//------------------------------// // It's My Story and I Can Change It if I Want To. // Story: The Misadventures of Filly Twilight // by Thisisalongname //------------------------------// It's My Story and I Can Change It if I Want To The gallant knight stormed across the castle bridge. A river of fire flowed beneath him and smoke darkened the sky with a red haze. The foreboding keep, stained black with ash and coal, towered over him. As he passed the gate and entered to courtyard, the brave knight gazed up at the highest window in the tallest tower. That is where he would find the maiden so rare, with a mane like silk and eyes of the deepest sapphires. But there too would he also find her fearsome captor. A wave of fear passed over the knight, for he knew what dangers awaited him inside, but he stomped his hoof and pushed back that fear, for a knight always protects the maiden. With great courage, the knight pushed forwards into the maze of the keep. Torches lined the walls, casting ominous shadows down the corridors and decrepit rooms. As he delved deeper and deeper into the keeps interior, a rumble began to overpower the sounds of his hooves on the stone floor. He could hear the great beasts’ breath, its snores louder than thunder. Upon traveling to the end of the longest hallway, he reached the last door which opened to a huge room of stone and metal. It was filled with the gold of a thousands kings and kingdoms, with piles as big as hills and precious gems as large as a ponies head. Resting high on the largest pile in the center of the chamber lay the enormous creature. It was as long as a jousting arena and as tall as the Royal Princesses’ castle. Its scales overlapped like a knights’ chainmail and as hard as diamonds. Its claws the size of a pony and sharp enough to cut steel. As the knight gazed upon its head, he could see rows of razor sharp teeth, longer than a lance and flickers of flame from the beats breath. If in all the world there was anything so purposefully designed to destroy, it was this creature. This drago… “STOP!” Twilight sparkle looked down at the baby dragon leaning against her side. He was quivering in fright and covering his eyes. “What's wrong spike? I didn’t think it was that scary of a story.” She turned her head quizzically at his reaction to the story. Twilight leaned back to nuzzle her frightened friend and calm him down. Spike slowly moved his claws from his eyes, which were starting to tear up. “I don’t like this story.” he murmured, wiping his face before his tears could start. “I don’t wanna’ read it anymore.” Twilight glanced towards the book and then back at him. “It’s my favorite story that mom reads to me at night, but if you don’t like it we don’t have to read it.” She moved to close the book with a look of disappointment. She had hoped Spike would have liked the story to since it was her favorite, but maybe it was too frightening for his age. “Wait, t‘wight, I’m sorry you don’t have to stop,” he moved from her side to stop her from closing the book. “Don’t be sad, you can keep reading, I won’t stop you again.” Twilight could see Spike try to put on a brave face for her but she knew he was faking. She pulled him into her forelegs and rested her head on his. “Spike, why don’t you like the story?” she asked as she held him. Spike began to tap his claws together as he always did when he was nervous or didn’t know what to do. “You’ll think I’m being silly or a scaredy pony,” he mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. She lifter her head and turned his so she could look him in the eyes. “Spike, you sometimes act silly and sometimes get scared, but I don’t want you to be scared and worried if I can do something about it. So just tell me what it is and we will get over together, ok?” Spike looked down at his claws and took a deep breath. “The dragon is scary.” “Well, sure he’s big and mean, but you know the knight wins in the end right? So even if the look of him is scary, I’m sure you will be happy when the knight saves the maiden.” Twilight could understand the dragon being scary as it frightened her the first time too. She still gets chills when she reads the description, but the story has a happy ending so she wouldn’t be scared for long. “See, you don’t have to worry about the bad dragon winning, so lets finish the story, ok?” Twilight looked down to see Spike even more dejected than before. He was on the verge of crying and her heart ached knowing she had probably made it worse, though she couldn’t figure out how. She gave a little sigh and prepared to close the book. No story was worth making Spike sad. “Will I be like that?” Twilight stopped and looked down at spike in confusion, “Be like what?”. “Will I have to be like that when I grow up? Fighting knights and kidnapping maidens?”, he turned to her with sorrowful eyes, his tiny hands trembling. At that moment it all clicked in young Twilights’ head. She had always known Spike was a dragon, but she had never really made the connection. The dragons in the stories were just villains and monsters who needed to be stopped by brave knights, and Spike was always just...Spike. Of course he would be worried about this though. When all the stories tell you that you're a monsters who kidnaps maidens and destroys villages, why wouldn’t you start to believe it? Twilight felt awful for not realizing it before and maybe looking for stories where dragons were the good guys instead. She moved to pull Spike into a hug but he had already started to stand and walk away. “Maybe I am supposed to be the bad guy? I guess I should stop learning to read and write and learn to kidnap maidens. Who ever heard of a dragon who reads and writes?”, he walked away dejectedly, though he didn’t really know where to go since he was spending the night at the Sparkle residence. Twilight rose hurriedly and all but tackled the dragon in a hug. “No, Spike. You are not like that. You are a sweet and smart and fun dragon who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Those stories are wrong and stupid.”, she said to the drake trapped in her hooves. “But all the stories with dragons are like that, and I get weird looks from other ponies too when we go outside the castle. They look at me like I’m going to attack them or blow fire. How can so many ponies be wrong?”, he said sadly, though at least he wasn’t struggling to leave anymore. “Cause I said so and I know Princess Celestia would say so too, and she is never wrong.”, she let Spike stand up and lead him over to their prior reading spot. “I’ll show you. Lets finish the story and see what happens.” Spike looked unsure, but shrugged and leaned against Twilights’ side as she resumed reading. This dragon was the most fearsome creature the knight had ever seen. He drew his sword and prepared to charge the beast. Giving two quick skuffs of the ground with his hoof, the knight began to run forward. As he neared the bile the dragon rested upon, a loud shout echoed in the chamber. “Hey you, stop that!” “What!?”, said the knight. “What!?’”, said Spike. “Spike, you shouldn’t interrupt at the best part.”, Twilight shushed him and started again. “I said stop that. Don’t you dare hurt my friend.” The voice cried out again. The knight looked up towards where the voice was coming from and saw the maiden leaning out of the tower window. “But M’Lady, I am here to rescue you from this terrible beast who has imprisoned you in an evil castle!”, the knight yelled back. “Rescue me? I don’t need rescuing. I’m visiting my friend and you need to leave if you are going to be mean to him.”, the maiden replied, growing angry at the knight calling her friend a beast. Before the knight could respond, a loud yawn interrupted them as the dragon awoke from his nap. He wiped his eyes with a giant claw and looked up at the maiden in the tower. “ Oh, good afternoon maiden. I’m sorry I slept so much but the flight here tired me out.”, the dragon gave her a toothy smile which the maiden returned. “I..I.I’m going to stop you dragon, for the good of the kingdom.”, the knight put on a brave face, but he couldn’t hide the fear he felt. “Oh man, another knight. Thats like three this week. Maybe I should get a lock on the door?”, while the dragon was musing on the benefits of home security, the knight had regained his courage. The knight once again readied his sword, “Don’t worry maiden. This dragon has obviously enchanted you to make you think you are friends. He is a clever monster indeed.” “Don’t you call him a monster you ruffian!”, the maiden yelled down, “The only monster here is you. Barging into someones home and threatening them with violence. Your lucky I'm all the way at the top of this tower or I’d teach you some manners. Don’t listen to him dragon, you are a gentle and noble host and most assuredly not a monster.” “I don’t understand. This beast burned down a village and kidnapped you, why do you take his side? He eats ponies for the princesses sake!”, the knight cried with exasperation. “I do not!”, bellowed the dragon as he crossed his arms with a pout. “He most assuredly does not, he wouldn’t hurt a fly, much less a pony. He did not kidnap me, he simply picked me up for our weekly sleepover, and if the villagers would stop throwing torches at him when he flies by, then they wouldn’t keep accidentally burning their villages down. Plus, he only eats gems, and he was even generous enough to give me a few.”, she stretched her hoof out of the window to show the knight the sizely gem set in her hoof ring. “The most beautiful gem is it not?” “No gem can dare match your beauty, M’lady.”, the dragon said with a stately bow. The maiden giggled at the compliment and bashed her bushy eye lashes at him. “Oh, you are so kind dragon.”, she then blew him a kiss and he graciously acc… “Blegh.”, Spike interrupted again, “Kisses are gross.” Spike crossed his arms as if to show his dissatisfaction but couldn’t hide the smile on his face and the blush forming on his cheeks. Twilight laughed at his reaction, but before she could continue the squeak of the door opening caused the both to turn their heads. Twilights father made his way into the room “Ok youngins, time for bed.”, he said as he picked them both up in his magic. They giggled at the sensation as they were both tucked into Twilights’ bed. “Good night gumdrop,” he said as he gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead. He repeated the move with Sike, “Good night sport.” Spike wiped away the kiss as if to show his dislike of it, but secretly he liked being included in the Sparkle family bedtime routine. Crescent just chuckled at this as he made sure to turn on the nightlight before he flicked of the lights. “Sweet dreams, you two.” “G’night Dad, love you.” “G’night Mr. Sparkle.” Both the children repositioned themselves until they were comfortable, with their backs touching and sharing warmth. Twilight was just starting to fall asleep when she heard Spike whisper. “Hey Twilight, you awake?” “Yeah.” “I liked your story a lot more.” Twilight lay there for a moment, her chest began to grow with warmth at knowing she was able to help Spike feel better about being a dragon. “Me too Spike.” The only response she heard was of his soft snores. She smiled and snuggled closer to him, closing her eyes and hoping to dream of dragons.