//------------------------------// // What's Bothering Spike? // Story: The Legend of Spike: Dracula // by DiabloGuapo //------------------------------// As Spike sat in the theater, he practiced the art of sleeping with his eyes open. He was sitting slouched in his seat and was leaning to one side, propping his head up with one claw. A look of pure disinterest was plastered on his face. His other claw was clutching a large bag of popcorn in his lap. Somehow, he was designated to hold it during the movie. Technically, he was still awake, but just barely. He was tuning out everything he saw and heard coming from the screen in front of him. The lights were on but Spike was not at home at the moment. Every so often, somepony would ask him to pass the popcorn. He would do so halfheartedly. The only part of him that would react would be that one arm, which moved mechanically to deliver the popcorn and then return to its default position. As the movie went on and on, Spike vaguely recalled something he had heard about how some animals would gnaw off their own leg to escape if it was stuck. At the moment, that didn’t sound like too bad of an idea. Spike looked down at his arm and raised a brow with mild curiosity. He looked up from his arm, back at the screen, and back down to his arm again. He repeated this process a few more times and then decided it wasn’t worth it. He sighed and looked over to Rarity. His only consolation was that she was nuzzled against him the whole time. The purple dragon was brought out of his stupor when his chair suddenly lurched forward. Annoyed, he looked over his shoulder to look at the teenaged filly who had accidentally kicked his seat for the fifth time. Yes, he was counting. “Oops, sorry,” the pink Unicorn whispered. Spike grunted and turned back around. He could hear the filly whispering to her green Earth Pony friend, thinking that nopony could hear them. Well, somedragon could. “I don’t know how she could ever want to be with a monster.” Spike silently agreed with her, thinking that she was referring to the onscreen relationship. “I know, right,” her friend responded. “What mare could ever love a dragon?” Spike didn’t react, at least not externally. Celestia’s sun had started to sink below the western horizon, painting the sky in lovely shades of purple and orange as the movie-going group exited the theater. Their response to film they had just finished watching was mixed. “Edmond is so dreamy,” Sweetie Belle swooned. “No way! Jack is so much cooler than Edmond!” contended Scootaloo. “What!?” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “Which movie were you watching? Edmond is so much better for Becky than Jack!” “Did ya see Jack’s abs? He’s way better looking than Edmond.” “Can’t we like them both?” Apple Bloom suggested in attempt to resolve the conflict. “No!” the Unicorn and Pegasus shouted simultaneously. Spike just rolled his eyes at their petty argument. He had to hear teenaged fillies debate over who was “hotter” all week. It was torture for the dragon to sit in a crowded theater amongst a sea of fan-fillies fawning over the two love interests. Personally, he didn’t get it; one was an age-old vampire and the other could turn into a wolf. Did mares really find that attractive? Spike was always a movie fan and enjoyed monster films. Since he grew up in a library, he was also very familiar with the classic horror novels. When did vampires and wolfponies become so attractive? he asked himself. He remembers when they used to inspire fear and terror. Vampires were these horrible bloodsucking fiends from beyond the grave and lycanthropes were ponies cursed to become ravenous monsters that fed on the flesh of other ponies. How did they end up sparkling in sunlight and having abs like a washboard? Not wanting to suffer the wrath of the fan-fillies, Spike kept his thoughts to himself. At least that was what he had hoped for. “So, Spike. Did you enjoy the movie?” his marefriend asked. Spike groaned inwardly to himself and then turned to face Rarity. She was smiling expectantly at him as she waited for his response. He debated on how he should answer her question. He really hated the film. At the halfway point of the film, he had to suppress the overwhelming urge to stand up, raise his arms, say “Done” to the rest of the audience, and exit the building. One on claw, he didn’t want to offend Rarity or the rest of his friends. On the other claw, he didn’t want to lie to them. Also, they might drag him to see the sequels if he said that he liked it. He didn’t know if he could stop himself from gnawing his own arm if he had to sit through another one. Ultimately, he decided to take the middle path. “It was alright, but it’s not for me,” he causally shrugged, trying to act as neutral as possible. “Aawww,” Rarity moaned in disappointment. “I’d thought you would like it. But, I suppose, everyone has their own taste in movies.” “I liked it,” announced Twilight. “Though I wished it was more like the books. They cut too much out. That’s the problem with movie adaptations; they have to leave out so much detail to fit into a two hour film. I defiantly like the books better.” “Is that supposed to surprise us?” Rainbow Dash teased. “You like books over everything else.” This got a laugh out of everypony and dragon. The Alicorn blushed with embarrassment, but then closed her eyes, raised her head, and took on a more dignified demeanor. “I simply know a good book when I see one. I even remember when I saw it for the first time. There was something about the title that really spoke to me. It was though it was made just for me, like it had my name written all over it.” “You shouldn’t write all over books,” commented Pinkie Pie. “It makes them harder to read. But I guess books already have words written all over them. Over wise, they’ll be blank, and blank books are so boring.” “Ah don’t think that was what she meant,” Applejack said to her pink friend. “Anyway, it was decent movie.” “Meh, I’ll have to agree with Spike on this one,” Rainbow Dash stated. “Romantic stuff really doesn't interest me that much. What about you, Fluttershy?” “Um… It was… nice,” the shy mare responded in an unenthusiastic tone, which meant she actually didn’t like it but was trying to avoid confrontation. Her friends immediately caught on to her act. “You didn’t like it?” Twilight asked in surprised. “But I thought you enjoyed the books.” “Oh, but I do. I love the books,” Fluttershy passionately explained before returning to her non-confrontational tone. “It’s just…” “Just what, darling?” Rarity asked. “Was there something wrong with the theater? Was it too crowded for you?” “Well, yes,” the yellow Pegasus admitted, embarrassed. “But that wasn’t the problem.” “Then what was it?” asked Twilight. “Oh, it’s not a big deal,” Fluttershy tried to deflect. “Come on, Fluttershy. Everypony is entitled to their own opinion,” Applejack reassured her. “Well… it was boring. The pacing dragged on too slowly. There was little to no character development. The acting was flat. They hardly expressed any emotions. The filtering and lighting they used made all of the ponies’ coats look pale and muted. They didn’t have to keep showing off the wolfponies’ abs. The lead actress always had her mouth distractingly slightly open the whole time, and the romance seemed lifeless,” Fluttershy quickly listed off her complaints before reverting back to her meek self again. “But… that’s just my opinion.” Everypony was stunned by Fluttershy’s critique, their mouths ajar in shock. Spike wanted to applaud, but thought better of it. “Well… um… Ah guess me and Apple Bloom better head back home,” Applejack said to break the awkward silence. Everypony came back to their senses and said their goodbyes. Applejack and her little sister headed back to Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo flew off to their home, Fluttershy returned to her cottage, and Pinkie Pie trotted off to Sugarcube Corner. All that remained were Twilight, Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Rarity. “Do you want me to walk you home?” Spike offered to Rarity. “I would like that, but I have to make sure Sweetie Belle makes it our parents’ house,” the alabaster Unicorn explained. “Besides, we wouldn’t want Twilight to have to walk by herself.” “I’m not a foal anymore,” Sweetie Belle protested. “Yes, but you know the rules.” “I know, I know,” the younger sister muttered. “Well then, how about we go out for dinner sometime this week?” the dragon asked. “That sounds divine. We can talk more about it when I see you tomorrow,” Rarity told him. After giving her a kiss, which caused Sweetie Belle to giggle with amusement, Spike escorted Twilight back to her palace. “Well, well, well,” Twilight said to Spike with a raised brow and an amused smirk as they walked down the road. “The two of you really seem to be doing well.” Spike blushed but tried to play it cool. “Well, what can I say? I am quite the catch, aren’t I?” Twilight smiled and shook her head at her son’s boast. “Well, I think Rarity is a lucky mare to have a dragon like you,” Twilight complemented. A dragon like me… Spike repeated her words to himself. What mare could ever love a dragon? he heard the filly’s words echoing in his head. Twilight noticed Spike’s frown. She started to think about what she had said. She knew that some ponies were gossiping, but it never seemed to bother Spike or Rarity. She then thought back to the theater. Unbeknownst to anypony else, Twilight also heard what those teenagers had said. As they continued to walk, Twilight could see the cemetery in the distance. She frowned and looked over to Spike with concern. To her dismay, she could see that Spike had become even more distraught. Ever since he had gone through the Trials of the Elements of Harmony and his battle with Discord in Trotina, he had recurring nightmares about what he saw. Out of all the things he had seen, the Trial of Laughter seemed to haunt him the most. There Spike was taken to a future where Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack had already passed away and were buried on top of the hill in Ponyville Cemetery, leaving him alone. He hasn’t spoken of it since he told them about it when he returned a couple of years ago, but she knew it still bothered him. She also knew him well enough to know that seeing the cemetery after hearing what those fillies said was a bad combination. “Spike, are you okay?” she asked him in a motherly tone. “I’m fine,” he said causally, trying to avoid the upcoming conversation. Typical, she thought disheartened to herself. She didn’t want to upset him, but she had to say something. “I heard what those girls said at the theater.” He made a sound of recognition, but didn’t say anything. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” “Yeah, I know.” She sighed, knowing from experience that this is as far it would go. Every time she tried to talk to him about it, he would just change the subject. I think I should write a letter to Princess Celestia, she thought as they reached her castle in the center of Ponyville. Twilight went upstairs to her desk and pulled out a quill and parchment with her magic. Normally, she would dictate to Spike and he would write it, but she didn’t want him to read this letter. If he did, he probably wouldn’t send it. After finishing it, she went to Spike’s bedroom, where he was sitting in deep thought on his chair. “Spike, do you mind sending this to Celestia for me?” “Huh? Oh sure thing, Mom,” he said as he was brought out of his thoughts. Ever since he returned, the bond between them strengthened and he would call her “Mom” from time to time. It always warmed her heart and she would “squee” every time he did it. It was a small victory, but she would take what she could get. Thankfully, he didn’t bother to read the letter, but rather sent to Princess Celestia with a puff of his magical fire breath and went back to his thinking. She nuzzled him affectionately and then returned to her own room.