//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine - Riding the Purple Dragon // Story: A Daughter and her Dragon // by Level Dasher //------------------------------// Spike smirked as he watched his daughter walking listlessly through the castle gardens. The juxtaposition of her scowl and the cute summer hat she wore looked, in his mind, adorable. She had been acting sullen for the past week, ever since her classmate, Aegis Ward, got his cutie mark. “I’m going to be a blank-flank forever!” the filly whined, despite Spike’s reassurance that she wouldn’t. Brick, the one remaining bully in her class after Boulder was expelled, had told her she would always be a burnt-flank. Mrs. Withers had given the pegasus colt, in Cotton’s own words, ‘a million detentions’ for his remark. Cotton felt glad the bully received his just desserts, but Spike knew the school’s administration feared another visit from an angry dragon, and doled out the punishment accordingly. Not to mention the potential loss of government funds and the ire of three Princesses. Cotton kicked a pebble along the flagstone path as they walked towards their favorite picnic spot. They had made the picnic basket together, since they both shared a passion for cooking. Spike had found that Cotton loved to cook, especially for others such as the other foals in the orphanage. While the things she made were simple—oatmeal cookies, daisy sandwiches, and so on—she always wore a smile as she did so. Spike twitched, desperately trying to hide his grin. Hopefully what he and the others had planned would cheer the filly up. Rounding the corner to their favorite spot, Cotton stopped dead in her tracks. “Huzzah! Thou hast made it!” Cotton turned back to her dad, eyebrows raised as if to ask why her nocturnal auntie, along with her supposed-to-be-busy-with-court-and-other-princess-duties aunties, waited for them in the castle garden. Her nocturnal auntie in particular wore a manic grin, levitating a carry bag and Spike’s saddle. “Sir Spike, how We have longed to get thee into this harness.” “Phrasing!” Twilight said, her face growing pale as her ears flattened in an effort to block out the sound and accompanying thought. “What?” Luna asked, turning to the younger princess with a look of confusion on her face. “We are just saying We have been looking forward to strapping this harness on thy little brother and riding him.” “Phrasing!” Twilight shouted, covering her ears with her wingtips, while Celestia sniggered. “What’s going on?” Cotton asked, thoroughly confused. Luna helped Spike into his travelling harness. The look of excitement on her face was somewhat unnerving to the diminutive filly, and the look of horror on Twilight’s face did not inspire confidence either. “We’ve all organized something very special for you today; your father and auntie are taking you somewhere fun,” Celestia explained, leaning down to give the confused filly a nuzzle. “No, Luna, my wing goes through there, not my head!” Spike shouted, as Celestia tittered some more. After a sudden yelp and some furious blushing, Spike screamed, “Twilight! Tell your friend that that does not need harnessing.” “Excuse me for a moment, I have a diplomatic issue to diffuse before it gets out of hoof—before your father flambés a princess or my sister declares night eternal again.” Celestia left Cotton’s side for a moment, and helped the arguing pair correctly attach the dragon’s harness. Cotton sat next to Twilight, who still protected her own ears from anything else the embarrassing pair might say. After a few minutes of struggling, the harness was attached, and Twilight helped Cotton into her seat, whilst Luna bounced on her haunches, having strapped herself in the second she was allowed. Celestia levitated the picnic basket to her sister, while Luna levitated her tiara and torc down to the Solar Princess. “W-where are we going?” Cotton asked. Spike craned his neck around to face his daughter. “Horseshoe Park, Equestria’s best theme park!” Twilight and Celestia watched on as Spike beat his powerful wings, guards joining his flight as they took to the sky. The remaining alicorn princesses burst out laughing as the morning air was pierced by a particularly non-regal squeal. “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Ж Spike landed in a grassy clearing beside a large pool, complete with its own beach area for foals. Two pegasus guards stood sentinel next to the dragon as Princess Luna and Cotton disembarked. The third guard returned from the gate with six tickets as Spike managed to get out of his harness, passing it to one of the guards. Luna levitated Cotton onto her back, ready to make a run for the nearest attraction, when Spike grabbed her tail. The look of scandal across the faces of the park patrons gathered around was priceless, seeing one of their princesses stallion-handled by a dragon; the royal guards made no move to intercept, instead focusing on not laughing. “Luna!” Spike growled. “Not so fast. We need to stay together, and Cotton needs to put on sunscreen first.” He reached into the bag Luna had unceremoniously dumped on the ground and pulled out a relatively large bottle of sunscreen. Cotton slid off Luna’s back, grumbling as she trotted towards her father. He squeezed a few drops on her hoof. “Make sure you cover your legs and belly; I’ll get your back and wings.” Spike carefully propped himself up on his rear legs, leaning forward and balancing with his wings flared out, inadvertently providing shade for a dozen nearby patrons. He gently rubbed the cream over her coat and scars, making sure to be gentle as he rubbed extra sunscreen into the exposed tissue. “Now, no swimming for at least fifteen minutes; you have to let the sunscreen soak in.” “Yes, Dad,” Cotton answered, rolling her eyes. “Can we go now?” “Almost ready.” Spike squirted a large dollop of sunscreen on his claws, then gently rubbed the cream over Cotton’s face, delicately holding her jaw in his claw as she tried to wiggle free. “You don’t want your face to get burnt, else we won’t be able to tell your muzzle from your mane.” Spike chuckled as Cotton Candy shook her head, sticking her tongue out and spitting. He turned to Luna, offering her the bottle. “You want this next? You don’t spend a lot of time in your sister’s sun, after all.” “We are an alicorn, Sir Spike. We do not need such mundane protections,” Luna huffed, levitating Cotton onto her back. “Now, may we enjoy this day?” Spike shook his head as a smirk crossed his face. It was clear that Luna could barely contain her excitement. “Sure, let’s go see what’s here.” Ж Spike beamed as he watched his daughter squeal on the rollercoaster. The royal guard sitting next to her, sans uniform, appeared less excited. “How dare they!” Luna groused, not for the first time. “We are the pinnacle of alicorn beauty, not some fat sow.” “You’re not fat,” Spike responded, diplomatically. “The parks just don’t get many alicorn visitors, and as such aren’t prepared to accommodate a pony of your stature.” He paused for a moment, then added, somewhat less diplomatically, “Though you could stand to lay off the cheesecakes, I guess.” A solid punch in his shoulder told him Luna did not appreciate his joke. “And We had to wait in line for sooooooooooooo loooooooooooooooong.” “Well, that’s not their fault,” Spike answered, only half paying attention to the whining princess. “Just about everypony did offer to let you and Cotton ahead of them.” “Our sister has… dissuaded Us… from using ‘Royal Cutsies’ in the past.” Luna sighed. “We never did get any donuts from Pony Joe’s going-out-of-business sale.” “At least you can go on some of the rides with her,” Spike sighed in weary resignation. “All I can do is watch.” Luna placed a hoof gently on his shoulder, nodding her understanding. “You’re here with her, and that means the world to her. Do not forget that, Spike.” They both turned back, adorning their faces with smiles as the roller coaster came to a stop. “Did you see it, Auntie Luna?” Cotton bounded past the exit, a nauseous-looking pegasus guard following her. “It went soooooooooo high, and then it was like whooooooooooooosh!” Cotton flared her wings, lifting herself off the ground then diving forward and landing on her hooves for effect. “It was so cool!” “Why don’t we have some lunch,” Luna asked, levitating the filly onto Spike’s neck, “then go for a swim? Does that sound fun?” Ж After a packed lunch of daisy sandwiches, some ice cream surreptitiously purchased by Luna, and an appropriate amount of time waiting for food to settle before they could go swimming (something the Princess and the filly shared equal disdain for), Luna took Cotton to the changing rooms. Luna helped Cotton into her swimsuit first, tut-tutting over the garment Cotton pulled from the tote they brought. Luna hurried Cotton out of the changing rooms so she could don her own swimsuit. Cotton bounced out of the changing room, trotting towards the dragon. “Dad! Dad! Look at what Auntie Tia packed for—” Spike looked his daughter over; the swimsuit, if it could be called that, was barely held together by string ties around her flanks. He had but one response. “No.” “No what?” Cotton asked in confusion. Spike pulled at his snout with a claw, groaning into his palm in frustration. He would have to have a very serious conversation with Celestia over the age-appropriateness of the clothing she bought Cotton. “I know full well Auntie Twilight packed a sensible one-piece swimsuit for you.” “Awwww, but Daaaaaaaaad.” The filly stomped her hooves. “That one is so dorky.” Spike did not hear the rest of Cotton’s argument. Luna had finally exited the changing room, and drew the attention of everypony in the vicinity. She cantered toward them with a smile plastered across her face, completely unaware of the stares everypony gave her. “Luna…” Spike stumbled in his thoughts, trying to find words that wouldn’t get him banished to the moon for the next thousand years. “Luna… what in Tartarus is that?” Luna stopped and looked down at her swimsuit. “Why, these are Our swimming clothes.” Cotton burst out laughing, but stopped quickly when Luna glared at her. The filly scooted closer to her dad, hiding away from her angry aunt. “And what, pray tell, is wrong with Our swimming clothes?” She looked at her smart swimmers; they covered her back and legs nicely, the bonnet would keep her mane from getting wet, and the skirt ballooned just perfectly as to cover her haunches. Spike smirked. “They’re a little… dated.” He waved a claw around, gesturing to the other patrons of the park, who had ceased their staring and resumed what they were doing, embarrassed to have been caught gawking at one of their Princesses. “Tia told Us these were in fashion again…” A scowl crossed her features. “Tia! Oh, We will get thee for this, Sister. Hot sauce in thy next cake, yes…” Spike chuckled. “Luna, I believe Twilight packed you one of her swimsuits, in case you didn’t have one. Why don’t you go put that on? And take my daughter…” He ignored the ‘awwww’ from underneath his wing. “…and help her change into her other swimsuit.” Luna took Cotton back into the changing room, and the filly emerged a few minutes later, wearing a far more sensible navy blue one-piece. She sat next to her father, waiting for Luna to join them. “We are not wearing this!” Luna’s voice boomed from inside the changing room. “I know it’s not what you’re used to, Luna, but trust me, it’s okay.” “It is most certainly not okay,” Luna hissed, poking her head out. She levitated the alicorn-sized navy-blue one-piece to Spike, who gripped it in his claw. “What exactly is wrong with it?” Spike inspected the suit, which looked fine. “Look at the base,” Luna whispered, looking away from the dragon in embarrassment. “Above the tail,” she coughed. Spike turned it over, and noticed what Luna was protesting. A very small, obviously recently-made change to the swimsuit was the addition of the words ‘Property of Princess Twilight Sparkle’ embroidered in silver thread, just above the dock. The dragon had to bite his cheek. “Hot sauce for both their cakes. For two weeks!” Luna grumbled. “Pass me your other swimsuit,” Spike sighed with a smile. “If fifty plus years with Rarity taught me anything, it’s how to get out of a fashion emergency.” Spike used his sharp claws to delicately snip away the frills and long sleeves of Luna’s ancient swimsuit, and modernize it a little. Or at least garner the embarrassed princess less stares. Luna gratefully took the swimsuit back, and exited moments later in something that might pass for something originating in this century. One of the guards stayed with their possessions, while Luna, Spike, and Cotton walked towards the pool. Spike walked out into the deep end; with his height, the water barely passed his shoulders. He laid down in the cool water, and waded towards the faux-shore, where Luna and Cotton were playing. After watching Cotton climb on Spike several times and dive off a raised wing or his tail, other foals ventured toward the dragon, quickly joining in on the fun of jumping off a dragon twelve times their size. Spike smiled as Cotton was invited to play with some of the other fillies in the pool; it warmed his heart to see her out of her shell. Luna waded next to Spike, watching the fillies at play. “‘Tis good to see her alight with happiness again,” she chuckled. “Yeah, I’m glad she’s having fun today,” Spike replied, near oblivious to the colts still competing for the biggest splash as they dove off his tail. “It’s been really hard seeing her so depressed the last week.” Ж Spike watched Luna and Cotton as they continued through to the evening. He was disappointed that Celestia and Twilight couldn’t be there with them as well; it was rare that they got to have family outings, let alone anything like this. It had been sixteen years since Luna had taken a break like she had today, and Celestia even longer. There were times he wished they were a normal family, without the duties of royalty to burden them… but then, they would not be family if not for those royal ties. He might never have known Twilight, and without Twilight, he probably never would have met Luna. He never would have met the girls from Ponyville. He would never have met his wife. Though if he was honest about it, were it not for Twilight, he might not have even been born. If it weren't for her royal longevity, he might‘ve had to say goodbye to his big sister, just as he’d said goodbye to so many friends in the past. And he knew there would be more to come, but he could take comfort in knowing he had his family. “Dad! Dad!” Cotton broke him from his reverie. “Can Auntie Luna take me into the haunted castle? She said I had to ask you.” Spike looked up at Luna, surprised at her restraint. Normally, she would’ve taken Cotton without even asking him. The Princesses certainly did a lot for Cotton without consulting him first. Mental note: talk to Celestia about Cotton’s swimwear. Spike looked to his daughter, the expectant look on her face, and sighed. “Okay, so long as Auntie Luna understands she’s on dream patrol tonight.” He gave the nocturnal princess a look. “I don’t want my filly waking up with nightmares tonight, got it?” Ж “We are very disappointed with this ‘haunted castle’; there are no trap doors. Nothing like Our old castle in the Everfree.” Luna tromped through the corridors of the castle, scoffing at the supposedly ‘scary’ creatures popping up around each corner. Every room had a different theme: a dark forest, a spooky swamp, an abandoned opera house… She could not understand how anypony could find these dressed-up poniquins and wooden cut-outs frightening. “We have bested the beasts of Tartarus, fought the Spirit of Chaos…” Luna whispered, as she poked one of the poniquins, supposedly a ghostly pony. “We just do not understand.” Cotton had no such problem understanding, squealing at every spook, then giggling furiously afterwards. As they rounded the corner, they entered a room that finally met with Luna’s approval. “Our old throne room?” Luna walked the worn carpet towards the dual throne. “They have done a splendid job, though I do not recall Tia’s throne being higher than Ours.” Cotton squealed as the lights went out, dropping the throne room into pitch darkness. Luna felt the filly grab onto her leg, so she levitated Cotton onto her back. “Fear not, little one. There is nothing to be afraid of in he—” A booming voice rebounded throughout the room as an icy wind blew down her spine. Lightning crashed outside the windows, revealing a silhouette standing at the dais. “There can only be one Princess in Equestria! And that Princess will be…” A pitch-black poniquin swooped from the dais towards the pair, fangs bared, her ethereal mane flowing behind her. “Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Ж “Do you know how many ponies could’ve been hurt?” Spike chastised the embarrassed Princess. “You’re lucky the park owner thought it was his fault.” He shook his head, looking back at the remains of the eastern side of the haunted castle, still smoking as the molten stone cooled. “It was so cool!” Cotton gushed, unaware of the gravity of what had transpired. “Nightmare Moon swooped down and was going to get us, and even though she was scared and screaming, Auntie Luna still blasted Nightmare Moon!” Spike couldn’t help but chuckle; the rumblings of his chest vibrating through to the seats Luna and Cotton were strapped into. “Cotton, when we get home, make sure you share that story with your other aunties.” “Cotton, We will give thee a boon of as many candies as thou wish…eth,” Luna whispered, covering her mouth with a hoof, “if thou wouldst not share thy tale with Our sister and Twilight.” “No bribing my daughter!” Spike called back. “Besides, if Celestia is going to end up paying for it, I’m sure she’ll want to know why. She would likely be pleased having an eye-witness report!” “We wonder if hot sauce affects dragons?” Luna muttered under her breath, with Cotton giggling beside her. Ж It was late afternoon when Spike, Cotton, and Luna returned to the castle. Luna excused herself; she had… things she had to attend to before dinner. Spike led Cotton towards their quarters, the filly bouncing with excitement. “So what do you want to do until dinner time?” Spike asked his daughter. “Do you want to read a book, or play in the gardens?” Cotton stopped and sat on her haunches, thinking. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She’d had so much fun during the day with her dad and aunt, she couldn’t think of anything that could top it. She was really happy that her dad and her aunties had planned something so nice for… “D-Dad? Could we maybe cook something?” Spike stopped, turning to look at his daughter. “I-I just wanted to do something nice for everypony, to say thanks for today.” “Sure, let’s go make something.” Spike lifted his daughter onto his neck, and carried her to their kitchen. Ж Spike lit the oven, the wooden fire burning with his unique green-hued flame. “Dad, can you reach that book?” Cotton pointed a hoof towards the shelf of recipe books. “This one?” he asked, a claw pointing to a book on desserts; it was her favorite recipe book, after all. After she nodded and turned to get ingredients out, Spike grabbed the book and placed it on the table. Cotton flipped through the book, turning each page awkwardly with her muzzle. She flipped through it several times until she settled on a recipe. She carefully measured out two cups of sugar and put them in a mixing bowl, along with two and a half sticks of butter. “Can you beat this, Dad?” Cotton asked, already moving on to the next step. “Like Apple Bloom does Discord!” He waved off Cotton’s confused expression, grabbing the bowl in one claw and the beater in the other. It made him laugh that where once, he was the primary cook for Twilight and himself, only relegating the jobs that he couldn’t do (or she couldn’t mess up), that he was now in the same position with his daughter. She took charge in the kitchen, always working with a smile on her face, often poking her tongue out in concentration. Once the butter and sugar turned into cream, he placed the mixing bowl back onto the table. Cotton held an egg between her hooves, deftly cracking it into the bowl. “What next, Boss?” “Can you hold the sifter?” Cotton responded, so far into ‘the zone’ that she didn’t even register what her father had called her. With Spike holding the sifter over the bowl, Cotton measured out the plain flour, then the rice flour. She kneaded the flour and the butter-cream together with her hooves. Spike winced, knowing he’d have to help her clean the muck out of her coat later; she already had substantial amounts of flour on her face. “Dad, can you butter two baking trays?” Spike did as told, chuckling to himself at how commanding Cotton was. As he rubbed the warm butter on the baking trays, he watched his daughter as she worked. She hummed a jaunty little tune, one he thought he recognized from a puppet show they saw during the day. Spike placed the trays back on the table next to her, and let her continue. Cotton didn’t really need him there, but he enjoyed seeing his daughter expressing such passion in her work. His eyelids drooped, and after a while he fell into a light doze. He had flown all the way to Baltimare and back in one day, after all. Cotton dusted the tabletop with flour and pulled the well-kneaded dough out of the bowl. She rolled the dough, cutting out hoof-sized disks. After placing them on the trays and sliding the trays into the oven, Cotton looked around; she had made a bit of a mess. She crossed over to the sink, deciding to try and at least clean off the dough that had matted the hair on her fetlocks. She was going to ask her dad for help, but when she found him asleep, Cotton decided against waking him. She managed to get most of the dough off, but realized she would have to wait until bathtime to get really clean. While she waited for the cookies to bake, Cotton prepared the ingredients for the icing. She awkwardly beat the butter and sugar, refusing to wake her dad from his slumber. It took much longer, having to use her mouth to hold the beater, but it gave her something to do while the cookies baked. She poured out portions of icing into five mixing bowls, coloring each one with a different dye. Cotton tipped each of the colored icings into their own piping bags, arranging them on the bench so she didn’t forget which color was inside each one. She wanted to say thanks to everypony, and it was important that she get everything right. Ж Spike awoke to the sound of a clattering tray. “Owww, hoth hoth hoth,” Cotton hissed, fanning her tongue with a hoof as she dropped the dirty tray into the sink. “Are you okay, sweetie?” Spike asked, blinking his eyes. “Sorry, Cotton. Daddy didn’t mean to fall asleep.” “I’m okay, Daddy,” Cotton reassured him. “I was going to wash it; I didn’t think the tray was still hot. I’m just about done.” Spike lifted himself to his feet and looked down at a plate of cookies. Twelve cookies, each with their own decorations; four smiling yellow suns on white icing, four smiling white moons on dark blue icing, and four pink smiling stars on lavender icing. “Oh, Cotton. They look wonderful!” It didn’t matter to Spike how crudely drawn they were; the effort she put into them was obvious. Despite the kindness of the gesture, a dark thought crossed Spike’s mind. Twelve cookies, three cutie marks. Nothing about her father. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought. I’m her father, he reasoned, she didn’t have to do anything special for me. Besides, I’m not a pony—I don’t have a cutie mark. What would she draw? “Should we take these to your aunties, Cotton?” Spike asked, before his thoughts could get the better of him. “I’m sure they’ll love them.” Oblivious to the conflict warring inside her father’s head, Cotton dashed back to the oven, calling back, “Not yet, there’s still one more batch in the oven.” She grabbed the tray tongs in her mouth, and pulled the last tray out of the oven, tipping the cookies onto a second plate. Spike looked down at the second plate of cookies. Twelve butter cookies, each dotted with chunks of green topaz and amethyst gems. Cotton stared at her hooves. “E-even though we didn’t get to go on any rides together, I had a really good time.” Cotton walked around the table, and placed a kiss on her father’s cheek. “Thank you for today, Dad.” Cotton yelped as Spike pulled his daughter into a tight hug; neither daughter nor dragon noticed the silver flash. Ж “It stiiiiiiiings,” Luna moaned, as she sat at the dining room table. “Why didn’t you put on any sunscreen?” Celestia asked with a chuckle. “W-We did not think We needed to,” Luna replied. “Luna, you spend most days sleeping,” Twilight lectured the nocturnal alicorn. “Your skin would be extra sensitive towards the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Don’t worry, I’ll rub some aloe cream on my princess later, that should help with the stinging—” “Auntie Princesses! Auntie Princesses!” Cotton Candy burst through the doors to the dining hall, her father following closely behind, carrying two plates and a cheerful smile. “Cotton, it’s not ‘Auntie Princesses’, the correct pluralization would be—” Luna gleefully jammed her entire hoof into Twilight’s mouth, silencing the impending lecture, while Celestia chuckled at the pair. “What is it, Cotton?” Luna smirked, watching as Spike set the plates down on the table. Cotton twisted to the side, showing off the image of a plate of cookies adorning her flank. “I got my cutie mark!” End of Act One