Angel was used to traveling around on foot, even in a full suit of armor. He never minded anything the knights could throw at him, even when he was a rookie in the service. They made him go on long marches even to the edge of the forests where only wild hares are known to dwell. He remembered a few of his friends went on dares to see how far they can go without armor into such places, the forests, bogs, caverns, before running back. Between the knights and the reckless actions of youth, there was little in this world that gave him pause.
Sure, he was just a little rabbit but everybody knows about the knights. Some would rather laugh at them but they aren’t really going to be messed with often. Most know better. Even larger animals like the manticore that came too close to rabbit territory were surprised into retreat when the rabbits would lunge at its legs or leap to claw at its face. And he was the leader of the knights, the one that trained the younger ones and carried the flag to the far north. He has seldom felt any need to show off his rank, a thing he hardly cared about when outside his own territory.
Angel came across the river that wound its way to the north where he was headed. He saw two bridges, one leading east to Ponyville and the other facing the mountains. He needed to go north. He decided that this would be a good place to rest. The bridges and the clearing at the fork were all coated in the shade produced by the waving branches of trees. It felt at least ten degrees less outside of the baking sunlight. Everywhere, his steps crushed the thick blanket of leaves. The midday sun sparkled on the waters of the rivers, making the colly bridge made of iron look like a shadow.
He drenched his body with the rest of the water from his canteen then bounced closer to the shore to refill it. He then stopped. It wasn’t easy to see with the glare but there was a figure standing against the railing of the bridge. It was smaller than a pony though, standing straight up. He kept looking up at it while getting more water, wondering who or what that could be. He certainly had no fear of it but he had a feeling that he’s seen that shape before. After he finished, he took his lance and walked up to the bridge.
When his eyes adjusted, he saw a dragon. Well, it was just a baby dragon. But a dragon nonetheless. It didn’t even have wings and nobody in the world, much less the warren, would bother making tapestries or singing songs about such a small being such as Spike. But Angel personally knew this dragon. He wasn’t like any other dragon he ever heard of. This one isn’t rampaging and doesn’t stand tall above others. This one is sarcastic and mingles with ponies just like he does from time to time. The only thing he seems to share with his fellow giant reptiles would be his sense of greed, thankfully barely constrained by the Princess of Friendship herself.
Angel put the lance over his shoulder as he continued. He didn’t want Spike to think he really cared about his presence. The last thing he wanted is to have him speak. They couldn’t even converse in the same language and the best they can do is some kind of interspecies charades like a couple of imbeciles. Of course he saw a tilt of those green spines and two reptilian eyes staring at him. Spike immediately jumped in front of him, spreading his arms and legs out like a soccer goalie.
“Who goes there!?” he boomed like some kind of knight himself.
Angel could just point at himself while giving some kind of quizzical stare as if to ask what sort of silly question that was.
Spike furrowed his brow and seemed to look past Angel’s armor.
“Ah, it’s you Angel. I haven’t seen you much lately” he said.
Angel demanded to know who Spike thought it was but his squeaks fell on deaf ears. Either way, he had to pass and he wasn’t about to continue arguing with him any further. He tried to edge his way around the dragon but he held out his arm, blocking him like he was a traffic officer.
“Hold it! I need to know why you’re trying to pass. Twilight gave me the responsibility to protect the bridge today and I’m taking that very seriously”!
Angel’s teeth were clenched hard enough to crack a walnut. It figures that he had a lance when dragon skin was practically immune to stuff with needle points. He even volunteered to be a needle cushion for his stupid pony crush for Celestia’s sake. Well, he couldn’t force his way past Spike. At least not easily. And the dragon wasn’t going to understand a single word he said. But not from lack of trying.
Angel kept yelling with flecks of spit flying from his mouth as his squeaks intensified. Spike was a silly little brat. Then he was a gigantic idiot. He dished out the insults in vain. But even if he could understand, chances are that it wouldn’t matter too much. Angel knew about his dragon’s code. It’s probably the reason why he’s even there in the first place. He’ll do anything his friend, Princess Twilight asked. Even coming all the way here to guard some bridge at the edge of her kingdom. Who knows why he’s there. Maybe he was getting in her way and she sent him on some pointless errand just to get him out of her hair for a few hours? Angel didn’t blame her but did it have to be at that exact time that he needed to get across the bridge? He couldn’t swim across. Not in that heavy armor anyway.
Angel has had enough. He tried to knock the dragon aside but his feet were practically rooted to the hot metal. Spike’s claws gripped his armor as he held him above the ground then tossed him forward like a bowling ball across the bridge. The spinning of the world was accompanied by the sound of crashing metal. The lance went flying, throwing up leaves as it landed.
Spike could easily be spotted from where Angel was. The dragon was sitting by on the railings, his stubby legs dangling over the curvy wires that made up the railing. He had a fishing pole in his hands. It bobbed up and down often. Angel turned away from the break in the bushes where he spied on Spike and turned back to his attack plan. Well, anytime he was conducting an operation, it’s an ‘attack plan’ even when there was no battle going on at all.
He had sketched out ways to get past Spike. He scribbled many of them out. Directly applying force simply wasn’t going to work. Besides, if he hurt Spike then what would Twilight think? What would she say to her friends? Spike is just two spaces removed from her. And he wasn’t going to do anything to make himself look bad if he could help it.
He left the bushes with his lance. Spike turned and watched him approach.
“I heard you coming as soon as you left your hiding spot, Angel” he said. “Don’t think about sneaking past”! He seemed to focus back on his fishing but Angel knew that he was always listening. Dragons need good hearing because they have such huge caves usually and they need to listen to the faintest sound even when asleep to defend the gold and jewels they hoard. Angel thought he figured a way past him. He was going to use that incredible hearing that Spike has against him.
He sat next to the bridge. Taking the lance, he tapped it against the iron railing. It was a brief flick, one that barely touched the metal. But the ring had a noticeable ting to it. Angel wasn’t sure if it was the specific way it was made or some trace minerals from the soil but this metal sounded clear like a chime depending on how it was struck. The poles were also hollow which is why they reverberated like they did. To a pony or even himself, it was high pitched but bearable. He didn’t like it but he knew it was the worst to a sound sensitive animal like a dragon. Spike’s face twisted up after each ring. Angel made sure they got louder so the sound can dig in there. Eventually, Angel knew his plan was working when Spike held his hands to his ears in pain. Then he yelped at the realization that he had dropped his fishing pole in the river below.
“Oh no! Angel”! Spike stomped next to him like a bigger dragon would. “Look what you did”! There was no point in talking so Angel merely smirked at his misfortune.
“Look, I need that fishing pole back!” Spike yelled. “I’m going to go get it because it belongs to Applejack. You’ll stay here. I’ll make you Pinkie Promise”. He gestured the well-known promissory invented by the party pony of Ponyville. His eyes demanded that Angel do the same.
Angel shook his head and somewhat mimicked it. It was a good enough appeasement for Spike although he didn’t see that Angel had kept a paw behind his back. He invented that when he had to make it look like he was breaking an oath to the knights some time back. Keeping one limb hidden was all it took. A pretend promise didn’t have to be kept. Angel watched the naive Spike jump into the river to retrieve the rod. By the time he returned to the bridge, Angel had made his way past the hills and was entering the northern plains. The dragon was probably angry and Angel didn’t care.
As he continued, he didn’t feel very victorious. And not at all like laughing. Spike was just a baby and he was just trying to be loyal to Twilight. There was nothing wrong with that. He didn’t feel right to gloat since it wasn’t exactly hard to take advantage of his youth. But at least he can say that he did it peacefully. And he’ll get over it now that things were back on track. He was still ahead of schedule and the skies were open, allowing him to see the Unicorn Range, jagged ridges of purple many kilometers away. It was plenty of time to think of how to make an introduction to the Green Rabbit himself, once he arrived at his distant castle nestled in those very mountains.