Chapter 7
Rarity set a hoof down on the dark rock, doing her best to avoid the most pokey-looking parts. It must be volcanic, she decided. That would explain why her crystal magic was tingling in her horn. Volcanic rock often contained gems, after all.
"This place is so cool." Sweetie Belle hopped off Stef'an's raft, trotting up next to her sister.
"I'm so pleased you approve!" Stef'an exclaimed, clapping his skinny hands together. He swam near the edge of the larger isle.
Their arrival clearly attracted the attention of the other sea serpents, and Rarity took a protective step in front of her sister. Three particularly large serpents swam up to the water's edge to get a closer look at them. Waves burst around the trio, making it seem like they were just as rooted to the ocean floor as the islands themselves were.
The three serpents dwarfed Stef'an, and Rarity realized with a moment's panic that she had no idea what sea serpents ate. Please be herbivores. Or, at the very least, civilized carnivores. Both her and her sister were now surrounded by the massive swimming reptiles. Rarity took some comfort in remembering that all previous ambassadors had returned unscathed to Canterlot after failing in their own missions to talk with the sea serpents.
"So is this the one?" one of the serpents asked, gesturing towards Rarity. His hair was even poofier than Stef'an's, if that could be imagined.
Stef'an nodded as waves splashed around him. "Indeed, indeed! And we've had quite the harrowing journey to get here, let me tell you!"
"I really like her mane!" another serpent cooed—a female one, from what Rarity could tell. Even while in awe and—admittedly—a bit of fear of their size, Rarity had to admire the way the sea serpent's scales shimmered in the sun. They could rival the Crystal Ponies for glossy shine.
"Oh yes, look at that curl!" the third exclaimed, poking at Rarity's mane with one skinny blue finger. "How ever do you get such definition while retaining such bounce?"
Rarity laughed nervously, still blocking her sister. "Why, thank you," she carefully stepped just out of reach, to ensure her mane wouldn't get too fussed over. "It's no difficulty, really. I rarely use product on my mane, most of this is natural."
Sweetie Belle scoffed from behind her, and Rarity quickly changed subjects.
"In any case, it's simply a pleasure to meet all of you, and have the honor of visiting your esteemed ceremonial isles."
"My my, who is this?" the blue sea serpent asked, leaning over Rarity. It seemed Sweetie Belle's snort of disbelief hadn't gone unnoticed, after all.
"Why, this is my sister, of course," Rarity said, deftly throwing one hoof around Sweetie Belle in a conveniently binding hug. Sweetie Belle squeaked in protest. "She's in my care at the moment, so she had to come along. I sincerely hope that won't be a problem."
"Oh, what a dear-heart!"
"So precious!"
"She's a little angel!"
Sweetie Belle grinned at Rarity, pulling out of her grip. "I think I'm safe," she whispered slyly. "But thanks for the concern."
Rarity frowned slightly as her sister pranced forward. The sea serpents all bent down, resting their chins in their hands and propping their elbows along the rocky shore as they "oohed" and "aahed" at the filly.
"Don't worry, she'll come to no harm here," Stef'an said, noticing Rarity's narrowing eyes.
Rarity carefully masked her expression. "Oh, I wasn't worried." She smiled up at her guide. The last thing she wanted to do was offend the Duke of Sea Serpentia before she was introduced at Court.
"It's alright," Stef'an said. "It's natural to feel nervous around larger creatures. I even feel that way myself, at times!"
Rarity did notice that Stef'an really was the smallest of the serpents around them, without an exception to be spotted. She wasn't sure how to go about asking why that was, without coming off as insensitive.
"How about we show you two to your chambers for the evening?" Stef'an suggested. "That way you both can get some privacy and rest before meeting the full Serpentia Court tomorrow morning."
The setting sun elongated the shadows of all the serpents in the water, creating an interesting banding pattern along the rocky isles. Rarity stood in one such a band, with Stef'an floating near her. In the shadow the air felt cooler than it had in the mid-day sun, and Rarity looked forward to heading somewhere indoors.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Rarity agreed. "And perhaps, before you leave us for the night, you may be so kind as to fill me in on some of the finer points of your culture and society?"
"Absolutely," Stef'an agreed. "Follow me."
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity called. "We must be going now, dear! The duke is showing us to our chambers."
Sweetie Belle waved goodbye to what quickly became a dejected looking set of sea serpents. "Coming!" she called back, cantering quickly to catch up.
Rarity turned away from the sun, following a trail through the rock near the water's edge, as Stef'an swam alongside. Sweetie Belle was soon at her side once more, and she could breathe a small sigh of relief.
"I like them, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "They're really huge, but really nice!"
"That's lovely to know, Sweetie," Rarity said. She stepped over one of the many dark rocks that littered their pathway. "Just remember, we're here on delicate political business, and anything you say—"
"Represents what anypony in all of Equestria might say," Sweetie Belle interrupted. "I know, I know. You told me enough times on the way here."
"Thank you, Sweetie," Rarity said. Stef'an swam near them in a silence, wisely staying out of their sisterly conversation. Rarity was grateful that their guide was so understanding. "Anyhow, as we were saying, Stef'an." She turned to face the purple sea serpent. A bit of ocean spray got her in the face, but Rarity pressed on. "What is your Court like? I'm afraid we have limited knowledge of the inner workings of your fascinating culture over in Equestria."
"Oh, we're a simple society, really," Stef'an insisted. "Our Queen—my great aunt—rules over us all with great fairness. Court usually meets every new moon, but we've been meeting much more frequently of late. This dragon crisis really has us in a tizzy."
They rounded a bend, heading into a watery cave, with a golden arching entrance. Rarity gasped, staring up at it. The archway easily rivaled any of the arches in Crystal Castle for beauty, and Rarity's horn tingled even more as they entered the cave. It was lined with gems of all kinds, laid out in gorgeous patterns along the walls. To stop herself from drooling, Rarity, forced her head back to face Stef'an. "And what is your role in Court, if I may ask?"
To her side, Sweetie Belle poked at one of the gem murals at the wall, and Rarity swatted the filly's hoof away.
"As a young duke, my role isn't much of anything, to be honest," Stef'an admitted. "I'm meant to be out in the world, protecting our rivers and tributaries. All of my generation is meant for river guardianship, which is why you won't see many of my peers around here. But after those nasty gargoyles booted me out of the Everfree Forest, I was forced to come back to our meeting isles. It's the only place I have now." His big eyes began to bubble up with tears.
"Oh darling, I'm so sorry to hear that," Rarity said. She offered up a hoofkerchief from her saddlebag, which had finally just dried out.
Stef'an took the dainty cloth square between two purple fingers and dabbed at his watery eyes, which reflected the torchlight from throughout the golden cave. Rarity recognized dramatics when she saw them, but also knew that dramatics weren't false emotion, as much as they were exaggerated emotion. "I can't imagine losing one's home to a bunch of vicious gargoyles," she said.
The sea serpent put the back of his hand to his forehead. "And now the dragons want to take over our home, too!" he wailed.
Rarity blinked. They do? "Well, not your entire home, correct?" Rarity asked delicately, just in case she'd misunderstood the situation. "They are trying to take over the sea serpent breeding grounds, aren't they?"
"They might as well take over our entire home!" Stef'an wiped at his eyes some more. Rarity's hoofkerchief was back to being soaked.
I really should've brought spares, she grimaced inwardly.
"Without breeding grounds, where will our ladies lay their eggs come summer time? No eggs means no cutesy wootsy baby serpents, and no cutesy wootsy baby serpents means no new families, and no families means no home!" Stef'an exclaimed. His voice echoed through the cave.
"Oh my," Rarity said softly. Sweetie Belle remained quiet, which Rarity was beyond grateful for. Together, they continued to walk down a rocky path illuminated by enormous torches. Their shadows danced along the wall, including Stef'an's sobbing form. "Stef'an, I am truly sorry. I promise, during negotiations I will do anything I can to ensure your breeding grounds aren't handed over to the dragons."
"Really?" Stef'an asked, wringing out her hoofkerchief.
"Absolutely," Rarity said, holding her head high. "There must be another way to resolve this all." I just wish I knew what it was…
"Oh, thank you!" Stef'an said. "I knew we'd picked the right pony to help our cause!"
Rarity smiled, though inside her stomach clenched. As an ambassador and negotiator, she wasn't meant to take sides. But Stef'an clearly thought she was there to fight solely for their rights. Rarity took a deep breath, summoning every ounce of composure she had. She'd said too much. It was time to change subjects.
But what to talk about?
"Are dragons really that bad?" Sweetie Belle asked, taking advantage of the temporary silence. "I mean, we know a dragon, and he's pretty nice."
Rarity shot her sister a glare. She couldn't see how bringing up Spike while waltzing through sea serpent caves was remotely a good idea. Then again, Sweetie Belle wasn't exactly known for thinking her ideas through.
"A nice dragon?" Stef'an huffed. "Must be the only one of his kind."
"Why don't you tell us some more about dragons," Rarity said quickly, before another word could escape her sister's mouth. "I shall be negotiating with them soon, after all, and it would be helpful to know more about their temperaments and customs."
Stef'an sniffed, handing the hoofkerchief back to Rarity. She didn't even bother touching it, she just quietly magicked it over her shoulder and hid it under a rock behind them as they walked. "Very well. Where would you like me to start?"
Rarity's eyes opened slightly wider, and not just because the light continued to dim. Oh. My. This is it, she realized. This was a genuine chance to learn more about Spike's kind, from a creature who'd clearly had more interaction with dragons than ponies ever did. It was the perfect opening. "Well…" she began carefully. "You'd mentioned your breeding grounds. Do dragons have an equivalent? Perhaps if they do, we could reason with them in regards to how they would feel if they were denied access as your kind may be."
"Generous Rarity, are you suggesting we threaten the dragons?" Stef'an gasped, splashing backwards in the water.
"Oh, goodness, no!" Rarity said. "No, no, no! Just…" That came out wrong! "I wanted to know how dragons breed…and what their society is like…er…in regards to baby dragons growing up and…well…oh, nevermind that. It was probably a silly suggestion. Maybe you can instead tell me something about the past dragon negotiations here?"
"Oh yes, I can certainly do that!" Stef'an said.
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. Nice save there, dear.
"There haven't been any," Stef'an said. Rarity's relief froze up.
"What exactly do you mean…there haven't been any?" Rarity asked.
Stef'an shrugged. "Every time we've tried, negotiations end before they really begin. Someone starts yelling, and it gets out of hand quite quickly."
"That doesn't sound very productive," Rarity observed.
"It hasn't been." Stef'an sighed.
Rarity's brain ran in circles. How am I supposed to negotiate between two species I barely know anything about, when they can't even bring themselves to have a civilized discussion together? They rounded one more passageway in the caves, and Stef'an's expression went from downcast back to perky.
"Anyhow, look! We've reached your chambers!" He pointed to a huge sapphire-encrusted doorway, with swirling patterns, almost like the gems were riding on waves like the ones just off the island's shore. A large torch next to the doorway just added to the effect.
The sheer beauty of the doorway helped Rarity tuck away her fears about negotiations. "Amazing," she said. "If the door is this magnificent, I can hardly wait to see what is inside."
Stef'an beamed. "They're your chambers, you're more than welcome to go in! I'll leave you to them for a while. I'll be back to bring you both a meal, of course." Stef'an nodded to both Rarity and her sister. "Please, make yourselves comfortable in the meantime."
"Thank you ever so much for your kindness," Rarity said.
"Yeah, thanks!" Sweetie Belle agreed.
Stef'an turned and swam back up the watery channel that flowed through the center of the massive cave system.
"Alright, let's check this room out!" Sweetie Belle said, squeaking out her words a bit in her excitement.
Rarity's horn glowed, giving them a bit of extra light so she could see the door handle properly. Sweetie Belle pushed the gigantic door open, and they entered a massive, fully lit chamber, clearly designed for a much larger creature than themselves. The swirling designs from the doorway continued throughout the chamber, as a magnificent wave motif. Rarity's mouth dangled open, in complete awe.
"So cool!" Sweetie Belle said, trotting into the middle of the enormous room. A mass of soft blankets lined a pit in the middle of the room. It was quite a bit different than a pony sleeping set-up would be, but it looked beyond comfortable.
"Marvelous," Rarity murmured. She walked farther in, noting the beautiful emerald-inlayed ceiling. Oddly, it did seem that there were quite a few gaps. Maybe past visitors had swiped some of the gems for themselves?
Sweetie Belle flopped onto the blanket pile, squirming into them and sighing. "I've never looked forward to bedtime so much," she said.
"Me neither," Rarity replied, in all honesty. "We'll need to thank Stef'an and the Court tomorrow for these wonderful arrangements."
Sweetie Belle leaned back, eyeing her sister. "Are you going to ask the Court about baby dragons, too?"
Rarity's eyes flew open. "Sweetie Belle!" she exclaimed. "What in Equestria are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on!" Sweetie Belle said, flipping around so she had her body fully wrapped in one of the blue blankets. "You were trying to learn more about Spike, weren't you? Out in the cave just now?"
"I don't know what you mean," Rarity pranced over to a large mirror at the side of the room, setting down her saddle bag.
"Rarity." Sweetie Belle's reflection in the mirror stared straight at her. "You only know one baby dragon. It's not hard to guess what you were trying to figure out."
Why...she's got some nerve! "So what was I trying to figure out?" Rarity asked, turning the questions back on her sister. She gazed down her nose at the filly in the blanket pit.
"Easy. You want to know when Spike will grow up big enough for you two to..." Sweetie Belle began to make smooching-noises, and all color drained from Rarity's already pale face.
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity exclaimed. She magicked a blanket over the filly's head, then trotted to the opposite side of the chambers. "You…you…!" But she was too mortified to even formulate a proper response.
Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, was giggling up a storm. "Hah! I knew it!"
"You know nothing!" Rarity spun back to face her sister, who'd managed to dig herself out of the blanket Rarity had buried her in.
"Oh come on! Spike's got the biggest crush on you ever," Sweetie Belle said. "And you certainly don't seem to mind. I mean, you two spend almost as much time together as I get to spend with you." Her gleeful expression took a downwards turn, and Rarity's eyebrows creased together.
"Oh, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, walking over to her sister. "I'm so sorry. Does that bother you? How much time I spend with Spike, that is? Compared to my time with you?"
Sweetie Belle looked up at her sister. "Maybe a little. Sometimes. But I know it's just because you two are totally in looove." She waggled her eyebrows and grinned.
Rarity's cheeks burned, and she shoved her sister back into the blanket pile. "You're dreaming."
Sweetie Belle's giggling resumed, earning her a loud "huff" of annoyance from Rarity.
"Spike's just a friend," Rarity went on to explain. "A dear friend, yes, but nothing more. I enjoy his company because he makes me smile. Besides, even if—"
Sweetie Belle popped back out of the blankets. "Even if what?" she asked.
Rarity went an even deeper shade of red, and hated herself for it. "Even if nothing. You mind your own business, young lady."
"Hey, if I'm going to have a dragon for a brother-in-law someday, I'd say that's completely my business!" Sweetie Belle teased back.
Rarity glanced around their chambers nervously. "Sweetie Belle! Watch what you say around here!" She dropped her voice. "Dragons aren't exactly well loved in this kingdom, if you can't tell."
"Not well loved by the sea serpents, maybe," Sweetie Belle said, grinning even broader at her sister.
Rarity took a deep breath.
This was going to be a long night.
They'd just made it out of the Everfree Forest in time. The sun finished setting, and night enveloped them, turning the meadow they'd reached into a field of rustling darkness.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash set to work getting a small campfire going. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom helped. The crew had decided there was no option but to bring the fillies, because frankly nopony could think of a way to make them stay behind that would ensure that they wouldn't just go running off on their own again.
Spike didn't want to be anywhere near Rainbow Dash after what she'd said earlier, so he'd opted to help Twilight and Fluttershy get the tents set up. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie worked on putting dinner together. Initially, Spike hadn't liked the idea of stopping for the night, but now he had to admit, he was getting pretty tired. He probably could count on one hand the number of hours of sleep he'd gotten the night before, and Spike usually preferred to use two hands and a foot to count his sleep hours.
"You think they came through here, Twilight?" he asked, holding up a pole for Twilight to slide canvas over.
"Rarity and Sweetie Belle? Or the gargoyles?" she asked in return.
Spike moved to the next tent pole. "Well, I'd meant Rarity and Sweetie Belle, but…both, I suppose."
"The gargoyles came through here," Fluttershy said quietly. "I saw their claw marks in the trees at the edge of the forest."
Spike looked at her. "When?"
"Oh, I flew up to check as soon as we got out of there," she replied.
Spike felt a little bad that he hadn't noticed her absence at all since they'd left the forest. But then he stopped feeling bad when he remembered how scared she'd been of the gargoyles and of the idea that a dragon could be nearby. But she's not scared of me, now is she?
He awkwardly moved around to the side of the tent she was working on and held up a tent pole for her, trying to not let his annoyance with her show. "Oh. Well…so…that means the gargoyles were here…" A thought struck him, and he dropped the pole to the ground. Panic exploded in his belly like a phoenix bursting into flame. "But they aren't now, and neither are Rarity or Sweetie Belle! Do you think—?"
"No," Twilight cut him off. "Don't even go down that road, Spike."
"But—"
"They're fine," Twilight said.
"But how do you know?" Spike sat down on the grass, clutching at his chest. His could swear his heart was going to squeeze itself to death with images of those awful creatures chasing after Rarity…
"Because if she didn't reach Sea Serpentia today, the sea serpents were supposed to contact Princess Celestia. And don't you think the Princess would've told us if she hadn't made it there?" Twilight reasoned.
Spike kept breathing in and out deeply, trying to calm himself.
"It does sound like they're both okay, Spike," Fluttershy said, walking up next to him and putting a hoof on his shoulder.
Spike closed his eyes, willing himself to relax. You're no good to her all freaked out like this. Rarity needs you to be calm.
"Yeah," he finally said. "Yeah, you're both right. That makes sense."
Twilight looked up at the sky. "I'd better take some time tonight to touch up my sky charts, and work on those scroll translations some more," she said. "I'm afraid something big is coming, but I just don't know what."
"Do you need any help?" Spike asked.
Twilight shook her head. "Not tonight, Spike. Stay with Fluttershy and help her finish setting up camp."
Spike nodded. "Can do."
The unicorn walked off, magically unrolling several long scrolls of parchment all while staring at the stars. Spike bobbed back and forth on his feet next to Fluttershy, not quite sure what to say.
He knew what he wanted to say to her. He wanted to ask her why she was afraid of dragons, and now gargoyles, but wasn't afraid of him.
But Spike had no idea how to ask that without sounding like a jerk. So instead, he just said, "At least it's not raining out tonight, huh?"
Fluttershy nodded, flying up a little ways to secure the top of the tent. Spike shuffled along, fitting the canvas tight. While he'd appreciated what Twilight had said to him earlier after the gargoyle attacks, he couldn't help but still feel pretty pathetic about the whole not-being-a-scary-enough-dragon thing. He tried to tuck those feelings away, but they nibbled at his insides like a bunch of Fluttershy's rabbits.
He and the pegasus finished setting up camp in relative silence, then joined everypony else by the campfire to eat some of the honeyed biscuits Pinkie had made.
Spike picked up a biscuit from the plate Pinkie was offering around, and realized it was shaped like a four leaf clover.
"For luck!" Pinkie said brightly. "Got to keep those gargoyles away somehow!"
"Fluttershy, you know other creatures best," Applejack said from across the campfire. "Any idea if those beasts are going to come back tonight?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, I sincerely doubt that. They think there's a dragon with us, and they're clearly quite afraid of dragons."
"Not that you'd be able to relate at all, am I right?" Rainbow Dash poked at Fluttershy, causing her to blush. "Aw, I'm just messin' with ya." The blue pegasus smiled.
Everypony laughed, even Fluttershy, but Spike couldn't bring himself to join in. The gargoyles "think" we have a dragon with us. "You're not talking about me, are you?" Spike phrased his question more like a statement, and crossed his arms.
The laughter stopped. Fluttershy, who was sitting next to him on a log, looked at him hesitantly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, when you said the gargoyles think we have a dragon with us. You're not talking about me. You're talking about the fake dragon those two came up with." Spike jabbed his thumb towards the two Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were busy chowing down on their sixth honeyed biscuit.
"I…oh…" Fluttershy stammered.
"Of course she meant you," Twilight said quickly. "Didn't you Fluttershy?"
"Yes, oh, of course," Fluttershy said, nodding.
Spike narrowed his eyes. "You don't have to lie to me."
Fluttershy didn't answer. Nopony spoke. Instead, they all just exchanged glances.
Clearly unable to take the silence any longer, Pinkie burst out. "Hey, everypony! Look what I can do!" Pinkie hopped up on her log, balancing on one front hoof, and spun around with streamers bursting out from Celestia-knows-where.
"Pinkie," Spike said. "Stop. Thanks, but stop."
Pinkie collapsed back on the log. "Sorry, Spike," she said, pulling her streamers back together.
Spike sighed, rubbing his temple with his claws. "It's okay. I get it, everypony." He looked around the campfire. "You don't think of me as a dragon."
"Oh, Spike, of course we think of you as a dragon," Applejack said.
"No, you don't," Spike said, glaring through the firelight at the farm pony. "You think of me as a baby dragon. Like that's some entirely different species or something."
"But I thought you didn't want to be a real dragon?" Rainbow Dash said. "Remember when those dragons chased you after the migration?"
"And when you grew all ginormous after your birthday?" Pinkie added.
"Yes, and yes, I know," Spike growled, standing up and clenching his fists. "I don't want to ever be like those dragons. I don't want to be a mean, greedy, monster. But I don't see why being a dragon always has to be such a bad thing! I'm a real dragon! Am I a bad thing? Or do I not count as a dragon unless I'm horrid and awful and terrifying?"
"Spike, of course you count as a real dragon—" Twilight started.
"Fluttershy isn't afraid of me!" Spike spun at the yellow pegasus. "She's supposed to be afraid of dragons! She's even afraid of gargoyles!"
"That's because you're different, Spike," Fluttershy started to explain.
"Because I'm a baby? Because I'm useless? Because no one in their right mind would be afraid of tiny little Spike?"
"Spike, stop it!" Twilight demanded. "You're overreacting!"
"Really? Am I?" Spike spun back to face Twilight, who sat amidst a pile of scrolls. "Then you tell me what I am! I make a lousy dragon, I can't pass for a pony, so what am I?"
He didn't even wait for her to answer before stomping off. He couldn't deal with any of them right now. All of them, with their nice simple identities. With their cutie marks. Heck, they even got freaking magical necklaces confirming who they each were.
Spike kicked his way through the grass. It just wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair. He didn't understand. They didn't understand.
"I just want to protect them," Spike sank to his knees, his eyes watering. "I want to protect Rarity. But a baby dragon can't do any of that."
The darkness made it impossible to see much other than the stars. He wasn't sure how long he lay there in the grass, but after some decent chunk of time had passed, he heard rustling.
"What is it, Twilight?" he groaned, not even bothering to look up.
"It..it ain't Twah'light," a small voice said.
"It's us."
Spike sat up. He could just make out Apple Bloom and Scootaloo standing a little ways away. He blinked, hoping he didn't have any more tears on his face. "You two? What do you want?"
"Just to talk," Scootaloo said, sitting down.
"Is that okay?" Apple Bloom asked.
A cool breeze floated by them all. With just the starlight, it was hard to read the expression on the Cutie Mark Crusaders' faces. But based on their postures, it didn't seem like they were there to lecture him. Spike nodded. "It's fine."
The two fillies looked at each other, then back at Spike.
"Listen," Apple Bloom said. "Ah know you probably don't want to hear this from us…"
"Since, you know, we're pretty young ponies…"
"And yer tryin' to prove how you ain't a baby and all…"
"But we were thinking. You're trying to figure out who you are. And that's kind of our specialty." Scootaloo scratched awkwardly at her mane.
Spike watched them carefully.
"Now, we ain't comparin' you to a blank flank or nothin'," Apple Bloom added quickly. "Jus' sayin' that if you ever want to talk about anything…"
"We'll be around," Scootaloo finished.
Spike stared at them, unsure how to respond. "Is that it?"
They both nodded. Then they turned and headed back to camp. They were halfway there when Spike thought to shout after them.
"Thanks!" he said.
They both paused, looking back at him. Then they turned and continued on their way. After a while longer of gazing at the stars, Spike followed suit. They're right, actually. But growing up dragon is different from growing up pony, he realized, glumly. I'll never get a cutie mark. I guess I just need to find out what I'm meant for on my own.
When he got back to camp, everypony was already asleep, except for Twilight, who was still going back and forth between watching the sky and reading her scrolls. Spike walked by her, trying to be quiet. He wasn't sure he wanted to face her, after his embarrassing outburst at dinner.
But she noticed him. "Spike," she said.
Spike stopped walking, just inches away from their tent. "Yeah?" he called back.
"I know who you are," Twilight said.
Spike had one hand reached out to grab the tent flap, but didn't grab it just yet.
"I know you think you make a lousy dragon, don't think you can pass for a pony, and don't know where you fit. But I know who you are. And you'll see it someday, too."
Spike hesitated, then nodded. He wasn't sure if Twilight could see his nod in the dark, but he didn't trust himself to say anything out loud. He grabbed the canvas flap, opened the tent door, and crawled inside for the night.