//------------------------------// // Scaredy scales and dragon pacts // Story: A dragon a Dozen // by Cobaltin //------------------------------// Spike awoke in a dark forest, completely unaware of where he was. Last time he checked, he was curled up under Cobalt’s wing in the library. His body slowly started to come to life as he slowly got up and looked around. “C-cobalt? Twilight? Where is everypony? where is… everything?” Spike slowly began walking through the forest, his anxiety levels creeping up as he wandered the strange forest. He stepped on a twig and a faint scream could be heard emanating from it. Spike jumped back and tightened his body in defence before settling down. “Wh-what is this place?” “Spike.” Called out a whisper as it flowed through the forest. “Wh,WHAT? Who are you!? W-w-where are you? Show yourself!” The whisper came again and he turned his head in the direction it was coming from. Building up the courage, he started to walk towards the whispering, the voice slowly getting louder as he did. The whisper brought him to a clearing, where he could see the faint signs of fire, a big one. He got into the clearing to find Ponyville in flames, dragons flying over it and torching the place whilst ponies fought back with weaponry on the ground. Spike could only look in horror as each killed the other off. He only had a good 5 seconds to look before he saw a pony lunge at him with some sort of spiky thing on his hooves. He flinched as the Pony came inches from his face, then was blinded by a blue flash. Spike shot up from the makeshift bed, panting heavily and sweating profusely. His chest expanded and contracted heavily as his whole body shook in terror. “What in the name of Celestia just happened?” He thought aloud as he collected his thoughts. He looked outside; the sun had only risen maybe a half an hour ago. He was just about to lay back down when he realized, where did Cobalt go? He looked around the room, his body still sweating from the nightmare, and saw that the front door was slightly open. He looked back over to Twilight, who was still sleeping, and then back at the door before slowly getting up. He tiptoed to the door and went outside, putting his hand up to his face as the sun glared in his eyes. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed Cobalt sitting crossed leg and hunched over on the hill in front of the library. “Cobalt? You okay?” Cobalt straightened up and looked over to Spike, giving him a warm smile and gesturing him to come over. Spike’s body relaxed as he walked up to Cobalt and sat next to him, sitting quietly for a moment as he slowly woke up. “So… why you up so early, Cobalt?” He asked with a hint of grogginess in his voice. “I’m always up this early, I go for a half hour fly every morning to stretch out my wings. You don’t know it yet, but those little flappers you have on your back will be extremely sore if you don’t use them good at least once in a while.” Spike looked back at his little budding wings and flapped them a little, remembering how much they hurt when they started growing out. “You’re lucky they’re growing in normally. When these started growing I had to stay in a hospital for nearly half a year!” Cobalt said whilst adjusting and settling his massive wings, a hint of embarrassment escaping his voice as he explained. “I think they look so… amazing. I wish my wings were like yours, I don’t care how much they’d hurt coming in!” Exclaimed Spike enthusiastically. Cobalt couldn't help but laugh, putting his hand behind Spike’s head and scritching his ear. “You have a lot to learn about dragons buddy. But I admire your admiration.” Spike looked up at cobalt and smiled, leaning into the scritch by instinct, which felt really weird but… nice. “There you two are, I was starting to get worried.” Said a familiar voice from behind them. Spike and Cobalt both turned to see Twilight standing at the doorway. “Wow, this is the first time spike has ever woken up before me. How did you manage that?” “I didn’t, little hatchling did it himself. Actually, why did you wake up buddy?” Cobalt asked Spike as he turned his head towards him. Spike suddenly had a relapse of his dream, remembering the pony jumping at him. He quickly shook it off and gave him an answer. “W-well I don’t know, I just kinda… heh, woke up.” He said monotonously, scratching the back of his head. Twilight nodded and went straight to the window where they saw someone last night. Cobalt, however, wasn't convinced and glanced worryingly over at Spike, whom noticed and quickly turned his head away from. He got up onto his feet and walked over to Twilight, who was searching through the bush under the window. “Find anything, Twilight?” “Not yet... Aha!” She replied after Spike asked, lifting her hoof out of the bush and using her magic to lift out what she found. “A… blue feather!?” She said in surprise, stepping back slowly from the bush. “Y-you don’t think…” Spike said in stationary disbelief as his eyes widened. Cobalt, who was still watching Spike in worry, took notice of what was happening and walked over, sitting his backside down when he got close enough to them. “Here, let me see.” Said Cobalt as he took the feather from Twilight and put it between his fingers. he brought his nose next to it and started to sniff gently. Once he had a good threshold of scent, he began sniffing the air. “I've caught this scent before, follow me.” Said Cobalt as he got on all fours, the feral kink in his hind legs perfect for a feral position as he sniffed the air. He started to run towards the scent, which caught Spike and Twilight off guard as they started to run after him. “Hey, wait up!” Spike called out as they ran behind him. ~~ The city was busy as usual, everypony had something to do, whether it was buying groceries, shopping or bustling around, everyone seemed to have something to do. In all this hurry, sugarcube corner stood right in the heart of it. The once little shop quickly grew into one of the best sweets shops in the city, numerous renovations made it at least 3 times the size of what it was. At one of the outdoor tables sat Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow dash, whom were waiting for their orders. “He’s no good, Gals, I just know it! I can feel it in my bones!” Exclaimed Dash in rage, her face red with anger as she spat out her words. “That dragon is going to cause some serious trouble and I just know it! Fluttershy agrees with me, right Fluttershy!?” Dash exclaimed as her glare fixed on Fluttershy, who ducked most of her head beneath the table. “Oh… well, actually… I-” Fluttershy started before Applejack cut in. “Leave her outta this, Dash.” Applejack exclaimed whilst putting a comforting hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “And you don’t know nothing. All you've ever seen of him is the first 2 hours of his arrival. Yer making a huge assumption outta no proof.” Rainbow Dash slumped in her spot and looked away from Applejack. “Yeah well, my gut’s never been wrong before, I don’t think it’s going to stop now.” She mumbled to herself. Applejack snorted and rolled her eyes. “Stubborn as a stump you are.” Applejack said with a scoff and a shake of her head. As she looked back up, her eye caught notice of a bit of commotion in the distance. “Hey, girls, what do y’all think is going on over there?” She said with a hoof gesture to the commotion. Dash and Fluttershy both looked towards where Applejack pointed. They watched as the commotion got closer and closer to the courtyard. Dash squinted as whatever was there was just coming into view, her eyes widening and a look of anger and disgust creeping over her face as she realized who it was. “In here guys. The scent leads right here.” Exclaimed Cobalt as he pointed towards Rainbow Dash’s table. Spike and Twilight both walked up to the terrace and went inside. Cobalt stopped and looked around, noticing that ponies were looking at him. He scrunched up and sat down right where he was. “I… I’m too big to go in there… I’ll just wait here.” He stated as he tried hard not to curl up into a ball. “Dash, can we talk to you for a minute?” said twilight as she walked up to the table. Dash scoffed and turned away. “If it’s about him” She said whilst pointing to Cobalt, “I’m not interested.” “Oh? Then why did we find one of your feathers in our bush out front?” Said spike as he pulled up the feather. “Someone was in our bushes next to the window last night, this morning we found this feather in the bush. Were you spying on us last night Dash?” Dash immediately looked back at them with a look of disgust. “Spy? On you guys!? Why the heck would I ever do that!? It must’ve fallen off when I was heading back home, I DID walk with you guys to your library. And I was with Fluttershy all night last night, right Fluttershy?" She exclaimed in harsh defense. Fluttershy gave a quick nod as she hid back behind the table. "I guess that bag of scales over there told you it was me huh?” Exclaimed Dash as she pushed herself from the table and stomped angrily over to Cobalt, who was trying not to have a panic attack in the middle of the crowd around him. His ears perked as he felt a little colt poking at his wing with his hoof and turned his attention quickly to the young pony. “H-hey! Don’t do that little guy! I don’t want you to get-” “HEY!” Dash shouted at Cobalt, stomping her hoof to the ground firmly. Cobalt, not noticing Dash up until she called out at him, jumped in a sudden spook and his wings flung open, tossing the colt in the air. Cobalt watched in horror as the little colt flailed and yelled as he kept travelling up into the air from the sheer strength of his wings. Dash’s went from angry to fearful in a split second as she watched the colt shoot up into the air. She Immediately popped her wings open to go after the Colt but was blown back by a sudden gust of wind from beside her. Cobalt stretched his wings out and beat them once, HARD. The shock wave forcing the first few rows of ponies to stumble back as he bolted upwards with some impressive acceleration. He darted after the little colt who was still travelling up at a considerable pace and out. Cobalt knew he wasn't going to reach the flailing Colt in time conventionally, and so he started to breathe fast paced and shallow breaths. He could feel every muscle in his chest strain as he flew faster and faster to catch up with the little colt who was now falling from the sky, his tail starting to pop out little sparks of electricity which seemed to grow in size by the second. Cobalt got to the apex of his wingbeat and closed his wings, starting to spin violently as his body shot up faster and faster. At a certain point his tail flickered and it shot a surge of electricity over his body, which started to stretch out before snapping back and travelling like a lightning bolt towards the colt, catching him just before he hit the ground and sliding hard. “Cobalt!” Spike shouted out as he pushed ponies out of the way to get to the dragon who was curled up on the ground in a little crater his impact had made. Spike put his hands on Cobalt, who flinched and opened up to show the little colt in his arm. “That. Was. AWESOME! I wanna do it again Mommy!” Said the little Colt as he jumped out of Cobalt’s arms and ran to his mother, who threw herself around him. “Cobalt, you alright?” Spike asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Cobalt groaned and chuckled. “You still want these wings? Take ‘em.” Spike laughed and helped Cobalt up just as Dash cut through the crowd and pushed Spike out of the way, knocking him to the ground. “You see? You’re a danger to everyone here you big winged jerk! you could’ve really hurt someone there! You should just stay in the library until you have to leave,” She shouted whilst stomping her hoof to the ground. “Dash! He just saved his li-” Started Spike, but Cobalt cut him off. “No, she’s right. I should,-I should go.” Cobalt said quietly, trying to hold back his tears as he ran off in a hurry. “No, Cobalt, wait!” Spike called out as he sprung to his feet. Twilight and the others made their way to the front of the crowd just as Spike started walking backwards towards a scurrying Cobalt. “I’m going after him!” Dash stood in front of him to block his path. “Just let him go, he’s done enough-OOF!” Dash fell to the ground as Spike moved her out of the way, his strength seeming to double in his strange fit of rage. “If it wasn't for you it wouldn't have happened, Dash. Don’t blame him for that, you scared him! Now I’m going after him whether you like it or not.” Spike stated as he began walking. He stopped abruptly and turned on his heels. “Oh and if you push me again, I’ll FRY you.” He snarled out with a flicker of green flame escaping the corners of his maw before turning back and running after Cobalt. Dash’s mouth dropped open in shock as she watched Spike run off. “Did… Did he just…?” Dash sputtered in disbelief. Twilight walked up to Dash and gave her a little shake with her hoof. “We… we better let them go, Spike knows the way back to the library.” Twilight said calmly. Dash took a deep breath. “Did you hear what Spike said? What was that all about,” Asked Dash as she pointed to Spike who had just disappeared around the corner. Twilight shrugged her shoulders and was visibly concerned. “I don’t know Dash, I've never seen him like that before. But, I can’t afford to dwell on it right now; I need to figure out who was spying on us last night. C’mon girls, I’ll need your help.” Applejack and Fluttershy both nodded along with a slightly reluctant and still somewhat shocked Rainbow dash as they set out to go back to the Library. ~~ “Cobalt? Co-Cobalt! There you are!” Spike called out as he ran up to Cobalt, who was laying at the lake’s edge, softly sobbing into his arms. Spike sat down and put his arm over the weeping dragon, who's ears gently perked and slowly looked up to see Spike looking down at him. Cobalt wiped his nose with his arm and inhaled heavily. “Oh, hey Spike. S-sorry you have t-to see me like this. Gods, 2 days in and I'm already a mess…” Cobalt said through his choppy breathing, giving a little ironic chuckle. “She’s right Spike, I’m a danger to everyone. Please don’t get mad at her, I don’t want you to be mad at her.” Spike slid his hand under Cobalt’s and grabbed it, making Cobalt give him a little side-glance. “Cobalt, don’t you dare. She scared you and it made you jump. It was an accident.” Cobalt snarled and beat his tail on the ground, making a large bolt of electricity fly through the air and into the ground. Spike jumped a little as the bolt shot very close to him, but he managed to keep it cool and continue. “Argh, you don’t get it Spike! I’m a Dragon! I shouldn't get scared from a damn pony, but ever since I’ve gotten these… Gods forsaken wings, people have bullied me, teased me, yelled at me and laughed at me. I’ve nearly killed people by doing what you just saw! I’m no dragon, I’m just a monster…” Cobalt yelled out before burying his head back into his arm and continuing to cry. Spike was at a loss for words, he didn’t know what to say to him because he never really had to deal with other dragon’s issues. After thinking for a moment, he had an idea and spoke softly to Cobalt. “Hey, hey, c’mon now, you’re no monster, at least not like how I was.” Cobalt looked up at him and sniffled. “Wh-What? What do you m-mean?” He asked quietly. Spike cringed a little with the memory, but he continued anyway. “A few years ago on my birthday, I got really greedy and turned into a Giant dragon, like, HUGE terrifying dragon. Almost burnt down the entire town, over a pony too for Celestia’s sake. THAT’S a monster, Cobalt. What you -accidentally- did was just that; an accident. And besides, we all have things that scare us, you know? Crowds are not your thing, big deal. It’s okay to be afraid of something.” Cobalt glanced over at Spike with a strange sort of scowl, which made Spike droop his ears slightly. Cobalt thought for a moment on what Spike had said before he turned and rested his head on his arm, letting off a big sigh. “Spike, why do you trust me so much? I mean - we've known each other for less than 48 hours and you’re already willing to go through all this trouble for a stranger dragon.” Spike looked out to the lake and thought about that. For all intents and purposes, he had no real reason to fully trust Cobalt at all. However, there was something about Cobalt that made him comfortable and he just couldn't place what it was. “I… well," Began Spike, trying to understand why himself as he explained, "you’re the first Dragon I've ever been around that hasn't tried to kill me. You were so open to me yesterday and I just thought… I thought maybe I could at least be a little more open to you too, you know?” Cobalt closed his eyes as a smile slowly crept across his face. He shifted and lifted his big wing, taking his claw out of Spikes and lifting his arm, inviting Spike to snuggle up close. Spike hesitated but slowly crawled under Cobalt’s arm as it came down over him along with Cobalt’s huge wing. Spike shifted a little and then settled in, watching the lake with Cobalt in a wave of sudden and strange calmness. “I’m glad you feel that way Spike. You know, for a dragon of your age, you sure have quite a bit of wisdom about you.” Spike looked up at Cobalt and blushed in embarrassment. “Oh.. well, thanks… Hey, can we make a deal, right here and now?” Cobalt looked down to Spike and nodded. “I’ll help you get over your fear of crowds if you teach me how to be more like a dragon. Deal?” Cobalt smiled and gave Spike a little nudge with his nose. “Deal.” He said as they both settled down and slowly dozed off for a nap in the warm spring afternoon.