//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Dealt A Bad Hoof 
// by TheHooligan 
//------------------------------//


“Spiiike!”

This was ludicrous, what kind of dumb luck does a unicorn have to be cursed with to finally get a shot at a much deserved bath? And instead of a gross bar of soap with some hair on it or even a cute rubber ducky, you find a giant lake monster in your tub. Of course when that layabout excuse for a dragon took his turn nothing tried to bad touch him, but the moment Trixie just so happens to get her hoof wet. Bam! Big, scary, dumb looking harbinger of death packing a cavernous mouth full of teeth, and for extra giggles, tentacles as well.

As she kicked about in vain in her moment of complete helplessness, Trixie thought back to some of the stories she had been told back when she was just a filly. This would be the moment where the handsome, valiant knight would save the beautiful, selfless damsel in distress in true heroic fashion. Swiveling her head from side to side, Trixie found the entire area lacking of would-be saviors, it was like some cruel, sick joke was being played on her for the amusement of a third party. Luckily when all else fails, Trixie possessed a brilliant Plan B for these kind of situations.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you release her, before she uses her unparallelled might to cast you into another dimension!” Anyone who believed that said plan would involve humility should excuse themselves at this point. “The Great and Powerful Trixie warns you that she has a fearsome, blood-thirsty dragon as her servant, his size causes Ursa Majors to shriek in fear, and his flames rival the very sun!”

As a rule it's considered a bad habit for one to play with it's food, but the odd creature within his grasp had piqued the Lord of the Lake’s interest. It's not often that a fish would ponder the inner machinations of an insect that had flown too close to the water's surface before jumping out to eat it. In his time this monster had been known by many names, each well deserved through his prowling of this section of the great lake. The Lurking Hunger, Terror of the Shallows, and the Grasping Death, but for the moment let's just refer to him as Homer.

Homer was a classic monster, he hadn't been afraid of anything since he had grown past ten feet, he was hungry frequently, and he liked to stay within the section of the lake that he was familiar with. For the past few decades things have been pretty cushy, well cushy for a top predator like himself. Plenty of food sources frequented the the depths that he stalked, his area was much too shallow for the varying aquatic life that dwarfed even his size, and he could laze about all he wanted without worries. But now here he was intrigued by this squawking morsel caught within his whiskers, if it wasn't making such a racket it might have looked cute enough to keep as a pet. As he pondered whether he could handle the responsibilities of caring for a lesser life form Homer was oblivious to the threats of his captive.

“This is your last final warning you overgrown minnow! Put The Great and Powerful Trixie down, or face the full unrestrained reservoir of her wrath!” Seeing that the tentacles continued to constrain her, Trixie scowled in frustration before she began to concentrate her magic. A blue aura began to surround her horn as she focused every irritated thought swirling inside her head on the monstrosity that loomed before her. Her power was limitless, her intellect without equal, this thing was nothing, and she was everything! The pungent odor of burning ozone perfumed the air as Trixie's horn glowed angrily.

After much internal debate Homer decided that he was in fact ready for the challenge of owning his own pet. He would feed it, and take it for walks... err swims, and love it unconditionally until the day he grew bored of it and ate it. He would name it Chatterbox, and together the two would be the best of friends till the day it displeased him, and was promptly devoured for it's actions. As he focused his attention back to his captive, Homer noticed that the his adoptive pet's head was glowing. For a moment Homer gleefully wondered if his pet knew any tricks.

“Who the hay do you think I am!”

Homer's eyes were suddenly blinded by a flash of light, then a stinging sensation overtook one of his oldest whiskers. When the yellow orbs that were his eyes finally regained their sight, Homer was shocked to find that the whisker that had been restraining one of Chatterbox's limbs had ceased to exist.

With a victorious smirk Trixie stared down the shocked looking beast in front of her. “The Great and Powerful Trixie did warn you, foolish flounder. Now tremble in fear of the most powerful unicorn to walk the land, and pray that The Great and Powerful Trixie shows you mercy!” With the tables turned the triumphant mare actually felt silly for calling on Spike for help. This so called lake monster was a pushover, an empty threat, and...

“Raauuugh!”

..looked really pissed off! The smirk quickly slid off Trixie's face as her hat was blown off her head from the sheer force of the monster's irritated roar. “...Manure.” With a shriek Trixie found herself being lifted into the air by the tentacle that still held her other leg. A feeling of nausea swept over Trixie as she was swung to and fro for a minute before she came to hang upside down in front of the now glaring leviathan.

To be completely honest Homer should have saw this coming, this he could admit. He was aware that Chatterbox had 'stung' him earlier when he was first investigating the disturbance on the beach, so it really shouldn't have come as a surprise that the undomesticated creature would do it again. Homer realized that if his new pet was ever going to behave, he would have to nip this rebellious behavior in the bud. And the best way to do that was to scare the living daylights out of Chatterbox so that it understood that stinging was not tolerated.

“Seriously, where in Celestia's name is that stupid dragon?!” As terrible of a hero that drake would make, his scale hide would still be better than nothing. As she hung upside down like a mere plaything Trixie scowled as she imagined the purple dragon gorging himself on rocks, and ignoring her request for aid. “The Great and Powerful Trixie swears that if she somehow manages to survive this, the dragon will pay severely.”

“Well, I guess I'll just turn back around and go save some other egotistical unicorn in over her head.”

Both Trixie, and the Homer turned their heads to see a certain purple and green dragon watching them just a few meters away. An odd silence settled over the scene as monster, and captive stared at our nick of time hero, and he stared right back.

Silence is overrated.

“It's about time you showed up! Now hurry up and rescue Trixie, you lazy lizard!” And just like that our damsel expresses her gratitude toward her liberator’s arrival.

“How is it that I'm barely gone for five minutes, and you've already managed to get yourself in this kind of situation?” Not that Spike had expected anything other than Trixie's typical grating attitude, but given the mess she was in a little appreciation would be nice.

“Trixie didn't even do anything! Trixie was innocently enjoying her bath, when this fish popped up out of nowhere and tried to eat Trixie for no reason!” Despite still being dangled in the air by the confused looking lake monster, the blue mare had no problem glaring at the pain in the flank dragon. “Now, shut up and liberate Trixie from this grotesque goldfish before she uses your scales for a new cape!”

Hearing that Spike took a thoughtful expression then looked from the irate pony to her huge new friend. With a toothy smile Spike waved his arms around to get the monster's attention. “Hey big guy, are you sure you want her? Seriously I've been stuck with her for only a few days and I don't think I'll ever recover from the physical and emotional trauma.” Spike nearly laughed when he heard the unicorn cry out indignantly, he figured a little humor at Trixie's expense was worth the sure to come payback.

“Quit joking around like an idiot and save me! Right now!” Trixie might have actually preferred being devoured by a scourge from the deep then have to deal with her traveling companion for another second. If she wasn't hanging here so ridiculously and had her hat, Trixie would just blast both Spike and this fish..toad..thing into dust.

Sighing, Spike rolled his eyes, and decided it was time to be serious. “Fine, I guess if I'm going to have any chance at getting back home keeping you in one piece is necessary.”

For Homer this was certainly a strange twist, apparently Chatterbox had a friend. Or at least he thought they knew each other seeing the way they squawked back and forth. As interesting as the new arrival was Homer wasn't looking to adopt an entire litter of critters, so Chatterbox's friend would have to go. With a deep baritone growl, Homer lifted his prize high above his head and croaked a challenge to the newcomer.

“Twilight is never going to believe me when I tell her about this thing.” The gargantuan monster holding Trixie hostage really was a lake monster in every right, five times Spike's size and looking unwilling to just talk this out. At first Spike thought it had to be some huge catfish with the blank yellow eyes, and multiple whiskers on it's face, but it didn't seem to be having issues breathing out of the water so maybe it was more like some kind of giant newt or frog. Another impatient shout from Trixie brought Spike out of his musings, he had a irritating pony to save. “Alright Mister, I'm only going to ask nicely once. Put the pony down.”

Elsewhere:

She could raise the sun, run the entire land of Equestria from her throne room, and play a mean game of tennis when the mood struck her. But as the alicorn made her way down the countless lavish corridors and passageways of her castle, Princess Celestia sighed at her own inability to track down her distressed student. Celestia had hoped that Twilight would still be in bed once the alicorn had finished speaking with the Royal Guards as well as her younger sister Luna, but upon her return Celestia found the guest room vacated. And now the white alicorn was attempting to track down her missing student before she did something… rash. Having a single loved one lost somewhere outside of her land's protective borders was more than enough, and Celestia wouldn't stand for another to go blindly chasing after.

As the ruler of Equestria it was Celestia's sworn duty to watch over and protect her ponies, and in the alicorn's eyes all of her subjects were family. A sentiment that was expressed strongest when referring to her apprentice, and the missing drake. Her godly creation gifted her with a body that would withstand the ravages of time, but also robbed her of the most magical thing a creature could do. It was the threads of fate themselves that had tugged, and pulled her to that first meeting with a wide-eyed purple filly, a promising candidate for the element of magic that had managed to do something quite unexpected. Hatch a dragon egg, a task that should have ended with said egg shaking slightly before the young unicorn was graded on the intensity of her magical aura.

Instead of what should have happened, Celestia arrived to find a flabbergasted filly, and a baby dragon with no caretaker. To place the responsibility of another life upon a pony as young as Twilight would be ridiculous, and with no other pony willing to take him, the newborn was somehow placed in the Princess's very own hooves. It wasn't supposed to be a permanent arrangement, the hatching now dubbed 'Spike' was only to be in Celestia's care until a more suitable foster family could be found, but once again the threads of fate continued their work. It wasn't long before Celestia was doting upon 'her little Spike' and the two were inseparable, bringing the baby dragon to all of her conferences, and of course to her magic session with the young Twilight.

Celestia could honestly admit that those years had been arguably the best of her long life. Walking the impressionable filly Twilight through levitation spells, while her younger charge murmured incoherently in his sleep as he nestled within her multicolored mane. Soon enough Spike was talking, and following the studious purple unicorn like she was his older sister, Twilight in turn developed a soft spot for the dragon and quickly began treating him like a little brother. A mental image of the three of them spending their time together in the castle gardens settled on Celestia's mind, and suddenly she was struck with inspiration. The alicorn's walk sped up to a quick trot as she suddenly had an idea of where her missing student might have gone.

Meanwhile:


Thud!


“Le gasp! And to think that I honestly believed that you would fail The Great and Powerful Trixie in her time of need.”

Thud!


“Spike you're my hero, w-will you sign m-my autograph book?” The blue mare wheezed.

Thud! “Okay, I get it, knock it off.”

“But Sir Spike, how else can the Great and Powerful Trixie express her overwhelming gratitude for accomplishing such a courageous feat. You have liberated this unicorn princess from her horrible captor and  The Great and Powerful Trixie is ever so thankful.”

THUD! “Cut it out, this is bad enough without you patronizing me here.” Thud!


“Oh to be rescued by such a valiant, and handsome dragon, The Great and Powerful Trixie's poor heart is aflutter with emotion. The Great and Powerful Trixie can't control the thoughts that run through her pretty little head as she gazes upon her champion. To have his scaled arms hold her close, to feel his brimstone breath on her neck. Oh, Spike, I can't control my feelings any longer! I must have your scaled, gem nibbling babies!”

“FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE SHUT UP!” THUD! “...Ow.” Despite his face currently being used to make imprints on the warm sand, Spike could still clearly make out the sound of somepony's aggravating laughter.

“Oh, you're no fun at all, Trixie is just trying to amuse herself while she patiently waits to be rescued...you do plan on rescuing me eventually, right?” Propping her elbow on the tentacle holding her high above the ground, Trixie rested her head upon her front left hoof as she took in the sight below her. Somehow after the point where her 'savior' demanded that this overgrown fish put her down, she was forced to watch the young dragon being used as a whack-a-mole mallet. At first the sight had her gasping for air between her bouts of laughter, and eventually she settled for cheering her companion on...or was it ridiculing? At the least the lake monster looked thoroughly amused, which was better than it deciding to eat them both.

“I'd love to, if I wasn't getting my scaled hide handed to me at the moment!” Quoting a well meaning pegasus that had a unexpected mastery of chess, Spike for the life him just could not figure what had gone wrong. One moment he was hurtling himself toward the monster holding his obnoxious partner captive, the next he was being swung up, down, and all around.

“All kidding aside, you are honestly the worst hero of all time.”

“Well excuse me princess, but you're the worst damsel in distress ever.” Gritting his teeth in agitation at Trixie's antics, Spike was suddenly struck with an idea. It wasn't the most 'pleasant' of plans, but given the situation at hand, Spike really lacked the time to be picky. Taking a deep breath to help steel his mind, (a challenging effort thanks to two surprisingly strong tentacles constricting his limbs and torso,) Spike gave the seemingly amused fish/frog/thing an almost apologetic look, then revealed a mouth full of extremely sharp dragon teeth. “This is going to hurt you a lot more than it'll probably hurt me.”


Surprisingly, Homer was having much more fun with this than he had anticipated. Chatterbox's purple friend was much more resilient than Homer had expected, and made a highly satisfying noise when it met the ground. So caught up in his jolly good time Homer was completely oblivious to the look his newest toy had given him, and the stiletto-filled jaws that were about to close on his whiskers. Chomp! And then the good times came to an abrupt and painful halt.

“Took you long enough, scale for brains.” A small smirk settled on Trixie's face as she watched the lake monster's huge eyes cringe in pain, and it's monstrous form go stiff as a board. “Now let's see what a dragon can really do.”


The metallic taste in his mouth was most unwelcome, as Spike's fangs cut cleanly through one tentacle, and bit deeply into the second. Barely a few hours ago Spike had confessed his disapproval of feeding on other organisms, and now here he was with the sickening tang of copper trickling onto his tongue. Almost immediately his opponent writhed in pain, and Spike was flung across the beach, using the momentum Spike rolled a safe distance away from the no thoroughly unamused creature.

The creature bellowed it's outrage, and tossed it's head to and fro, an action that had the still captive unicorn shrieking in surprise. “Hey, idiot! Get The Great and Powerful Trixie down before she loses her lunch!”

As he picked himself off the ground Spike wondered briefly why Trixie was resigning to the helpless maiden role instead of blasting this thing with her magic like she had threatened to do to him oh so many times before. Taking note that those slithering whiskers were much faster than they looked Spike darted forward like a purple bolt of lightning. Like the time before his charge was met with a dozen feelers eager to seize him, and probably pull each of his limbs painfully from his body. With a last minute hop to the right Spike moved past the spearing tentacles, and was now close enough to actually mount a counterattack.

With no time to draw back, and his whiskers reacting too slowly Homer did the only thing he could. With a groan Homer heaved forward hoping to catch the blasted little purple vermin in his cavernous jaws, he would take a perverse pleasure in tearing Chatterbox's acquaintance to pieces.

The horrendous odor of dead flesh, and mud that met Spike's nostrils nearly made him trip over himself in a fit of coughing, and gagging, but Spike swallowed down the bile threatening to escape his throat and pressed onward. As the ungodly sized mouth filled with teeth bore down on him, Spike couldn't help but notice his stomach grumble uneasily. As the creature's form blocked out the sun, and Spike's eyes peered into the ravenous maw that was more than happy to swallow him whole, the young drake decided that this would be one of those 'trust your gut moments'.

Three things took place at that one moment.

Homer found out the hard way that Chatterbox's purple friend knew some tricks of it's own. As his tongue blistered, and his eyes teared up from the unparallelled agony that came from a mouth filled with dragon fire. His opponent, and his prize were both forgotten as Homer wanted nothing more than to put out the burning pain within his jaws.

With the familiar tingling heat tickling his mouth Spike gazed into the cave of gluttony as it was bathed in emerald green light. Not the most visually pleasing sight to behold, but at least the green tint was a nice touch.

Despite her disapproval with the purple dragon in nearly all aspects, Trixie whistled in appreciation as the air suddenly grew hot, and she watched the lake monster getting a spicier meal than it probably had planned. The constricting tentacle that was holding her released immediately, and Trixie found that gravity had sorely missed her. The blue unicorn scarcely had time to yell in surprise as she plummeted toward the wet sand below, Trixie really wished she had her hat right about now. Though no hat magically appeared back on her head, a consolation prize came in the form of a certain scaled hero snatching her up just before she hit the ground. Vision swimming for a moment thanks to all of the sudden falling, then not falling Trixie shook her head for a moment before making eye contact with her less than willing savior.

“Well, my irritating princess, was that a good enough rescue or not?” Despite how irksome saving her had been, his victory over a huge lake monster had Spike feeling pretty good, and admittedly Trixie's expression pulled a unexpected grin out of him.

Violet eyes finally focusing, Trixie gasped inaudibly as her vision was filled with two bright green orbs looking right at her as well as the ridiculous way the sun in the background was making those purple scales glint. This was the way a valiant hero was supposed to look no doubt, it's a shame it had to be in the form of a know it all dragon. Feeling the damnable hints of heat spreading across her face, Trixie replied with complete professionalism, and grace.

“I-I guess so....for an incompetent dragon. Next time try not to waste time with goofing around alright.” Seeing the dragon's dumb grin sour into an annoyed frown, Trixie congratulated herself for handling the situation with her ego, and image intact. A short lived congratulation as Spike suddenly dropped her his slitted pupils narrowed at her version of a 'thank you'. As she rubbed her smarting flank for moment, Trixie shared a look of mutual dislike with Spike before she picked herself up, and tracked down her hat.

“I'll keep that in mind next time you manage to tick something off, which I'm sure is just a matter of minutes.” With a roll of his eyes Spike growled to himself as he could still taste copper on his tongue and resisted the urge to spit.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie won't need your help dragon, in fact she didn't even require assistance this time.” The light blue mare was dusting off her hat at the moment and had her back turned to Spike as she continued with her task. “Trixie merely found battling that bottom dwelling leech beneath her, she could have vanquished it without even try...”

The sound of splashing cut Trixie off, and barely a second had gone by before Spike yelped in surprise. A chill crept up the magician's spine as she slowly turned around, taking in the sight before her Trixie nearly face-hoofed.

Apparently a mouthful of green fire wasn't enough to dissuade this monstrosity, in fact it looked highly pissed off. Spike scarcely had time to defend himself before he was hoisted into the air by his tail, twirled around like a sling, then tossed over Trixie's head to land in groaning heap next to her wagon.

Homer was mad, not just mad but outright furious. He had tried to be a nice guy, tried settling for crushing that purple thing's bones as a warning, and going about his day with his new found companion. A line had been crossed approximately around the time that his tongue was set alight, and everything began to taste like brimstone. His mother had always told him back in his tiny days as a mere foot long spawnling. “Homer, don't play with your food, it gives them hope that they might escape.” A lesson painfully learned it would seem, but now the kiddy gloves were coming off, and this creature was in for a world of hurt.

“Umm, are you alright dragon?” Not that Trixie cared about the dragon's well being but he had almost hit her beloved wagon, and she needed him conscious for a well deserved berating.

“...Pinkie? W-what do you mean the fourth wall is breaking?”

“Never send a dumb dragon to do a mare's job.” With a roll of her violet eyes, Trixie adjusted her hat, and faced her opponent. The creature was rising up even higher than before as more of it's form began to emerge from the lake's waves. Trixie's horn glowed a light blue as she flexed her magic knowledge within her mind, she was prepared for whatever ridiculous thing the monster would try with it's odd whiskers.

It was at this moment that two large, and webbed hands surfaced from below Homer, and with them he pulled half his body onto the beach. With a croaking roar Homer began dragging himself toward the still down and out dragon almost within reach.

“Of course! Why wouldn't that stupid thing be able to chase us on land too.” Horn now shining with unicorn magic Trixie willed a pale blue wall to materialize between the defenseless dragon and the clawed left hand that was only a few feet from closing on him.

Homer's rage subsided slightly as his hand impacted a solid surface that hadn't been sitting in front of his prey a second ago. Despite a few curious attempts at moving past the wall, or moving it from between him and his target, the shimmering wall continued to stubbornly stand strong, and even moved to block his path. Within seconds the curiosity gave way to agitation as Homer's decision to eradicate the unmoving purple creature was being denied, and with another roar Homer began lashing out with his whiskers alongside his hands.

Tsh! Trixie's magical shield hissed in objection to the multiple impacts from the now raging monster, and in Trixie's mind the wall was beginning to strain under the pressure. Gritting her teeth, Trixie redoubled her efforts concentrating on her own ironclad will, and focusing on the image of an impenetrable wall with her cutie marks insignia engraved into it's center. The magical wall grew in size, and defiantly stood as solid as a mountain while Homer continued to bash away at it.

Despite watching the barrier between him and his prey grow, Homer's assault never lessened in fact his blows began to rain down harder, and harder still as his fury fueled his desire to reduce this odd wall to rubble, then rend the small fire spewer to pieces.

The strain from keeping the raging beast at bay was beginning to show as Trixie grit her teeth, and the sounds of groaning metal began to echo in her head. Despite her might she couldn't stay on the defensive forever, and her confidence began to wane as the implications regarding what else this mutant newt was capable of started to worm their way into her thoughts. The wall crumpled slightly in her head, and the magical one in the real world mirrored the movement Trixie's eyes widened as the blows increased even more so in frequency. “To hell with this, The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't defend. SHE ATTACKS!”


To Homer's surprise the wall crumpled into itself like a wadded up piece of paper, and careened into his head with the force of a angry bison. Staggering slightly Homer's eyes blinked wildly as a far off tree was covered with that same pale blue and then uprooted itself so that it could careen toward him like a giant sized baseball bat.

Wham! The tree's bark creaked in protest, and hairline cracks began to creep up it's trunk from hitting the incredibly solid lake monster. Without hesitating Trixie continued to wail on the now retreating beast with the tree, scattering leaves, branches, and bits of bark all along the beach. The unicorn felt her confidence return as she felt every blow strike true upon the hard to miss monstrosity, hopefully it would turn tail before her procured weapon gave out.

Wham! Wham!


Homer lashed out blindly with his right hand, and deflected another incoming blow. With a few moments time before the tree would surely be back Homer viewed the landscape wildly, he wouldn't lose sight of his target if he had anything to say about it. Instead of the still unconscious drake, Homer's yellow eyes focused on Chatterbox, and the strained look upon her odd face. His vision swam in crimson once more as Homer connected the dots in his old mind. Chatterbox was using it's tricks again, and was defending it's acquaintance from him, Chatterbox would have to be reprimanded harshly for this.

Another roar assaulted Trixie's ears, accompanied by the stomach dropping sound of her tree finally breaking as the monster struck out with both claws. Her magic dropped instantly as Trixie stumbled over her hooves in an attempt to avoid the massive claw that struck the very spot she had been standing on. The monster's bellows of anger shook Trixie's world as she scrambled madly to outrun a dozen of tentacles that slithered toward her, the sand caused her hooves to sink slightly with every step denying the mare from reaching her full speed and causing her heart to nearly beat out of her chest.

The sand beside her exploded as another webbed hand missed it's target, and sand rained down on Trixie's body and mane as she continued to zigzag her way around the beach to avoid being easy to hit. Any luck Trixie might have accumulated ran out instantly, as Trixie found herself tripping over the very hole that damned dragon had dug up earlier. As she rolled across the sand Trixie pulled her hat as tightly to her head as she could while her eyes shut close, she didn't want to see the massive claw finally blot out the sun, and then her life.

The incoming claw struck something with enough force to create a miniature crater where Trixie laid huddling, but not a hair on Trixie's mane had been disturbed. Daring to take a peek from behind her closed eyelids, Trixie's eyes sprung wide open  as she watched a familiar scaled figure stave off the massive claw still training to reach her.

“Now, this feels more like how a damsel in distress scenario should play out.” Spike's legs ached in pain as he tried to stand as solid as Trixie's magical wall while he kept the one claw almost as large as his entire body at bay with his two hands. The lake monster seemed to be so caught up on getting past Spike that it forgot being able to just toss him aside, not that Spike was going to complain.

“...H-how?”

“Hey, don't mention it, Trix. You did save my skin just a moment ago so the gentle dragon thing to do is return the favor at my nearest convenience.” Spike offered a sharp-toothed grin to the still surprised mare, though he felt that his muscles might give out if he stalled for much longer. “I was thinking if you weren't too incredibly busy, the Great and Powerful Trixie might do me the honor of helping me get rid of this overgrown salamander.” Spike's green eyes twinkled almost playfully as he silently prayed that Trixie's would help out thanks to the light ego stroking he was attempting.

Finally losing patience regarding his claw being held back Homer swung his other claw in a slicing arc intent on spilling the purple creature's blood. With all his concentration on keeping the first claw away from Trixie, Spike could only watch as the webbed hand closed in with it's dirty claws poised to dig into his shining scales. The purple dragon blinked unconsciously as the giant appendage stopped mere inches from his face, the hand now encased by a familiar blue glow.

“That's two for flinching, dragon, and The Great and Powerful Trixie looks forward to collecting on that when we are done.” Despite the light blue unicorn getting him again at the most inappropriate of times, Spike couldn't help but mirror Trixie's smug grin with a smirk of his own. With a stomp of her hoof, Trixie willed the claw to draw away from Spike, then crash into it's sibling riding her savior from his burden. The lake monster croaked out another challenging growl as it regained itself, and began to charge the pair. Sharing a nod, Spike and Trixie faced the oncoming foe, the smell of ozone and brimstone spiced the air around them.

Celestia's Royal Garden:


Flowers bloomed, the local fauna filled the air with various sounds of contentment, and the sun shined pleasantly over the landscape. But even the near perfect environment couldn't brighten the mood of a certain purple unicorn as she sat quietly from the balcony overlooking what was once her favorite spot in Celestia's castle. Various memories weaved through her thoughts as Twilight pondered her next course of action. The rest had done her wonders, and she knew Celestia was doing everything in her power, but none of that could quiet the restlessness that raged in her heart. She wanted to gather her friends and brave the alien world that existed outside of Equestria's borders to find her little lost brother, but even she had to admit the slim chances of finding him without any clues or direction to go on. So instead, Twilight quietly watched the garden's residents carry on with their day while the memories of her filly days played within in her mind like an old home movie.

Images of the day Twilight first hatched Spike were followed by the motherly way Celestia would look after the dragonling while Twilight practiced simple levitation spells. Spike's first word had actually been Twilight's name, and his second had been an attempt to say ruby though baby speech made it sound more like he had burbled 'rupee'. In time Spike was speaking full sentences, asking questions (which Twilight loved any opportunity to answer if she had the knowledge), and even assisting the young apprentice in her studies. When Twilight's older brother began his enlistment within the royal guard, and was scarcely around to lend her the brotherly support she craved from time to time, it was Spike who filled the role. He listened to her troubles, more than once dragged her back to reality when her thought process would run awry, and in the end pushed her to make friends.

“I really wish I knew where you were, Spike.”

“As do I.”

So caught up in her thoughts Twilight failed to notice that her mentor was now standing only a few feet away. The Princess herself wore an expression of deep thought as her eyes drifted from the gardens below to fixate on the purple unicorn.

“You can be hard to locate when the mood suits you Twilight, it would seem rest has done little to ease your mind.”

Twilight could only nod quietly as she tried to keep her gaze focused on a familiar fountain that she had spent past days practicing next to in previous years. She could feel Celestia's eyes focused on her, and Twilight had to fight off the urge to shuffle nervously. The sound of a deep sigh caused Twilight's ears to perk up, and she spared a glance toward the alicorn, the exhaustion radiating from the Princess almost caused the purple unicorn to gasp.

“Oh Twilight, please pardon me, I must look a complete mess.” Celestia's mane was disheveled, small bags were beginning to form under her pale magenta eyes, and she rested what was probably a weary head on the balcony railing. Seeing the worried sheen in her young protégé’s eyes, Celestia tried to offer a calming smile, but it had no effect on Twilight's expression.

“Princess Celestia, you look like you haven't slept for days. Wasn't it you who told me that staying up all night worrying would do more bad than good?” It's not often that the sun goddess found herself on the receiving side of a solid scolding, but for a moment all Celestia could do was sit there sheepishly while her apprentice made her sound like a foolish filly.

Twilight might have went off into a full blown lecture if it hadn't dawned upon her just how much the situation was probably affecting her princess. Who knows how many royal duties Celestia had neglected in favor of scouring her archives for books that might have helped locate the missing dragon, or the amount of sleep she skipped so that more time could be spent sending messengers to far off outpost to relay orders to be on the lookout for a young purple dragon.

“If I'm not allowed to drive myself into the ground worrying about Spike, then that goes double for you, Princess.” The rainbow-maned alicorn's smile grew slightly, since the beginning Celestia could tell that the doe-eyed filly that sat across from a recently hatched dragon egg was marked for great things. It only seemed right that her student would be the one to drag the princess out of depression she was slowly sinking into. With that Celestia's mane seemed to brighten slightly as she stood back to her full regal height, and she motioned for the purple mare to follow her into the castle.

“Thank you, Twilight... I needed that.”

Twilight followed her princess into the castle, and before long the two were conversing about recent developments, the weather, and fond memories regarding their beloved dragon. An unspoken agreement seemed to have passed between the two as at the moment both, they would do everything they could to locate Spike, but wouldn't allow each other to sink back into that pit of helplessness they had both nearly fallen into. As they neared Celestia's private quarters, Twilight had brought up the subject of the Elements of Harmony's creation, a question that had sat quietly within her mind for years .

“As much as it pains me to say Twilight, my understanding of the Elements of Harmony is hardly beyond your own.” Noticing Twilight's surprised expression Celestia willed her magic to open the twin doors before them as she elaborated. “Much like the Crystal Heart's purpose is to protect the ponies within the Crystal Empire’s land, the Elements of Harmony are used to keep Equestria's denizens safe. While my sister and I are here to watch over the land, and maintain order, the Elements keep the balance when we are unable to do so.”

“But you used them to banish Discord, and to stop Nightmare moon, so you must have some kind of understanding of how they were made.” Any other moment Twilight would have reprimanded herself for questioning her own princess in such a way, but the purple unicorn was baffled that the all-knowing alicorn before her was almost as clueless as her regarding the most powerful treasures within Equestria.

“The Elements were constructed by a force much more powerful than myself, Twilight, while I came into being to put an end to the various dangers that plagued Equestria, they had been the ones to restore actual balance.” Celestia now moved toward the large cushy bed that her body so desperately wished to lay upon, though she knew that Twilight's questions were far from answered. “When Luna and I first came across the tools to end Discord's reign, it was due to a shared dream we had regarding a bird sitting peacefully within the ruins of an old castle. The same castle that you journeyed too to find the answer to Nightmare Moon's return.”

The pieces all began to fit together and Twilight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she realized the implications. “B-but when we first went there to find the elements, we couldn't find anything.”

“Perhaps the knowledge you seek can be found, now that the elements have accepted you as their avatars.” A small smile fixed itself on Celestia's face as she watched Twilight's natural curiosity light up the mare's face, it was a look that Celestia always enjoyed to see.

“D-do you think I'll be able to find a way to....”

Celestia understood why the question hung there unfinished, both of them wished for a solution to their missing family member, and a wild goose chase would be a waste of time that could be spent tracking the drake down. But Twilight needed a distraction, unlike Celestia who had an entire land to run, and countless subjects to look after, Twilight only had a library lacking a sorely missed assistant. “I certainly hope so, Twilight Sparkle, until we find out we'll have to trust that Spike can take care of himself.”

Watching Celestia begin to nod off, and slowly enter the realm of dreams, Twilight offered what she hoped looked like a reassuring smile. “R-right! Spike's a tough dragon, I'm sure he's fine.”


Far off in a place that was less than fine:

With a thunderous roar, Homer tossed his head to-and-fro while his hands reached around in vain to grasp the purple thorn that was painfully clawing into his back. Chatterbox was nowhere to be seen, though an occasional large rock would smash into his body, or another strange wall would block his claws when they got too close to where his first problem was. Sand, and water flew in every direction as Homer thrashed about trying to angle himself so that he could crush the purple insect, until an idea bubbled to life within his mind.

After he, and Trixie had first blasted the monster with fire, and magic Spike had taken the initiative and raced toward the flailing beast before them. Whether from sheer stupid luck, or an unknown force smiling upon him, Spike had somehow climbed his way onto the monster's head and attempted to belch more scorching pain. The key word being attempted since all Spike could do was cough out a few embers, and sparks. It would be his luck that at a moment like this he'd be running low on fuel, and he scarcely had time to duck as a massive talon nearly raked him off of his perch. After a miscalculation on his part Spike tumbled down the monster's back into his claws gripped into slime covered flesh, and held him where he was currently placed. He seemed safe enough from the monster's limbs, and was happy to catch his breath until he noticed that the monster, and him were moving toward the lake. “Horseapples!”

Right as the young dragon began to dislodge himself, the lake's waters rose up to his chest as the lake monster brought them both into it's realm. With barely enough time for a quick inhale Spike was now fully submerged into the lake's depths once again. A violent twisting shake wrenched Spike's claws from where they had dug in, and Spike desperately clawed his way upward back to the surface. An ominous chill seized the dragon, and he turned his head back down toward the dark deep to witness the lake monster barreling at him like a freight train filled with teeth. Changing direction as fast as he could Spike swam back down toward the beast, hoping to dart past it and take advantage of it's large body preventing it from taking sharp turns.

After watching both the monster and Spike go under, Trixie galloped from her vantage point back onto the shoreline. Violet eyes searched the water's surface; trying to catch a glimpse of the purple drake, without being able to see either of them Trixie's magic was useless. “Where the hay are you, Sp-... D-dragon!?”

Spike hurdled through the water as his plan came with an expected detriment, though he cleared the jaws, and claws the tail was another matter. Quicker than he had expected it whipped into his frame with enough force to make any lesser creature gasp out in pain, and be caught with a mouthful of lake water. Catching himself, Spike kicked his legs furiously, and tried to get back to the shoreline as fast as he could. Another haunting croak echoed behind him as his claws reached the submerged sand of the beach, his pursuer was catching fast.

Trixie was just about to step into the water when an explosion of water caused her to shriek out, while she back peddled erratically. Spike gasped in a few breaths of air, before he took note of the wide-eyed unicorn in front of him barely a moment past as he realized the danger zone they were both still in.

“Trixie, move out of the way!”

Unaware of the incoming danger Trixie merely blinked in confusion, her heart still pounding through her chest from Spike scar... ermm surprising her. “Wha-?”

From behind them the water exploded again as a much larger form charged out toward the too. Body springing in action before he could conjure a thought, Spike thrust his hands out palms forward to push the shrieking mare out of the way. With the ferocity of one of Gummy's larger, deadlier cousins the lake monster snapped the dragon whole into his jaws, and thrashed it's head about.

Covered in water, and laying on her back from Spike's push, Trixie looked up as the monster glared down at her most likely eager to get to it's next meal. Despite the looming leviathan baring down on her, Trixie's eyes narrowed angrily, and her horn glowed bright magenta. The sand beneath her seemed to pack itself lower to ground from an unseen pressure as Trixie rose to her hooves. Before the day was over that overgrown sorry excuse for a toad was going to wish it had never showed it's miserable mug to her. As her horn sparked furiously, and a low hum seemed to radiate from the air Trixie noticed something odd about the monster.

Despite moving toward her still the monster couldn't seem to move it's mouth right like it was having a hard time closing it's mouth. Then a flashed of purple appeared from behind it's teeth, and looking more carefully Trixie could see a certain dragon in quite the predicament.

Grunting in frustration Spike hunched down within the very jaws of the beast as his scaled arms strained to keep the mouth from closing on him. Somehow he had gotten past the teeth, but if this went on for much longer he'd lose strength, and it would be all over for the young charming dragon. “F-forces unknown...I-I know you've been h-helping me out today a lot. B-but would it be too greedy to ask for a little more help here?” A large flat tongue began to push into Spike's back trying to push him toward the teeth, and to his doom. “...F-freaking figures.” Thinking back to how dumb he probably sounded just a moment ago, Spike was struck with an idea. It was crazy, stupid, and best case scenario incredibly unsafe, but looking back to his alternative Spike decided it was worth a try.

Finally Homer had this pest in his jaws, and couldn't wait for the crunching sound he was sure it would make once he bit down. After several attempts to eat the purple creature, Homer was aggravated to find that even in certain death, this far below him organism would be an annoyance. Somehow it had managed to work it's way into his mouth past his teeth and was refusing to let him fully chomp down on him. Just as Homer felt himself gaining some headway by pushing the cretin with his tongue, the damned thing felt like it had grown bigger all of a sudden. But that would be ridiculous...right?

“I'd really like a couple of emeralds right now.” The delicious visage of a ripe, bright green emerald materialized in Spike's mind, and he focused on just how much he wanted one right now. Spike's muscles swelled painfully, and he could feel a few more spines sprout between the ones he already had. The plan was working so far, and despite the jolt of pain that wracked his body every time he grew Spike could feel the mouth slowly becoming easier to hold open. It was risky, every jolt felt more painful than the last threatening to cause him to give out from the stress, and if he grew too much he might get stuck.

Trixie's eyes widened as she witness Spike nearly double in size within the monster's jaws, she could easily see him now as he held the mouth wide open gritting his teeth in concentration. The monster merely growled, and gurgled in frustration as it couldn't shake Spike loose, and was using it's hands to keep it poised upright. Sensing an opportunity, Trixie came up with a brilliant idea of her own, and quickly set to work imagining her own hoof. Beside her a giant pale blue hoof materialized into existence to the magician it radiated greatness, beauty, and just a hint of world traveled wisdom. It was beautiful enough to almost drag a vain tear from Trixie's eyes, and was perfect for what she had in mind.

“Almost there Spike... just a little more.” Spike was now large enough that he hoped that he could force his way out of the mouth, without coming into contact with the various teeth that could probably still dig deep into this scales. Just in time because the thing's breath was making Spike want to hurl in the non fire making kind of way, all he needed was just a few more seconds.

“BEHOLD THE MIGHTY HOOF OF TRIXIE!”

“....oh please no.”

“WORSHIP IT'S ELEGANCE AND TREMBLE BEFORE IT'S MIGHT!”

Gripped with fear from whatever hair-brained scheme the blue unicorn planned on unleashing, Spike tried to call out to her from his position. “Uh, Trixie, there's no need to do anything crazy now.”

“FEAR THE HOOF YOU TOAD!” So caught up in her speech Trixie was unaware of her companion trying to get her attention.

“Seriously Trixie I got this! Just let me...”

“TRIXIE'S GONNA KICK YOU IN THE GUT!”

“Horse-apples!”

Homer had finally realized that all he had to do was head back to the water, and the purple pest would either drown or finally dislodge so that Homer could snap him up when suddenly a tremendous force crashed into his stomach. Immediately the self-proclaimed lord of the lake felt something rise from within his belly to his throat, as Homer's eyes teared up from the pain, he could just barely make out the sound of something crying out in horrified outrage.

“ARE YOU BUCKING SERIOUS?!” This is so gross!”

Swept up in the bile that came rushing from within the monster's gullet, Spike fell out of the monster's maw, past the thrashing whiskers, and landed with a disgusting splat onto the beach. Spike's twitching eyes focused on the posing unicorn a few feet away even while the monster behind them writhed in pain.

“I guess you could say that monster doesn't have the stomach for a fight with The Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie laughed at her own joke merrily while Spike plodded toward her with unclear intent.

“......I will get you back for this.” Spike deadly serious threat fell on deaf ears as Trixie continued to pat herself on the back, even going so far as to prance past him to mock the downed monster.

“That's right grovel for The Great and Powerful Trixie's mercy, you worm. You mess with the Great and Powerful, you get the Trixie!” Feeling as confident as ever the blue mare turned her back on groaning nightmare, and looked over what was most likely a very appreciative dragon. “No need to thank me, The Great and Powerful Trixie only asks that you remember this next you even think about handing out any backtalk, dragon.”

Spike's eyes continued to twitch in barely contained fury as he came to terms with just how full of oneself some ponies could be. “Why would I thank you?! I would have been fine, and not covered in freaking monster puke if you'd have just let me handle it myself!”

With a roll of her eyes Trixie merely huffed in indignation, like it would have killed him to say thank you. “Last time The Great and Powerful Trixie goes out of her way to save your scaled butt, ungrateful dragon.” Whipping her head into the air Trixie decided that Spike can enjoy the scathing gift that is her silence for the rest of their journey.

Spike suppressed the urge to growl at Trixie's antics, of course she assumed that she was in the right and he was in the wrong that's exactly how her egotistical mind would work. Seriously who else could try making a dragon that was nearly three times her size feel bad when in all truth she hadn't really helped at all. Still an entire childhood spent with the wise goddess of the sun as his mother had it's lasting marks within his thought process. It was a curse really that his mother figure had managed to imprint her ability to see past selfish ideals, and forgive even those who probably didn't deserve it. So personal dignity, and self respect would have to take another hit as Spike prepared to apologize to a unicorn that in his mind didn't deserve it.

He groaned. “Alright, look...”

Trixie's eyes glanced in his direction, and a small victorious smirk began to grown across her lips. At least the dragon was smart to eventually realize he was wrong, and as it should be she was right.

“...I'm..”

“RAAUUUGGHHH!”

Homer may have been down but he wasn't out, with a furious roar he reached toward the closest thing that he could get his claws on. Pulling backwards toward the lake's waters Homer was happy to see that it was none other than Chatterbox itself that squirmed within his grasp. Taking heed to loosen his grip so as not to break his pet before he could do so at his leisure, Homer vowed to return and finish his dealing with the aggravating purple splotch.

With a speed unnatural for it's size the lake monster spun around, and began to dip back into the lake's waters with a screaming Trixie in tow. Instincts kicking in Spike dashed frantically forward, and latched his talons into the giant's skin, the entire time Spike kept his green eyes locked on the helpless Trixie. Despite his greater size Spike's strength was scarcely enough to halt the monster's movement as his claws merely ripped along it's skin creating long red lines that bled, and even dragged him forward until he was ankle deep in the water. Most of the monster's head was submerged at the point, and the huge webbed hand was making toward the lake's surface as Trixie struggled in vain to pry herself free.

Half her body submerged into the water Trixie tried to will her magic life to free her, but the growing terror in the back of her mind was making it hard to concentrate. As her horn fizzled, and only managed to create a few half-hearted sparks, Trixie locked eyes with the dragon that was still furiously trying to drag the monster and her back to the beach. “...”

“Don't you worry, Trixie! I got ya... just hang in there, okay?!” The water was up to Trixie's neck now, her cape floated above the lake’s surface, and instead of continuing to struggle Trixie opted to use her free hooves to hold her beloved hat onto her head.

“Don't you dare, Trixie you stupid, annoying unicorn, you're not going anywhere!” Spike dug his claws deeper into the sand, and deeper into the monster's skin. “Come on Spike, concentrate! I want gems. I want lots of stuff. I want a warm bed to sleep in instead of the damn dirt!” A jolt caused Spike's to spasm slightly as he grew just a little more, but with an agitated croak the monster moved forward again and Trixie disappeared beneath the lake's surface.

Most of the creature was now beneath the water alongside with it's catch, and within a few seconds so would Spike.

“No!” With a horrified growl Spike forced his claws deeper still into the beast's flesh his claws coated with crimson blood. “Nonononono! There's no way I'm letting you out of here before you take me home! I still have to say I'm sorry for no bloody reason!” Spike frantically tried to conjure up more things that he wanted, but the list was running short. “I want to go home! I want to see my friends, and Twilight, and Cele..my mom!” Another painful jolt caused Spike to snarl in agony as he grew again his weight causing him to sink into the sands, and he pulled as hard as he could. He still wasn't large enough, and Trixie probably only had seconds left before whatever air she managed to inhale ran out.

“Give..Her...BACK!” The straining of his muscles, accompanied by his body screaming at him in protest from the constant growing left Spike nearly unable to finish his sentence.

“SHE'S...” He was out of time, but still Spike kept at tugging as hard as he could. He wasn't going to give his charge up without a fight. As much as she annoyed him, belittled him, and made him want to bash his head in with a rock. Trixie was the closest thing he had for a friend in this world outside of Equestria. Trixie was his unwilling companion, his egotistical mare, and like it or not his responsibility.

“..M-MINE!” That familiar fire roared into life as Spike felt himself inflate like one of Pinkie Pie's balloons at a party. His vision blurred from the pain, but Spike could feel the mass he held onto give slightly as he pulled. He needed more, wanted more, whatever it took to save that blasted mare.

“MINE!” Another burst of fire in his belly, this time reaching out to the back of his mouth, he was able to actually pull more of the monster back to him. Spike's thoughts jumbled around erratically, and he found himself unsure of why he was pulling this thing, then he remembered that there was something he wanted on the other end.

“SPIKE... WANT!” In a voice several tones deeper than his original Spike spoke to himself as he pulled with all strength, His massive hands held steady as he pulled a now thrashing mass onto the beach. Vision slightly hazy for reasons the dragon couldn't fathom, Spike could barely make out the form of a creature slightly larger than himself, as well as another smaller creature that was currently coughing up water. The smaller creature sparkled before Spike's eyes, it’s odd pale blue form beckoned to him, more than enough reason to take it from the roaring monster that currently held it.

Trixie thanked her ancestors that something had managed to bring her back to the free air right as the lake's water began to seep into her lungs. A baritone version of Spike's voice pierced through her coughing, and a moment later something massive crashed into the lake monster that still held her. The arm holding her suddenly swung to the side to avoid the scaled purple hand that reached out to her, despite the frantic movement Trixie's eyes focused on the purple, and green giant that grappled with her captor.

The two giants exchanged blows back and forth as the huge dragon seemed hell bent on reaching the unicorn prize that the lake monster held just slightly out of reach. With a furious growl Spike lunged forward and sank monstrous teeth into the lord of the lakes arm causing it to groan in pain as well as drop the mare in it's hand.

“Can't anything just place Trixie on the ground carefully?!” A second later ,Trixie found herself caught, and carefully entangled within the grasp of a familiar albeit large purple tail. Before she could catch her breath Trixie's nearly lost her lunch at the speed the tail whipped back behind the dragon with her in tow, a second later the lake monster's teeth snapped on the location it had been earlier.

Using both hands Spike smashed into the lake monster's back, forcing it face first into the ground, he had what he wanted but needed to do away with this foe. Stomping a massive claw into the groaning monster's back, Spike opened his massive jaws wide and bathed the downed adversary in an inferno of emerald flames. With a final surge of strength, and energy Spike grasped the huge still smoldering mass, and will his might tossed it into the air over the lake.

As he flew in the air, limbs thrashing about wildly, tip of his tail to his huge noggin singed painfully, and pride wounded like never before, Homer wished he had never crawled out of bed this morning. Chatterbox had broken his heart with it's betrayal, the small purple pest apparently called in a much larger family member to beat the daylights out of him, and now Homer was really hungry. Being a bit of an optimist Homer was at least enjoying the weightless sensation that came with swimming in mid air like the birds, and various insects he used to enjoy eating. Twisting his body slightly Homer was now able to look down toward the large expanse of brilliant blue below, it was odd how you might not truly appreciate something till you see it from a different angle.

As Homer gazed lovingly down toward his watery home, he noticed a immense shape moving underneath the lake's surface. Homer gulped nervously as he recognized the dull yellow orbs that stared up at him, his mother had never possessed the keenest of memories, and from her angle Homer probably looked like..

As a cavernous maw large enough to swallow Homer whole rose from the depths toward him, Homer pondered the various levels of irony that permeated the air around him. As jaws that probably belonged to his own mother closed around Homer's form, the once mighty lord of his small slice of the great lake wondered what his mom would think if she knew she was about to devour her own offspring.

A pointless thought, as it wasn't often that the matriarch of the lake would ponder the inner machinations of anything that had flown too close to the water's surface before jumping out to eat it.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has a great idea, how about we leave this lake before something else shows up?” Despite still being held within Spike's tail Trixie had no problem seeing the ridiculously large leviathan that just made a meal out of the monster that had tried to do the same to her.

A oddly familiar voice dragged Spike's attention from the lake toward the small still sparkling creature within his grasp. He couldn't for the life of him remember why this creature had been so important, but a deep rumbling from within his stomach quickly brought an answer.

“What the hay are you staring at?” Even if the giant sized Spike had just saved her, Trixie couldn't help but shudder involuntarily when his large slitted irises focused on her with a predatory tinge. The way that the dragon's forked tongue licked it's chops reminded Trixie of a dragon related conversation that she had just shared with her hungry looking companion a few hours ago. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will remind you that eating her would be a very bad idea.

Unimpressed by his captives words Spike opened his fang filled mouth wide eager to satisfy his hunger.

“Wouldn't you rather snack on some tasty gems instead of stringy, tasteless Trixie?” The dragon paused for as moment as Trixie's words seemed to catch his attention, with no time to lose Trixie frantically pointed toward the still present hole that Spike had dug up earlier. “The Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn't steer such a mighty dragon wrong, right over there is a stash of the best tasting rocks... err gems that a dragon could find.

Gems did sound good, so with a shrug of his massive shoulders the dragon turned his attention to the tiny hole that the mare pointed too. Needing to take only two large steps Spike's massive head hovered over the time mineral deposit, after taking a curious sniff Spike dug a large trench into the sand with single swipe from his clawed hand. A deep growl of satisfaction rumbled from Spike as his eyes took in the small pile of Binghamite that lay exposed to the world, without a second thought the entire pile was scooped up in the dragon's mouth, and after a few brief chews was swallowed. After burping rather loudly, the dragon planned on returning his focus back to the unicorn still caught in his tail, when his large eyelids began to feel heavy.

“Okay, you got your dumb rocks, are you going to let me down yet?” Trixie's question was answered by a long yawn, and the dragon making it's way back toward her carriage. Finding a suitable spot the large, purple dragon curled up in the sunlight, and brought his tail to rest next to his massive head, Trixie was now in quite the predicament. While this was preferable to being eaten by far, the blue unicorn hadn't exactly been looking forward to being cuddled by a giant fire-breathing reptile. Lucky enough for Trixie a few minutes after Spike's large green eyes closed his body began to shrink back to size, his tail was no longer big enough to restrain her, and the mare happily embraced her freedom.

“Zzz..Trixie..I'm...sorry..zz” Spike mumbled in his sleep while the mentioned unicorn watched from a safe distance. Not that Trixie was scared of her sleeping vassal, she just needed some much deserved space after all of the days events. After taking a cautious look around, Trixie opted to go back to her carriage, and wait for her beast of burden to awake from his slumber.

After hanging her hat, and cape to dry within her carriage, Trixie opened up a side window that gave her view of the sleeping dragon. She could easily blame him for all that had transpired today, but decided that it could as least wait until he was conscious, and pulling them back along the trail they had wandered from. A grin settled on her face when she remembered that she still owed him two for flinching, and looked forward to cashing in on that gag. In a whisper so quiet that even dragon ears couldn’t hear them, the words “Apology accepted.” Escaped from the watching unicorn’s lips.

End Of Chapter: