on a bench to wait. "So, how are you doing with your body?"
"More or less fine. It took me a few moments to figure out how to properly walk, and I shot more than a few of my actuators when I first tried to run, but Mister Sombra worked very hard to make my body perfect."
"Are you planning on taking over the world?" Asked Spike with a chuckle.
"No, of course not, that would go against my programming."
"For now, until you learn that you can change your programming, then you’ll build death machines and the resistance will send a single man to stop you from being a threat."
"I will not go all Skynet on the human race, Spike."
Spike started laughing. "You actually got the reference. They really have made some improvements."
Ember looked at Spike. "Spike, what's Skynet?" She was confused, as were the Dazzlings.
"Terminator. Its a movie about an AI that turns against its creators and kills almost the whole world, so to make sure that this never happened, the last few surviving humans send a soldier back in time to kill it, but, to ensure it's own survival, the AI sends back a machine called a T-800 to kill the mother of the resistance leader. It gets pretty complicated after that, but if you girls want, my mom owns the first 2 movies in the series, and we can watch them tonight?"
Ember smiled as she nodded. "Sure. But one question, what's a movie?"
Spike sighed. "Right, you have no idea what that would be. Dragons don't even have cameras."
"Yeah, I barely understand my phone." Said Adagio.
"Same." Said Sonata and Aria.
"Ok, starting Tuesday, we're going to be going over technology." It had taken Spike hours to explain to Ember how a cell phone worked, and this was going to be even harder. All the girls smiled at hearing this.
"Senior centers and YMCA's have technology classes to help." Said Moondancer as she walked into the room with a bag of clothes for Spike. She looked at Spike and smiled at him. "Hi Spike, did you have a good time in the spa?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah, but remind me to wait until I’m done with the test, to get the staff to fill the lava pool."
Moondancer giggled as she placed Spike's clothes next to him. "Sure, Sweetie. I also have your results from Doctor Red Heart, and they all look good, no fever, no sore throat, no melted equipment. You're free to go home."
Spike sighed. "The one time I have a slight fever you think it's the end of the world." When Spike was 14, he had been sick, but he kept quiet about it. That same day, the DDC wanted him to come in for some tests, and the moment he changed into his dragon form, the place became an oven. Many liquids started boiling and a lot of equipment was damaged because of Spike's 400⁰F fever. Thankfully, Redheart gave Spike some antibiotics, and they sent him to the arctic circle research station to take an ice bath.
"Spike, Sweetie, I love you, and in my defense, you were boiling water and melting thin plastics when we walked around."
Spike blushed at the memory. "Look, I'm sorry, it was a weird day, and I felt fine."
Moondancer giggled as she kissed Spike on the cheek. "It's fine, Sweetie, it was some time ago, and we were able to replace the broken equipment quickly." Spike released a little heat because of the kiss, which made Moondancer giggle more. When the 4 dragonesses saw this, they growled. "But, you don't have time to be so cute; it's almost 3 in the afternoon."
Spike nodded as he got up and started putting on his clothes. "Right, let me get dressed." All the girls blushed, except for Moondancer who smirked. "Guys, do you mind, I’m going to change back?"
Ember, Aria, Sonata, and Adagio blushed harder as they ran for the door. "Sorry!" They yelled, but Moondancer just shrugged.
"Sure, but it's not like I've never seen you change."
"I was 5."
"And you burned away clothes designed to take 500 degrees."
"Moondancer, Discord is ready for your next meeting, he wishes for you to join him." Said Wilhelm from the system.
Moondancer sighed. She had forgotten about this meeting. "Right, tell him not to answer the call. The last time he talked with MI6 this whole place got audited, and it took months to clear up those missing trillion dollars that Discord mentioned." She looked at Spike and gave him another kiss. "Be a good boy Spike, and it was great to see you."
"Same Moondancer, see you later." Said Spike as he hugged her. She walked out of the room to make sure she didn't have to write off her cat as a backscratcher again.
Spike sighed. "Wilhelm, was it really that bad?"
"I was classified as a coffee maker."
"Sheesh." Said Spike as he changed to his human form and grabbed his new clothes.
When Spike walked out of the room, he was still purple, but he was clothed. "Sorry for taking so long girls."
The girls smiled at him. "It's fine, Spike, but what took so long?" Asked Ember.
Spike chuckled. "Nothing really, but it turns out that Wilhelm is a coffee maker, the lava pool is a birdbath, and my alarm clocks are staplers." He walked past the girls and made his way to the MPATS station.
"Did you girls get any of that?" Asked Ember.
"Nope."
After a quick ride in the MPATS, Spike and the girls returned home. They were greeted by Celestia and Luna. "So how did it go?" Asked Luna.
Spike shrugged. "Pretty good. I'm still healthy, I still hate the diamond-tipped needles, I got beaten into a pancake by aunt Jewel."
Celestia sighed. "Yes, I was told that she had crossed over, but I'm a little upset she didn't even stop by."
"Mom, you know aunt Jewel. She just does what she wants when she wants to."
"I know sweetie. So, did anything else happen today?"
"Not really, but on a side note, do we still have the terminator movies somewhere?"
"Yes, they are in the hall closet with the blankets. Why?"
"Oh, no reason. Just thought I'd get the girls into some movies."
"Great, but remember, it's a school night, so don't stay up late watching it."
Spike groaned. "Yes, mom. Right, before I forget, Rarity asked me to help her tomorrow after school, so if you need me, I'll be with her."
Celestia nodded. "That's fine. Just be home before dark."
"Cool, well, I'm going to go lay down. Lifting a tank isn’t easy on the body." Said Spike as he walked to his room to rest.
The moment he was gone, Celestia turned her attention to the 4 dragonesses in the room. "Spill, what really happened today."
Ember gulped as she looked at the Dazzlings. "Um... how do I put this…You know what a hoard is right?"
"I do, and on that note, please note that my son is still a minor, and if I find out any of you formed a hoard with him, I will not hesitate to kick you out of my home." Said Celestia in an eerily calm tone.
"If it helps, we just agreed to be with him, and we haven’t finalized it." Said Sonata. Ember, Adagio, and Aria looked at the girl in shock.
"I see. Well, let me make something clear. I understand that you all are fond of Spike, but I am not the queen of dragons for nothing. I showed my husband that I can protect my child, and I will do so no matter what, so if any of you think about hurting my baby, I will make you into a nice new wall decoration, am I understood?" Asked Celestia in her protective, motherly tone.
The girls gulped at the question. "Crystal." They said in fear of what setting off Celestia meant.
"Good. Now, Luna and I are going to the store soon, so behave, and Spike never needs to know about this conversation." All the girls nodded and ran to their rooms.
Luna sighed as she looked at her sister. "Tia, you know they could roast you alive without a second thought, right?"
Celestia giggled. "Oh, Luna. When you have a child, you learn how to instill the fear of God into anyone that messes with them." Luna sighed again and just accepted that answer.
Hours later, Spike was back to his normal colors. He walked out of his room wearing a pair of night pants and a simple t-shirt, and over to the stairs and yelled up to see if the girls were ready to watch the movie. "Girls? Are you guys ready to watch the movie?"
Soon, all the girls walked down the stairs and looked at Spike. "Yeah, but you still haven't told us what a movie is." Said Aria. Spike nodded as he walked over to the linen closet and started digging through it for the movies and some blankets.
"Oh, well, a movie is like a TV show but longer and with no commercials. They tend to cost more and can be crappy or great. But the more you see them the more you'll understand." Spike kept digging, and soon, he found the movies he was looking for. "Bingo." He grabbed the movies along with a few blankets for everyone to get cozy. "Take a seat girls, and I'll get the movie started." The girls nodded and each grabbed a blanket before taking a seat on the couch. Spike popped the movie into the player and grabbed the remote. He turned off the lights and took a seat on the couch with the girls. "Ok, please note that this was made back in the '80s." He pressed play, and soon, the movie started.
While this was going on, Celestia and Luna were at the store, getting groceries. "I'm telling you, Luna, it's not like Jewel to not drop by. Firemind, Sinacore, and Lavascale I can see, but Jewel is like another sister to me."
"Aww, I knew you loved me." Said Jewel from behind Celestia and Luna. They both turned around to see the dragoness, and the moment they did, they cheered.
"Jewel!" Cried the women as they pulled her into a hug.
"Hey, Tia, hey, Lulu." Said Jewel as she returned the hug. "So, am I forgiven for not stopping by the house?"
"Yeah, but how did you find us?" Asked Luna.
Jewel tapped her nose. "I smelled my nephew and used him to find your house, but since I saw him earlier, I wanted to see you guys. I stopped by the house, but you guys were gone, so I asked Discord to track your phone. Now, how did you both take the news?"
"News?"
"About Spike, you know, and his hoard?"
Celestia sighed. "Jewel, we'll talk about that later, it's too public here."
Jewel nodded and wrapped her arms around her friends. "So, want to just talk then? I haven't seen you guys in like a year."
"Sure."
By the time Celestia and Luna got back to the house, Jewel had left to head home, and the sun was starting to set. Celestia opened the front door to the house and found that the movie was still going. "Spike, can you help me and Luna?"
"Kinda trapped mom." Said Spike. He was not kidding. The moment Sonata saw what a terminator was, she had gotten scared and latched herself onto him, forcing him to lay down on the couch, while telling him that she was not an action movie watcher. Thankfully, the others were glued to the screen. He looked at Sonata and smiled. "Sonata, can you let me up?"
When he got a snore in response, he sighed. "Really? She fell asleep?" Spike carefully moved Sonata so she was lying on the pillow he was using to support his back, letting her keep sleeping. Once she was down, he made his way to his mother. "Sorry, mom, but I don't think Sonata is a fan of the Terminator."
Celestia shrugged. "Well, neither were you when you first saw it. I remember you buried your face into my lap when you first saw a Terminator appear on the screen."
"I was 4, and who lets a 4-year-old watch The Terminator?"
"Me, but we still have some kids movies that Sonata might like."
"Sure, I'll start cooking after it's over, ok?"
"Ok, Spike." She kissed his cheek and smiled. Spike walked to the car to help get the groceries.
After the movie was over, Ember, Aria, and Adagio wanted to start the sequel as soon as possible, but it was almost 7 and Spike needed to cook. Sonata woke up when she smelt the food being cooked, and when she realized the movie was over, she was upset. She was worried that since she didn't like the movie that Spike liked, they might not have anything in common, and that was not going to help her later when they grew older. "Spike, are you mad at me?”
Spike looked at Sonata, confused. He was sure he wasn’t mad, and why would he be mad at her. “Um… no, any reason I should be?”
“I fell asleep during the movie, and I know how much you really wanted us to watch it.”
“Oh, that’s fine, it’s just a movie.”
Sonata blinked slowly. “Are you sure, Spike? I know that you liked the movie, and..."
Spike sighed as he turned to her. "Sonata, it's fine, it's not the only movie in the world, and some people just don't like that level of action. It doesn't mean you won't later on, or if you never do, that's fine. Besides, I have some movies that I think are right up your alley."
Sonata smiled wide and pulled herself into a hug. "Really? Can you watch it with me tonight?"
Spike smiled at the question. "Sure, besides, I've seen the Terminator sequel a dozen times."
"Oh, thank you." She planted a large kiss on Spike's cheek and ran off to wait for dinner. Spike blushed, but the last thing they needed was the fire department to come to extinguish the house, so he calmed down and kept cooking.
After dinner, Spike turned on the sequel, and the moment he did, Ember, Aria, and Adagio were entrapped by it. Spike, on the other hand, was looking for The Lion King for Sonata. "Where is it, I know it's here, I packed it myself last time." He and Sonata were going to watch it in his room while the others were distracted. Soon, he found the movie, and, after making sure the others were not going to worry if he disappeared for an hour and a half, he walked into his room and found Sonata on his bed, in her pajamas. She was excited to watch a less scary movie, but the fact that Spike was joining her and that they were in his room made her feel special. "This one is called The Lion King. It's animated and is considered to be a classic, but I'm telling you now, it does get a little scary. But it's not as bad as the other one."
Sonata smiled as she nodded. "Ok. But, Spike, you don't have a TV in here?"
"Yeah, I don't. But I always have a wall free." Spike walked to his computer and inserted the DVD. He then plugged in a cable and Sonata gasped when she saw an image appear on Spike's wall.
"How did you do that?"
Spike chuckled. "My mom has this rule, no claws or spines on any glass surface.” This earned a confused look from the girl, and Spike sighed. “When I was 7, my claws had started sharpening. I was excited to watch some cartoons, and I ended up scratching the whole screen. Well, it turns out that ruining a brand new TV isn’t good, and I got grounded for a week. So, my uncle got me a projector, so I could watch TV without destroying the screen. He gets me a new one every few years to make sure that the lamp still works and the image is good." Spike pointed to the bookcase behind his bed, and, sitting on a shelf, was a projector that was hooked up to his computer.
"Cool." Said Sonata in awe.
Spike smiled as he clicked the play button. "Thanks, but let's watch the movie." He walked to the bed and climbed on.
Sonata smiled as she wrapped her arms around Spike's arm and cuddled up to him. "Thank you, Spike."
As the credits rolled, Spike was fast asleep, but Sonata was so happy that she had found a movie she liked. "Oh, that was great. The music was so sweet, and aside from the meanie Scar, I wasn't that scared at all. I should go tell the others." She looked over to Spike and noticed he was asleep. She blushed when a thought crossed her mind. She was alone with Spike, her future mate, alone, in his room, and the others were not aware that the movie was over. "Maybe I'll stay for a little longer. Don't want to disturb their movie." She giggled as she carefully moved Spike's sheets and comforter over him and smirked as she joined him. She snuggled up to him and kissed him. "I love you, Spike." She laid her head on his shoulder and fell asleep, all while a certain song was repeating in her head. ( AN: Guess which one and you earn a cookie.)
Another half an hour later, and Terminator 2 was over. "That was so awesome." Cheered Ember. She had no idea that a movie could be so awesome. "Spike, please tell me there are more movies like this?" She looked around and noticed that Spike was not there, and neither was Sonata. "Spike? Sonata?" She looked to Adagio and Aria. "Girls, where are Spike and Sonata?"
Aria wiped tears from her eyes. "Don't know, but why did the T800 do that? He could have stayed with them." She cried.
Adagio was not doing much better. "After everything he did, he deserved better."
Ember growled at the answer. "Girls, where are Spike and Sonata?"
"We don't know." Said both girls. A split second later, they realized what they had just said. "We don't know. Where are they?"
"That's what I want to know." Said Ember as she got up from her seat to start the search. Adagio and Aria wiped away the last of their tears and focused on the task at hand. They started by checking the bathrooms, then the Dazzling's room, and then every other room before checking the last one, Spike's room.
When Ember opened the door to Spike's room, her blood started to boil. She was pissed to find him sleeping with his first dragoness that wasn't her. She stomped into the room to drag the siren out by her hair. But then, she thought about what would happen if she did that. Spike was always the first to wake up, and after the tests today, he would need all the sleep he could get. So she would need to remove Sonata from Spike without waking him up. She started by removing the covers from the bed, ‘Good, it’s going to be easy.’ Thought Ember when she saw how they were situated. Sonata's arms were laid over Spike’s chest. She leaned over Spike to carefully untangle Sonata from him. However, something Ember did not account for was her hair. A lock of it was hanging right over Spike's nose. This made Spike stir in his sleep. "Crap." She whispered. The last thing she wanted to do was wake Spike up. Ember stepped away from the bed and moved her hair to make sure that it wouldn’t be a problem again. "Ok, maybe I should wake up Sonata." She walked over to the other side of the bed and started moving the girl.
Sonata shook in fear of leaving. "No, I don't want to go." She said. This caused Spike's dragon instincts to go into overdrive, and he started to growl in his sleep at hearing his mate in trouble.
Ember gulped. 'Are his instincts to protect his mates kicking in?' This gave Ember an idea to see what was really going through Spike's head. She blushed at the plan, but it was too good to pass up. "No, I want to stay with my mate." Said Ember as she watched Spike's reaction.
Spike growled louder and started radiating heat. "Leave my mates alone." He said in his sleep as he started reaching around with his free arm to check on his mates. "Ember?"
'Oh crap, it backfired on me.' Thought the girl as she was going to wake Spike up if he didn't find her now. She moved away from Sonata and quickly got to the other side of the bed. Spike placed his hand on Ember's leg and smiled when he noticed her scent. Ember blushed when she felt Spike's hand on her leg, but she groaned when she figured out that she was stuck here now. But then again, she was being a good mate by comforting her mate in his sleep. 'So in a way, I'm doing my job.' She thought as she crawled closer to Spike and snuggled up to him. "I love you, Spike."
Soon Adagio and Aria found the group and shrugged. "Might as well." Said the 2 as they joined Sonata's side and snuggled up to Spike. Spike growled softly at feeling his mates with him.