//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven: House of Cards // Story: Together Forever // by CodenameOne //------------------------------// Chapter Seven House of cards Spike awoke in the morning and knew instantly that he had slept in; the sun shone in brightly through the window down upon him. It was Day Zero + one week. Day Zero was the name Spike had assigned to the day he came out to Twilight, figuring that the event was significant enough to warrant a name for the day. Now when I finally come out to everypony in town that will be a personal holiday the teenage dragon thought. Getting to his feet Spike went downstairs and found Twilight doing what she always did; read. The Unicorn noticed the dragon and said "hey Spike, sleep well?" "Slept in. Why?" Spike replied. "Why not? There's no responsibilities today, the library's closed. I figured I let you get a little more sleep" Twilight explained. "I like getting up early and on time... Anyway, I'm going out to see Lickety, OK? the Dragon stated, heading for the front door. "Don't forget the flowers and candy" Twilight joked, stifling a giggle as Spike looked back at her. "Oh knock it off you shipper" Spike replied, leaving the library and closing the door behind him. "Heeey!" was the last thing Spike heard before he closed the door. *-*-* "Lickety's not home, dearie" were the first words Spike heard out of the colt's mother upon her opening the door. "I'm sorry did I hear that right? You're saying Lickety's not home? Must be at Sugarcube Corner then, that sweet-tooth" Spike exclaimed. "Actually he said something about a lake; wanted to think about something I believe" the mare replied. Spike's ears perked up. "Then I think I know where he's at. Thanks Mrs. Split, see ya later!" Spike yelled as he raced away on all fours. "You're welcome!" Thundering across town and into Whitetail Woods Spike made good time to the lake, skidding to a halt which left gouges in the dirt from his claws; sitting on a rock next to the water was Lickety Split, who had not yet noticed Spike. Deciding to scare his friend Spike snuck around behind him, stealthily plodding along behind a bush. He was about to pounce when he heard a noise from Lickety, sounding like... Is...is he crying? Spike snuck around to the side so he could see the colt's face and gazed upon him as he sat on his haunches, biting his lower lip and squeezing his eyes shut, like he was trying to stop himself from crying. Making his presence known Spike cleared his throat as he walked out of the bush, startling Lickety who yelped and scrambled to wipe his eyes. "Lickety, what's wrong?" the Dragon asked, crouching down and trying to look his friend in the eyes to no avail; the colt was actively avoiding his gaze. "I-it's nothing.." Lickety replied. "You wouldn't be out here crying your eyes out if it were nothing. Now come on, tell me; you can tell me anything" Spike pressed. "It's nothing, don't bother" Lickety declared. Spike wasn't going to give up so easily, not on his friend, his best friend. He was determined to find out what the problem was and help him fix it. "But Lickety, it's obvious that something's bothering you. Just please tell me" Spike said, placing a hand on the colt's shoulder who surprisingly smacked it away, looking up straight and deep into Spike's eyes; a mix of anger and tears were coming out of Lickety's eyes. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" the colt screamed, getting to his hooves and taking off away from Spike. "Lickety, wait!" Spike yelled, chasing after him; despite Lickety being an earth pony and thus inherently fast Spike could easily keep up with him due to his powerful legs. In a burst of energy Lickety increased his speed, moving fast enough to keep Spike from tackling him or slowing him down in any way. Spike thought he was going to end up losing Lickety when the colt tripped over an unseen rock, tumbling down into a ravine and landing with a sickening crunch. "AAAAAAAHHHH! AAAGGH!" Lickety shrieked at the bottom of the ravine as Spike slid to a stop, peering down and seeing that Lickety had smashed his leg off a boulder and snapped the bone in two. Darting into action Spike slid down the ravine and landed next to the colt, who was still screaming bloody murder and holding his leg. "Lickety, I'm here! Just hold on!" Spike said, looking over the broken leg; it hadn't stabbed through his leg or anything but it was broken in a way that the broken part protruded up and made a lump in the leg. Grabbing the leg Spike roughly jerked and the bone made a loud pop and Lickety screamed until lack of oxygen made him slip into unconsciousness. "Shoot!" Spike exclaimed; the move had put the bone back into a more normal place, but it definitely wasn't back into where it should be. Lickety would have to be taken to a hospital. Gently picking him up Spike climbed out of the ravine and went back in the direction of Ponyville. Stupid, stupid, stupid! *-*-* "Lickety Split will be just fine" was the first thing the doctor said when he came out into the waiting room where Spike was sitting, the Dragon's face lighting up at the news. "Thank you! Can I see him?" Spike asked, standing up in excitement and earnest. "Yes." Spike thanked the doctor again and went into the room, seeing his friend unconscious on the bed, wrapped up under a blanket; the IV and all the other things hooked up to Lickety's body made Spike feel sick. Taking a seat in the chair next to the bed Spike rest his elbows on the bed and put his face in his hands, wondering what Lickety had been so upset about next to the lake. He told me to leave him alone... Does he not like me anymore? That still doesn't explain why he was crying Spike mused, starting a cry a little himself from frustration and confusion. Several minutes later Lickety began to wake up, his eyes fluttering as they adjusted to the light and his surroundings. The teenage colt quickly saw Spike sitting next to him and weakly smiled. "Hey..." Lickety whispered, surprising Spike who stopped moping and looked into his friend's eyes. "Hey, how you feeling?" the Dragon immediately asked. Lickety groaned and made a fart noise. "Hmm, that bad, huh? Doc says you'll be OK, but you'll probably have to wear a cast and roll around in a wheelchair for a while" Spike explained. More fart noises from the colt; seemed that was his new way of expressing displeasure. "Yeah... So, um, about what happened..." Spike said, trailing off as he wasn't sure what to say. "I...I'm sorry, Spike, but... I don't want to talk about it" Lickety said, putting Spike in further distress. "Lickety, please, please, tell me!" Spike pleaded, tired of not knowing what was wrong. Lickety scrunched up his face and mulled it over, debating if he really should tell him; he wanted to tell him so badly but was afraid he'd damage their friendship. Looking into Spike's deep green eyes that were filled with worry, concern, and frustration it was clear to Lickety that he had to tell him, regardless of what would happen afterwards. "Spike, I'm... I'm bi" Lickety confessed, looking away from Spike's eyes. The Dragon blinked a few times and had to restrain himself from strangling the colt. "That's IT?! That's what you were upset over?! Lickety, you were so supportive of me but you got upset over this?" Spike declared angrily. "No, that's not it at all. It's... I love you, Spike!" Lickety exclaimed. "I love you, Spike" he repeated. "I love you." *-*-* Legal note: Spike the Dragon, Lickety Split, Twilight Sparkle, and all related characters belong to Hasbro.