//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Spike's New Plushie // by The Relaxing Fiend //------------------------------// Spike’s New Plushie Prologue It was a typical morning in Ponyville. The sun shined brightly while torpid tulips awoke, greeting the many civilians that were justly exiting their homes. The day showed each pony new and exciting opportunities. For Lyra and Bon Bon, it involved visiting Roseluck, and for her, it meant two new regular customers who would be revisiting often. The thriving town couldn’t be better. The same could almost be said for Spike, the young dragon with adorable green and purple scales. He’d been having it easy over the past several days. This was mainly because Twilight had been having daily trips to and from Centerlot. With crucial and spontaneous calls from her friend, and fellow alicorn, Princess Celestia, she consistently found herself teleporting her way to the lavishly designed city with little other choice. Luckily, her new powers made it easier to do this, but still remained a difficult trial regardless. As yet another note was burped up, the sixth one in a row for each of the week's mornings, Twilight groaned. “Not again... I’ve been through this with Princess Celestia. I can’t keep this up! Just because I’m an alicorn now doesn’t mean I have an unfathomably immense and never ending amount of magic that came with it; it’s still limited, just expanded greatly.” Spike got out of his basket while holding his head and stomach. “This isn’t a walk in the park for me either, you know. I’ve been having horrible alarms that wake me up way too early in the morning all week.” “Exactly! Once I’m done finding out what she wants and solving whatever urgency this could possibly be, I’m telling Celestia to please knock it off. I just hope I can do that without sounding rude or offending her...” Spike chuckled with a shake of his head and voiced, “You know how hard it actually is to make her mad at your words? Just think for a bit, Twilight. Even if I said, Hey, good looking. What’s Cooking? I'd bet she would still act royal and coy.” “Oh, Spike. I highly doubt she’d ignore that.” “Fine, I’ll prove it," Spike confidently vowed. "Next time she comes here, I’ll say just that, and she’ll walk right on by without a single problem with it.” Crossing his arms, he waited for Twilight’s response, but she didn't give him one. Instead, the mare unaffectedly turned around and transported herself from the room leaving Spike free to do what he wanted for the day. He sat back down on his basket in wonderment. What was a draggy dragon like him to do on such a fine morning? Surely Applejack could use some help, and Rarity might've required his services like she always did. However, she usually went and got Spike if she needed him to dig up jewels, diamonds and shiny gems like always, but lately, she'd been busy with other matters that didn’t require his assistance in any way. “Maybe... Rainbow Dash? Nah, I need to hurry up and grow wings already,” he mumbled to himself. “Perhaps one of the locals... No... This is turning out to be tougher than I thought...” A knock on the door slightly surprised him and saved the dragon from his deep meditation. Jumping up to see who it was, he ran down the stairs and reached the door before it knocked a third time. As it opened, he saw his kind and timid friend, Fluttershy. “Hey, what brings you here?” She looked at Spike for a brief moment, then stared down at the ground while muttering, “Oh, I was just wondering if uh...” Spike smiled and held back his chortles. “Speak up, I can’t hear you.” Clearing her throat, she explained, “I’m here to ask for some... thread and twine? If it's not too much trouble...?” “Oh... Is that all? Yeah, I’ve got some inside.” “Um...” Spike turned to listed to what else she had to say. “And, if you have the right kind, the color needs to match my coat perfectly...” Spike scratched his head before confusingly stating, “Y-yeah, we’ve got that. I think we have that...” While Fluttershy was shown in, Spike questioned about what she wanted it for. The young mare explained, “Well, you see, I just... uh...” Turning around, grumbling and crossing his arms, Spike impatiently said, “C’mon, out with it.” Her head lowered, and she trotted to Spike’s left to show some sort of doll on her back that was kept elevated by her gentle wings. Upon seeing this, Spike lowered his claws. Then he blinked a couple times before pointing at it and asking, “What... is that?" “It’s my plushie... of m-myself.” She brought it over to a nearby desk and sat it down carefully in a delicate stance. “I had a dream of being really small, you see. Soon after, I sorta ended up creating her.” The mane was crafted in long and swirly strings. As for her cutie mark, that was labeled on both sides showing the obvious effort placed within the sweet little mare. She gestured to her charming, button eyed and fabric friend with her hoof. "Isn't she just breathtaking?" Spike stood next to her right inspecting it with a keen smile. “Yeah... Wow,” he agreed upon touching his lower lip with his right arm's index claw. “The resemblance is striking. It looks just like you. Tell me, how were you able to do this?" “Oh,” Fluttershy began, still nervous with what Spike thought of it. “I stuffed it with cotton, sewed it with polyester fibers and... Oh Spike, I put so much time and work into it, and now look at it!” The dragon examined its wing to see some while fluff slipping through a tear. “Ouch. What happen to her?” he inquired. “She’s only meant for display and light hugging or kissing; not on the lips, but Angel Bunny got his paws on it and must’ve thought it was some sort of toy and... Well, I came home after shopping today to find her poor wing damaged.” She skimmed her hoof along the rupture. “All I need is some thread that matches my fur and she’ll be all patched up. You said Twilight has some of that, right?” “Of course, just give me a second.” As Spike left, his eyes almost refusing to cut the line of sight he had on Fluttershy’s soft friend, the dragon started wondering why he didn’t have a plushie of his own; naturally, not of himself, but maybe one of Rarity. Returning with the thread and a needle, he felt awkward asking the question that was on his mind, so he waited a bit for Fluttershy to mend her little friend’s wound. “I really need to thank you, Spike.” Fluttershy glanced over to see him holding his claws behind his back and giving her a puzzled look. “Spike, are you alright?” “Huh?” he asked, looking from the plushie and back to Fluttershy. “Yeah, sure... I was just wondering...” “...Wondering what?” He gulped and thought the question over again. “Well...” Fluttershy stopped sewing momentarily to listen, but for a time, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he curiously brought his fingers to the front of his chest and fiddled them around for a few moments. Fluttershy simply cocking her head a bit with interest and waited patiently for him to speak. Finally working up the courage he needed and clearing the awkward silence filling the room, he clenched his fists to his sides and requested, “Could you make one for me?” Fluttershy’s open mouth soon changed to a flattered smile. She giggled lightly at the typical words and claimed, “I’d be delighted, but it’ll be more difficult with you being a dragon and all.” Spike grazed his nose and looked down to say, “Actually...” While continuing, he spoke through his fangs. “I kinda want it to be Rarity...” “Oh,” Fluttershy sighed. She looked over at her own miniature self and said, “Well, that would be different. I could have her ready for you by tomorrow then, if that’s alright.” Spike covered his excited smirk with a palm and muffled his words. “It’d be awesome.” Once the arrangement was thoroughly made, with Spike picking out button eyes and thanking the mare several times, Fluttershy finished up her repairs. Then she nestled the companion on her back. Before leaving, Spike thanked her yet again, and Fluttershy stopped him halfway through his praising with a tender hug. Upon doing so, she happily stated, “You’re very welcome, Spike.” With satisfaction, he watched her leave. The doll on her back smiled at him waving goodbye, and Spike wondered what the Rarity doll would look like along with how he was to hopefully hide it away from not only Twilight, but the beauty it was to resemble as well.