//------------------------------// // Stop Dragon It Out // Story: Geoverse Part Five: Prisoner of Love // by GeodesicDragon //------------------------------// CHAPTER SEVEN Stop Dragon It Out The sound of knocking resonated throughout the library, rousing a young dragon from his peaceful slumber. He glanced over at the nearby bed and saw that it was freshly made, indicating it had been empty for a while. With a yawn, Spike got out of his basket and went downstairs. As he reached the bottom, he saw that Twilight had already opened the door and was talking to Ace. The latter saw him and raised a hand in greeting before resuming his conversation. "Come on, Twilight." he said, "Celestia knows you need the help, and these guys helped me out a lot when I watched the Crusaders." "I'm not sure, Ace." Twilight replied, the hesitation in her voice causing Spike's ears to prick up, "As much as I would love the extra help, I'm not sure I can afford it right now." "Which is why I'm offering you mates rates." Ace said. Spike approached the door and glanced out. On Ace's left was one of his Nurse-Bots. Spike recognised the contraption from the many times Ace had been left to watch over the three-filly wrecking crew known collectively as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Mates rates?" Twilight asked, "I'm not familiar with that expression. Could you elaborate?" Ace sighed. "In the UK, we have several words for 'friend'. 'Mate' is one of those words." he said, "So when I say I am offering you 'mates rates', it means I am giving you a great discount because you're my friend." "I can't ask you to do that, Ace." she said, "It's not fair to your business. How can you make money if you're giving discounts?" Ace laughed. "First of all, you never asked me." he replied, "I offered. Secondly, have you seen how much Vinyl Scratch is paying me to rent out Tiny as a mobile stage? Needless to say, I'm pretty sure giving you a fifty percent discount won't eat into my earnings." Twilight let out a laugh of her own and looked at the bot. "Okay, Ace." she said, "I accept your offer. Can you start tomorrow? Geo is coming over for the weekend, so he can help me with Azure and Evening for now." She glanced at Spike, who was still in earshot, and leaned closer to Ace so she could whisper to him. "That," she said, "and we also need to do more... intimate things." A sly smile appeared on Ace's face as he nodded knowingly. "Say no more, Twilight." he said, "Say no more. I'll bring the bot around on Monday. Okay?" Twilight nodded. "That's fine, Ace." she said, "Thank you." "Thank you for what?" a voice said. Twilight looked behind Ace and saw a chariot had landed outside the library. Her brother was there, as well as her husband. She let out a squeal of delight and threw herself at the latter. "That's my cue to leave." Ace said, "See you on Monday! Nice to see you, Geo. We should catch up when you get a moment." Geo nodded and resumed hugging Twilight. "What's happening on Monday?" he asked her. "I'll tell you later." she replied as she broke the hug. "In the meantime, you have a couple of foals who are missing their father, and a wife who really needs some attention." Geo grinned and entered the library. "Spike!" he said, bumping fists with the young drake, "How's it going, big man?" "Out the door." Spike replied. "I know you and Twilight want some alone time, so I'll go see if I can find something to do." "All right," Geo replied, "but we're gonna catch up while I'm here. Got it? I want to know what's been going on." Spike nodded and walked out the library. "Spike," Twilight said as he walked past her, "you can take the day off. Geo and I can handle things from here. Thanks for your help." "No problem, Twilight." he said, waving dismissively, "Anything for a friend. Have fun!" Twilight entered the library and closed the door, locking it behind her. Spike smiled and walked into town. Arriving at Sugarcube Corner, his attention was caught by a voice calling his name. "Spike!" He looked around for the source and saw Applejack at her stall, with John standing next to her, serving customers. Spike walked over to the stall. "Howdy, Spike." Applejack said, "Haven't seen ya in a while, pardner. How are y'all doin' at the library?" "Well, things have been tough, I won't lie." he replied, "But Ace has offered Twilight the services of one of his Nurse-Bots." "Holy crap," John spluttered, "she must be desperate." Applejack poked him roughly in the side. "Now hold on there, darlin'." she said, "Twilight ain't desperate. She needed help, somepony offered it, and she took it. There ain't nothin' wrong with helpin' a friend in need." She paused. "Though I gotta admit that some o' them metal critters give me the heebie-jeebies." she shuddered. John laughed. "Don't worry," he said, running a hand through Applejack's mane, "Ace knows what he's doing. I'm sure those bots of his will help Twilight immensely. And if they don't, I'll make sure to go double-oh seven on his ass." Applejack and Spike laughed. "Well, Geo's at the library just now," said Spike, "so I've got the day off. You need any help?" "Awww sorry sugarcube," Applejack replied, "but we're nearly done fer the day. Ah'm sure somepony else could use ya though." "You don't need any help at the farm?" Spike asked hopefully. "That's what she pays me for." John said, as a wicked grin appeared on his lips. "Wait... sex counts as pay, right?" Applejack gasped and jabbed John in the stomach forcefully, causing him to grunt and fall over laughing. Spike blushed and began backing away slowly. "I can see that I'm not needed." he said, "I'll just see if Fluttershy needs any help with the animals." As he ran off, Applejack's raised voice could be heard berating John, who was simply howling with laughter. *** Spike knocked on the door to Fluttershy's cottage and stood patiently as he waited for her to answer. The door opened slowly, to reveal Angel. Spike looked down at him, the rabbit looking back with a bored expression on his face. "Hey Angel." Spike said nonchalantly, "Is Fluttershy home?" Angel shook his head and began miming. He waved his arms as if he was flying, before throwing himself onto the ground and then holding one arm as if he was hurt. Spike gasped. "So she hurt herself flying, and is now in the hospital?" he asked. Angel nodded. "Darn." Spike replied, "Oh well, I guess I'd better go and visit her then. Thanks, Angel." Angel replied by shutting the door in Spike's face. The dragon snorted and turned away from the humble abode, before walking back towards Ponyville. As he walked past the repair shop, he saw that the door was open. Glancing inside, he saw Rainbow Dash talking to Spark Plug. "Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Spike called. Dash turned around and saw Spike waving. She waved back before trotting over to him. "I'm on my way to the hospital to visit Fluttershy." he said, "You wanna come with?" Dash shook her head. "I was already there." she replied, "I was there when she hurt herself, so I rushed her over. She's fine." Spike groaned. "Well, I'm still gonna go visit her." he muttered. "Whoa, what's up with him?" Spark Plug asked as he came to the door. "You okay, Spike?" "Not really." he replied, "I've got the day off and everypony is too busy to hang out with me." He looked between Dash and Spark. "Unless you two want to?" he asked. Dash and Spark exchanged a cautionary glance. "Sorry Spike," Spark said, "but Dash and I have plans. I'm taking her to a Wonderbolts race." Spike's face fell. "All right." he replied, "Well, I'm sure Fluttershy will be more than happy to talk to me. See ya later." As he walked away, he felt a stab of jealousy. *** Spike sat under a tree and looked over the lake. His expression was one of pure concentration. Twilight has Geo, Pinkie has Ace, Applejack has John, Rainbow Dash has Spark Plug and now it would seem that Fluttershy and Doctor Haywick are together. Well, I hope they are. She seemed really interested in kissing him when I saw her earlier. He picked up a stone and skipped it across the surface of the water. It skipped elegantly before sinking to the bottom. Reminds me of my courage. I work up the nerve to tell Rarity how I feel, but I bottle it at the last minute. No wonder she only ever sees me as her 'adorable little Spikey-Wikey'. He picked up another stone and simply tossed it into the lake. All of our friends are finding love. So now seems like the best time to tell her how I feel. No fear... and no regrets. Why should I be the one who is left out in all of this new-found love? He stood up, his facial expression changing to one of determination. You're a dragon, Spike, so it's high time you started acting like one! With Celestia as my witness, today is the day I tell Rarity that I love her! Letting out a low growl, Spike turned away from the lake and began running, his legs propelling him all the way to the Boutique. He saw Rarity at the door, waving goodbye to her last customer of the day, before she shut the door and turning the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'. Approaching the door, Spike held out his hand to open it. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SHE'LL JUST LAUGH IN YOUR FACE! She won't do that. She loves me too, I know it. She's just waiting for me to make the first move! YOU IDIOT, SHE'LL BREAK YOUR HEART AND YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO LOVE ANYONE EVER AGAIN! TURN BACK NOW AND FORGET ABOUT THIS! "Spike?" Spike looked up to see Rarity standing in the doorway, the look on her face somewhere between confusion and concern. "Are you okay, darling?" she asked, "You look troubled. Is everything all right at the library?" Spike gulped. JUST TELL HER YOU'RE HERE TO OFFER YOUR ASSISTANCE, AND FORGET ABOUT THIS FOOLHARDY IDEA OF THE TWO OF YOU EVER BEING TOGETHER! "Why don't you come in, Spike?" Rarity said, stepping aside, "You look like you could use somepony to talk to." Come on, Spike. Get in there. You can do this! NO, YOU CAN'T! LEAVE NOW. "Okay." he said weakly. FINE. BUT DON'T COME CRYING TO ME WHEN SHE SPITS ON YOUR DREAMS AND BREAKS YOUR HEART IN TWO. Spike entered the boutique slowly. The shop was littered with ponykins, each one wearing an outfit - some finished, some still in development. The floor was littered with fabric. Taking a deep breath, Spike tried to find relaxation in the chaos around him. Rarity came from the back of the shop, levitating a cup of tea and an emerald in front of her. She put the tea on the table and offered the emerald to Spike as she sat down. When he shook his head, she let out an audible gasp. "Spike, you're worrying me." she said, her tone both warm and demanding, "Please, whatever is the matter?" Spike took a deep breath. "You know how most of our friends have a special somepony now?" he asked, "Twilight has Geo, AJ has John, Pinkie has Ace, Dash has Spark and now Fluttershy has Doctor Haywick." Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Fluttershy and Haywick?" she said, tapping her chin with a hoof, "That's news to me. It's about time that mare did something." Spike looked at her blankly. "Oh, I'm sorry." she laughed sheepishly, "This isn't about Fluttershy, it's about you. Please, continue." "All this love going around has got me thinking that I'll never find someone to love me." Spike said flatly. Rarity did a double-take. "Whatever makes you say that?!" she asked. "I'm the only dragon here, remember?" Spike deadpanned. "And I'm not welcome amongst the others. We both know what happened when I tried to integrate myself with them." Rarity nodded. "The one pony I do have feelings for only sees me as a friend." Spike continued, "I want us to be more than that, but I'm sure she doesn't feel the same way." "And how do you know that?" Rarity asked. "I don't." Spike replied, "And I won't know how she feels unless I do something drastic." "Oh, darling." Rarity said soothingly, "Whatever do you mean by 'do something drastic?" Spike looked Rarity straight in the eyes and took a deep breath. "This." he said. Before Rarity could question him further, he had grabbed her head and planted a kiss firmly on her lips. Stunned, Rarity made no attempt to break away. Thirty seconds had passed before Spike finally broke away. He looked into Rarity's eyes again. The stunned expression was gone, replaced by one of anger. "I'm sorry, Rarity." he said, "But I had to know. I can tell by the look on your face that you want me to leave, so I will." He stood up and went to the door, opening it. A chill breeze entered the room, stirring paper and fabric. Before Spike could step out, the door was covered in a light blue aura and slammed shut, locking from the outside. Spike turned to see Rarity advancing towards him, the angry expression still fixed onto her face. "How dare you!" she said, raising a hoof. Spike covered his face to protect himself from the impending blow. I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN, YOU IDIOT. DON'T SAY YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS, BECAUSE YOU DO. The blow never came. Instead, Spike found himself trapped in another hug. He removed his hands from his face to see tears running down Rarity's cheeks. "How dare you..." she choked, "... try to leave without letting me kiss you back. It's about time one of us acted on these feelings." Spike's eyes widened. Before he could respond, Rarity had her lips locked with his. Fireworks exploded in his mind, and all the negative thoughts in his brain had been banished, leaving behind nothing but the positive ones. Way to go, big man. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am not sorry for the title of this chapter. PUNS ARE FUN!