//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Dragon Your Hooves // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and every single other stereotypical example of what would define a beautiful afternoon was happening as well. It was so stereotypical an afternoon that it almost seemed fabricated. Real or fake, though, one could not deny that it was, quite simply, a beautiful afternoon. Except for Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle could deny it. To Sweetie Belle, it was a dumb afternoon. The birds were dumb. The clouds were dumb. The young pony playing the Pastorale from the Filliam Tell Overture on his flute outside her window was dumb. Even the sun was dumb, although she didn't dare tell Princess Celestia such a thing. And the thing that was by far the most dumb of all was dumb old Spike. Dumb old Spike and his dumbness, making fun of her for kissing Sparkstar. If there was an award for "Most Dumb Thing in Equestria," Spike would forget to go accept it, on account of his being so dumb. Dumb dumb dumb dumb DUMB. Sparkstar wasn't dumb. Sparkstar was like...the anti-dumb. Sweetie wanted so badly to see him again. But he was gone, and she didn't know when or if he was coming back. She'd tolerate all of her friends' jokes and all of Rarity's giggling and matchmaking if it meant getting him to come back. Of course, that seemed impossible. It probably wasn't impossible, but with how bad a mood Sweetie was in, she wasn't capable of being very positive right now. There was a knock at Sweetie's bedroom door. She grumbled, not in the mood to accept any visitors. She picked up the nearest thing she could get her hooves on and threw it in the direction of the door. She watched as the piece of paper she'd thrown fluttered to the ground about two feet away. Perhaps next time she'd hunt down a heavier projectile. "Sweetie Belle!" she heard her sister call from the other side of the door. "You have a visitor, darling!" The filly sighed. "There's nopony here!" Sweetie called out. Obviously she didn't expect such a tactic to work, but she hoped that her tone of voice would be enough of a hint to her sister that she was not in the mood for company. Unfortunately for her, she seemed to have no such luck as she watched her doorknob become enveloped in Rarity's magic. Sweetie knew she wouldn't have enough time to dive under the bed before the door was open, but that certainly didn't stop her from trying. Rarity, Twilight, and Spike were greeted by the sight of a pink and purple tail poking out from under the bed, along with two white hind legs trying to push herself further under. Any further attempts to hide herself were nullified, as she felt Rarity's magical grasp gently pull at her tail. She sighed, not bothering to resist.resisting would only lead to stronger pulling. "Now Sweetie, there's no need to hide," Rarity said, pleased that she didn't have to pull harder. She didn't like hurting her sister, after all. "Spikey-Wikey here would like to speak to you." Sweetie heard the name and whirled around, looking quite displeased. She looked straight past Rarity and Twilight, meeting Spike with a steely gaze that shook him to his core. Happy Sweetie was pretty and fun. Angry Sweetie was positively terrifying. Still pretty, but terrifying. "Well I don't want to speak to Spikey-Wikey," Sweetie responded, punctuating the name with a mocking tone. Spike drooped, ready to just leave, but Twilight and Rarity each put a foreleg in front of him to impede his progress. "Sweetie Belle," Twilight said. "It's very important that Spike tells you this, so please let him speak, okay?" The little filly frowned. She could get away with not listening to a direct order from Rarity every once in a while. Such was the benefit of family. Twilight was a different case. Out of politeness to a friendly adult and authority figure, she begrudgingly sat down. "Okay, let's hear it," Sweetie said, looking none too pleased. Spike looked into those pale green eyes, trying to summon up the courage for this. He'd practiced what he wanted to say on his way over, and it had seemed so easy and simple. Now that Sweetie was right in front of him, though, it wasn't quite as easy. Apparently Twilight had taken his hesitation as an intentional thing rather than nervousness, if the magical nudge she gave Spike was any indication. The dragon took a deep breath. "Well," Spike said. "First off, I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier." "Good," Sweetie replied, seeming uninterested. "I had a good reason though!" Spike quickly followed up, eliciting an eye roll from Sweetie. "Really?" the little filly shot back. "What kind of reason could you possibly have to mock me about kissing Sparkstar?!" Her cheeks instantly colored as she heard a giggle from Rarity. Now she would NEVER hear the end of this. "It's a really good reason!" Spike insisted. "I promise!" Sweetie did not look impressed, not one bit. She looked up to her sister, who smiled and gave her a gentle nod. The filly looked back to Spike and let out a hefty sigh. "Okay, let's hear this," Sweetie said, rolling her eyes. The dragon looked nervously back to Twilight, who gave him the same reaction that Rarity had given Sweetie a moment earlier. He turned his attention back to the pony in front of him and steeled himself. "So I was in Twilight's lab the other day," he began, launching into a Pinkie-esque string of words. "And I was helping her arrange things when I accidentally dropped a powder on myself and I woke up the next day as a pony and then I went outside and spent the day with you and the girls and I was too nervous to tell you the truth so. I didn't and then when Twilight went out of town I used the powder again but I used two doses to make the transformation. Faster but that made me forget I was a dragon and think I was actually a pony and then Twilight changed me back into a dragon but I thought I was just a pony who was turned into a dragon so I went out to show you girls and then I upset you by accident but I wasn't making fun of you I was just bringing it up because I really liked kissing you!" Both filly and dragon turned bright red once more, hearing Twilight and Rarity share a giggle. "S-so...you're..." Sweetie began, but then stopped herself. "That's ridiculous...why would I ever believe that?" "It's completely true, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, stepping up alongside Spike. "He told me every detail before we came upstairs." "And I verified all of it," Twilight said, standing at Spike's other side. Sweetie stared at the three, dumbfounded. "...Sparkstar?" the filly asked, already aware of the answer. The other three nodded. Sweetie just stared at Spike. Moments ago, she was feeling such strong anger towards him, but now it seemed to all be melting away. She opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped, feeling a bit of anger creep back. "So you weren't thinking right?" Sweetie asked. "And that's why you were acting like you liked me?" "Nonono!" Spike quickly answered. "That was real! All of it!" He scuffed a foot on the ground, his cheeks coloring. "I really liked spending time with you girls, but I liked spending time with you the most. I really think you're nice, and fun, and pretty. A-and if you're okay with a dragon liking you instead of a pony..." He stepped forward and reached one claw out, taking one of Sweetie's hooves. This triggered an excited squeak from Rarity, but he didn't even bother looking back; his focus was squarely on the pony in front of him. Sweetie looked down at her hoof, then up to Spike's nervous, yet genuine smile. The corners of her mouth slowly turned up, causing Spike's heart to flutter. She briefly thought about the presence of the two adults in the room with them, but it didn't concern her as she leaned forward and gave Spike's lips a gentle kiss. "I think I could be okay with it," the filly said, smiling to the equally-smiling dragon. Neither of them was concerned with the happy giggling from Rarity and Twilight. All they cared about at that moment was the other in front of them. "I can't believe you kept that secret, though," Sweetie said. "Why didn't you just tell us from the start?" "I was nervous at first that you'd all think I was dumb for spilling that powder on myself," Spike explained. "And then by the second time, you girls liked Sparkstar so much that I didn't think you'd be happy if I told you'd been lying." "Well...yeah, we might have been," Sweetie replied with a giggle. "But it's alright. Now c'mon, it's still light! We can go see the girls for a bit!" Spike nodded happily. "And maybe you can use that powder again if you wanna try being a pony again with us!" Sweetie laughed. "NO!" Twilight shrieked. All eyes turned to her, and she blushed. "Erm...at least not for a while," the purple unicorn added meekly. "Yeah, what she said," Spike said to Sweetie. "I was somepony else with you for long enough. Right now, I just wanna be me." Sweetie giggled and gave him a nuzzle before leading him outside. Twilight and Rarity watched them go, both beaming. "My little sister and your assistant," Rarity said with a chuckle. "Who's like a little brother to me," Twilight added, nuzzling Rarity's cheek. Rarity froze up. "There isn't some manner of obscure Equestrian law against this, is there?" Rarity asked, beginning to worry. "I'm sure there isn't," Twilight chuckled before engaging Rarity in a tender kiss. Rarity smiled contentedly. They'd cross that bridge when or if they came to it.