A/N: Edited by frieD195! Sorry for making you guys wait for it, I had some things to finish before this one. Enjoy the read!
Era trotted out through the door with a victorious smirk. She huffed and spread her tiny wings. That should show that Rarity about what she feels about dresses and that... Ugh, fru-fru stuff. She giggled to herself as she trotted down the hallway. The fashionistas' expression was on a constant replay in her mind. After a few minutes, the door opened even wider than before and a disheveled, tired and quite horrified dress maker collapsed as soon as she left the room. It was not every day you got to experience all your tools and equipment coming to life and deciding to do whatever they want to do. Rarity was in no mood to contemplate about cleaning that mess, though... She tried her best to compose herself before she had to walk back to the throne room where her friends were. After taking a deep breath, she started walking down the hallway in the direction she assumed that Era had gone. She winced as a cut on her left foreleg acted up a little, but she ignored the pain and trotted on.
After a few minutes of walking and talking to a few ponies, she came finally came across a familiar face. She smiled as Fluttershy came walking toward her. Fluttershy smiled and noticed the state the unicorn was in. She wouldn't.... No, couldn't make a comment about her friend's look. Besides, it was... Nice. But before she could speak up, the fashionista beat her to the punch.
“Do forgive my appearance as of now, Fluttershy dear. I had a... Surprising yet terrifying moment with Era, that little rascal...” She huffed. Oh, that filly sure had inherited some interesting aspects of her father's powers, alright... Fluttershy looked confused for a split-second, until she realized what her friend had implied. Fluttershy frowned. Era couldn't help being like her father in that aspect... She received her mother's looks and by all reasoning, got her father's colorful attitude.
“Oh, I don't mind...” The veterinarian whispered. “I just hope that neither of you got hurt, as that would be awful with all kinds of cuts and bruises... A-And-” She was silenced by an alabaster hoof making contact to her lips. She understood right away that she had been rambling and lowered her head in embarrassment. “S-Sorry...”
“Aside from a small cut, I am perfectly fine. Era managed to escape without any injuries though so I assume that it's a good thing.” She smoothed back her purple mane gracefully. Fluttershy sighed in relief. Both of them knew how protective Discord was, and there would be hell to pay if Era was hurt in any manner. The ponies shuddered in unison when they realized that the spirit had his magic back. Fluttershy shook her head and excused herself and started walking again. She had to go to the library to fetch Spike for the Princesses. They were too busy to send a letter, so Fluttershy had volunteered immediately. Rarity gave her friend a knowing smile before the fashionista trekked back to the throne room.
Fluttershy stopped by the door leading into the library wing. She felt a tug in her wings, an instinct to flee which she had developed over the years. But alas, she had made a promise and couldn't go back on it now when she was so close. Besides, it was still the same dragon she had known for years. Only bigger... More muscles and bigger, sharper teeth. A squeak escaped her lips. About four years ago, Spike had gotten into his first growth spurt, which meant that he had grown both in size but in mind as well. He had matured and laid the crush he had on Rarity behind him. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
The first thing she saw was of course the vast amount of bookshelves containing various books on all kinds of different subjects. But her vision turned to the purple dragon standing in the middle of the room with his broad back turned toward her. When he first got into the growth, he was skinny and didn't really have any muscles, but after working out with Big Macintosh on the farm he had become quite the looker. Fluttershy felt a weak blush on her face appear. She hid her face in her mane and squeaked once again.
Spike noticed the interruption and turned around. He smiled when he noticed the butter-yellow pegasus. His fangs glistened in the light, making her gulp. “Hey 'Shy! Did you need any help or are you just taking a look around?” Spike dropped to all fours and walked closer to the pony. With him getting older and taller, he found it to be easier to walk around like the ponies do. It didn't strain his back as much so it was a needed relief when he wasn't working. An effect from his training with Mac included him growing much faster than what was normal for a dragon his age. He was about the size of Big Mac, tail not included when he stood on his fours. When he was standing, he was almost a head taller than the aforementioned workpony. He didn't have any wings though, as he was a special breed of dragons without wings. Due to his lack of wings, he didn't need the slender physique of a dragon with wings. He had much more bulk than one of those dragons.
Fluttershy shook her head and cleared her throat daintily. “Um... No, the Princesses asked me to go and get you to the throne room.” She kicked the floor sheepishly. She didn't know why she couldn't look at the teenage dragon without feeling a sudden rush of heat to her cheeks. The drake furrowed his brow and shrugged while walking past her.
“The Princesses were too busy to send a letter, eh?” The dragon muttered. Fluttershy nodded and turned around to follow the dragon. “So they sent you and not one of the assistants?” He frowned. Fluttershy shouldn't have been assigned the task of fetching him like that...
“No, I um... I volunteered to go and get you...” She looked down at her hooves. Another rush of heat came to her cheeks. Spike raised an eyebrow. He knew that Fluttershy would never think twice about helping somepony, but walking through the entire castle just for that? Unacceptable... Spike stopped and laid down.
“Your hooves must be killing you right now... Get up on the scaly express!” Spike chuckled at his own joke. Fluttershy didn't seem so sure if she should do what the dragon suggested. She took a cautious step back. Spike rolled his eyes “C'mon, the Princesses are waiting and I won't take no for answer. I won't bite...” The shy pony accepted his invitation after thinking about it thoroughly. Her hooves had been starting to ache just a little bit, after all...
She climbed up on his back, being careful not to hurt him in any manner. Spike sighed. “I'm not made of glass, so you don't have to worry about hurting me. Thick scales, remember?” Fluttershy grinned sheepishly and made herself comfortable. He had imagined the spines on his back to be in the way, but they didn't bother her at all. After Spike had made sure that she wouldn't fall of, he stood up and continued walking. She expected another rush of heat to her face, but this time it only was a pleasant warmth which was quite nice to experience. She cautiously wrapped her forelegs around Spike's neck to get a better grip. Spike, however was glad that Fluttershy couldn't see his face, as then she would notice the blush making itself known.
On the ceiling of the throne room, Discord made himself comfortable sitting on a lawn-chair. A couple of the ponies gave him strange glances once in a while, though. But the Princesses ignored the spirit as they were used to his peculiar behavior. Discord summoned a glass of chocolate milk, drank the glass and used the chocolate milk as chewing gum and blew a bubble.
He was bored, to say the least. He had been a draconequus for a full three hours now, but he was still waiting for Luna to finish her duties. He groaned and tapped his eagle talon to his chin. There had to be something he could do to kill some time that didn't involve causing general havoc and chaos... Needless to say, he had a hard time thinking of what he could do. But after a few minutes, the doors opened from the outside and a pony which he dreaded to see, but was relieved to see anyway walked inside. Era trotted inside while smirking. Discord felt a tug at his heartstrings, he almost snapped his eagle talon to teleport away, but he bit his lip and hovered down to stand by four out of six Elements of Harmony.
Era trotted up to her mother and nuzzled her. Luna nuzzled the filly in return and smiled. “Where's daddy?” Era asked innocently while scanning the crowd of ponies gathered in the room. She couldn't see the goldish grey stallion anywhere. Luna took a deep breath and prepared herself for what was going to happen. Luna lifted Era onto her back. Luna looked back at Celestia, who nodded knowingly with a sad smile. Era was about to question her mother's act, but changed her mind and went with it. After a short walk, they entered an uninhabited guest room. Luna set Era down on the bed and lowered herself to her level.
“Now Era, it is important that you don't do anything rash. It may be a shock at first, but I assure you, there's nothing to be afraid of. Understood?” Luna said softly, never breaking eye-contact with the confused filly. The filly nodded and Luna took a deep breath while closing her eyes. “Discord?”
After a golden flash, a creature Era didn't recognize appeared. She didn't know what it was, but when it stood up to its full height she realized what it was. It was one of those... Draconeqi? Her father had told her about. The creature had a soft, almost sad expression. Era felt her chest raising and falling faster and faster by every passing second. She was starting to hyperventilate. Her eyes darted from side to side, and after a couple of tense seconds, she broke the silence.
She screamed at the top of her lungs.
BAM! Didn't expect that Fluttershy/Spike thing, didya? Well, I did say that I had something planned... Beware.