//------------------------------// // Virtue and Vice // Story: My Little Dragon // by Metal Pony Fan //------------------------------// “This looks like a good spot,” Rarity said. She and Spike stood near the edge of Tank’s shell. Below them, a row of large spines lined the very edge of the shell, and below that, a good way down, the grassy ground waited. “Now, if we can just find a way down there, we’ll be set.” “I can take care of that.” Spike started walking a bit closer to the edge, gauging the distance. He looked back at the dragoness. “It doesn’t look too far, do you trust me to get you down there with magic?” The dragoness smiled at him. “We’ve been through so much together, how could I not?” “O-ok,” the pony stammered, “w-wait here then.” He turned away quickly, both to hide his blush and to continue judging the distance to the ground. She was beautiful, and the moonlight only added to it. He just couldn’t tell which was better, the shimmer of her scales when she moved, or the sparkling in her eyes when she looked up. The walk to the edge of the shell had been a silent one, and the whole while, Spike had been thinking about her. More accurately, he had been thinking about them. The events since the river had opened up possibilities and hope, but nothing definite. Tonight, he was going to change that. He was going to ask her what she thought of him, and ask her if she was open to the possibility of a relationship. All he had to do was work up the courage to ask her about it. He sighed and ran towards the spines. He heard a gasp behind him as he leapt, landing on one of them and balancing himself on it. Then, he edged his way towards the end of the spines. He leapt again, rolling as he hit the ground below. When he stopped rolling, he shook off the grass and looked up towards Rarity. “Ok,” he called, “you ready?” The dragoness took a deep, calming breath before calling back, “Warn me next time! You nearly gave me a heart attack.” “Sorry!” Spike chuckled sheepishly. “So, are you ready?” “Yes.” She whined softly to herself. “But, be careful. Please?” The pony nodded. “I will!” He focused on the dragoness above him, white scales and vibrant purple crest standing out in stark contrast to the earthy scales and moss surrounding her. He reached out with his magic, gently wrapping it around her and… The pony blinked. His magic was gone. It was there, then it wasn’t. He could still feel it inside him, but the magic he had reached out with was gone. He tried again, reaching out to the dragoness. Once more, the moment his magic surrounded her, it disappeared. “Spike? Is something the matter?” “I don’t know. Something’s happening to my magic when it gets close to you.” Rarity’s head tilted to the side. “Your magic…” Her eyes went wide. “Oh, yes, I forgot. That’s my fault, dear.” She held something up in her claw. “Here, catch!” She threw it down to the pony. Spike tried to catch it in his magic, but suffered the same failure as when he tried to pick up the dragoness. More than a little confused, he snatched it out of the air with a hoof. The object was composed of crystals tied along a length of string, with little strips of paper evenly spaced between them; Bard’s magic limiter, pony version. “Rarity, why do you have this?” “I’ll tell you in a moment, but could you let me down first?” The dragoness shrugged lightly. “I’m sort of getting tired of shouting.” “Oh, right!” Spike tossed the limiter away from him, making sure it was far enough away not to interfere. Once again, he focused on Rarity and reached out with his magic. It surrounded her, and the pony gently lifted her from Tank’s shell. The dragoness let out a small yelp as she started floating, but her anxiety quickly transitioned to breathless wonder. “Oh, my…” She drifted down to Spike, and he released her the moment her claws touched the grass. “Whoa!” She stumbled as she landed, catching herself against the pony. Nervous laughter escaped her as she used Spike to steady herself. Without letting go of him, she looked back at where she had been standing. “That was amazing. Truly exhilarating, I must say.” She looked back at Spike, blushing slightly when she realized she was still holding on to him, but made no move to let go. “Is that what it feels like to fly?” Spike noticed her blush, and the reason for it. He lifted a hoof and rested it against the dragoness’ back, meaning to reassure her that he didn’t mind. Instead, he turned what had been a pleasant accident into an awkward, bungled embrace. He coughed quietly and lowered his hoof. “You have two flying dragon friends, they’ve never flown you anywhere?” Rarity pulled her claw away. “It’s not like they haven’t offered, I’ve just never taken them up on it.” She squeezed the grass below her. “I much prefer having earth under my claws.” “I can understand that.” Spike smiled warmly. “But, I’ve done my share of flying. If you trust the dragon carrying you, there’s nothing to be scared of. Grumble and I have been flying together for almost two years, and I’ve ridden on Celestia’s back for as long as I can remember. It’s sort of fun once you get used it.” “Well, then I will do my best to be a bit more open to the idea in the future.” Rarity looked around, searching for something. “Spike, what did you do with those crystals I threw down?” The pony pointed to where they lay, in the grass to the pony’s left. “I had to toss them over there.” He went over and picked them up. “While we’re on the subject of flight, where’s Grumble? I haven’t seen him since this morning.” “I heard he went back to Dragonspire after we went to the river.” She walked over to Spike and took the crystals from him. Her gaze lingered on them as she spoke. “According to Applejack, he stayed up all night to watch our new resident shape-shifter, and wanted to go get some sleep.” “He did?” Spike shook his head slowly. “That’s Grumble for you. You know, he’s been following my orders these last few days even though he doesn’t have to? He saved up enough leave to last from now up until the end of his service.” “No, I didn’t know that.” Rarity looked up. “He must consider you a good friend then, to demonstrate such loyalty.” “After the hells we’ve been through under Ice Heart, I’d say he’s the best friend I’ve got.” Spike laughed uneasily at the memories. “Yeah, there were some rough times. Anyway, Grumble’s really the only friend I had in the military. Everydragon else was either a subordinate, a superior, or just a colleague. I’m glad he’s sticking around.” Rarity tilted her head to the side. “Sticking around?” Spike nodded. “As long as I’m in Dragonspire, he’s going to be keeping an eye on me. He thinks I don’t spend enough time relaxing, so he wants me to have fun, go treasure hunting, and…” The pony trailed off as his eyes met hers. A blush spread across his face, and he coughed into a hoof. “Well, there was some other stuff, but you get the idea.” “Really?” The dragoness took Spike’s words at face value at first, but the memory of their meeting quickly came to mind. Slowly, a smirk formed on her face. “Looking back on it, I must ask, would that other stuff have anything to do with why Grumble was so quick to leave after we met?” “Yes.” Spike winced, looking away. He would have left it at that, but figured that honesty would be better received than a vague answer. “He wanted me to find a pretty female.” The pony chuckled nervously. “And, you’re about as pretty as they come.” When Rarity didn’t respond, he looked over slowly. She was sitting there, clutching the string of crystals to her chest. She was closed in on herself, like she was alone despite the world around her. Spike put a hoof on her shoulder, snapping her out of whatever trance she was in. “Rarity, are you ok? You’ve been spacing out like that a lot lately.” “I, I’m fine,” she stammered. “I just have a lot to think about at the moment.” “With everything you’ve been through, I can understand that.” He moved his hoof up and down the scales of her shoulder. It wasn’t much of a motion, just enough to try and give her some reassurance that she wasn’t alone. “Anything I can help with?” She leaned into the motion. “I wish it was.” She took his hoof in her claw, and held it close. “I wish it was something you could help with, like everything else these last few days... but, you’re the problem this time.” “I am?” Spike’s feelings of hope became feelings of worry. “What did I do? Did I say something stupid again? I do that sometimes.” “No, no.” Rarity moved closer to him, resting a claw against his chest. “It’s not like that. It’s not what you’ve done, it’s what you are.” The dragoness rested her head on his chest, just above her claw. She listened to his heartbeat as she idly pet the soft fur beneath her claw. “I just need to sort out my feelings about it.” Spike stood stone still, numb to the caress and weight upon his chest. He felt like he had been kicked in gut. “I-“ He caught his voice just as it was about to crack. He swallowed hard and tried again. “I understand.” He felt heat in his eyes, and closed them to stave off the tears he knew would follow. Still leaning against him, Rarity didn’t notice the pony’s distress. “I knew you would, dear. Thank you.” He nodded silently, not trusting his voice. He understood her situation, but he was having trouble understanding his own. Why was he crying? He had nothing more than a flimsy hope to start with. Why did it hurt so much to lose it? No, not even that. He didn’t lose anything yet. All she said was that she needed time. Was it the reason she needed time that bothered him? “What I am.” Rarity’s claw paused for a moment. “What was that, dear?” She resumed her petting motion immediately after asking her question. “Don’t…” For each stroke against his fur, she could have dug her claws into the pony’s chest and he wouldn’t have felt the difference. Why was she doing that? If she needed time, why was she doing that? He stopped her claw with his hoof. “Sorry, dear, but your fur is so delightfully soft. I just couldn’t help myself.” She looked up at him and recoiled in shock. “Spike, why are you crying? What’s wrong?” “Please, don’t.” His voice cracked as he spoke, but he didn’t care anymore. He shook his head as he backed away. “I understand that you need time, but don’t toy with me.” “Toy with you?” She tried to move closer to him, but he held her back. “I would never do that. What’s wrong? Tell me.” “Nothing.” The pony let his hoof drop, but turned away before the dragoness could move towards him. “It’s my fault that I’m so upset. I should have known that being a pony wasn’t something that would be easy for you to get over, if you can get over it at all.” “Being a pony?” Rarity gasped in realization. “She didn’t tell you. Spike, no, that’s not-“ Her words trailed off as the pony started walking away, and after a few steps, his walk turned into a run. The dragoness reached out for him. “Spike, wait!” He didn’t wait. He didn’t slow down. And he didn’t look back.