//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Into the Everfree // Story: The Gift of a Dragons Heart // by The MLP Hyena 111 //------------------------------// Early next morning 'Todays the day' Spike thought as he quietly got out of bed, ensuring not to wake his adopted sister/mother. Spike had been thinking about how he and Sweetie Belle were going to pull this off all night. He crept over to the entrance of the room, "I'll be back soon... Please don't freak out to much" he whispered with the faintest of smiles. Taking one last look at Twilight he turned and placed a very brief note on the doorframe before proceeding down the stairs. Once on the first floor of the library he approached one bookshelf in particular. Pushing aside a row of books he smiled to himself. 'I still cant believe Twilight hasn't figured this out yet' chuckling he slid open the secret panel to reveal all the supplies he needed for the trip along with the book on gems and a map of the everfree forest. He grabbed his supplies and headed out the door. 'Ok now I'm ready' he thought as he exited the library 'I just hope the same goes for Sweetie Belle'. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ok come on Sweetie Belle you got this" Sweetie spoke quietly and with little confidence, looking into a mirror "for Spike". Reaching under her bed she pulled out a small saddlebag containing a few sandwiches and cartons of applejuce she had prepared yesterday. Turning to the door, she gulped "... Well this is it" Opening the door just a crack she looked down the corridor, she couldn't see Rarity but the noises coming from her room told Sweetie that she was still sleeping. Opening the door fully she quickly trotted past Raritys room and down the stairs. Once outside she sighed in relief, "Ok that's the first step out of the way, I just need to meet up with Spike" the mere thought sent a shiver of excitement through her body. 'maybe this isn't so bad after all, I mean I do get to spend the whole day with Spike' she thought as she brightly she skipped forward a few steps but then stopped. 'yeah a whole day with Spike, in the everfree forest looking for a gift for Rarity'. She sighed again, 'It could be worse'. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sweetie Belle, are you here?" Spike called as he approached the spot they had agreed to meet. "Yes, I'm here" Sweetie called back stepping out from behind a bush. At once Spike noticed a look of worry on the filly's face. "Are you ok?" Spike asked with a concerned voice, "because if you really aren't comfterble with this I'll just go on alone" "No!" Sweetie said hurriedly "I want to come with you" "Great!" Spike smiled as he reached into the strange bag on his back. "Umm Spike? What's that thing on your back?" Sweetie questioned "Huh? Oh this! Well I'm not a pony so I cannot use a saddlebag" Spike explained, "So Rarity designed this for me, its called a back pack! Pretty cool huh?" "Yeah" She said smiling at him warmly. 'I love it when Spike is proud of something, it's so cute!' "Anyway" Spike stated breaking Sweeties train of thought, "We are at the entrance to the forest here" he pointed to a spot on the map of the Everfree forest he had just layed out on the ground. "The gem is located here" Spike pointed to another part of the map. "But that's over a days walk!" Sweetie exclaimed, growing more concerned by the minute. "I know, but trust me it will be worth it" Spike said confidently "I don't know..." Sweetie began, but then looked up at Spike. The look on his face told her just how much he wanted this, and while she was hurt to see him so dedicated to somepony other than her, she just couldn't refuse. "Ok fine, Lets go!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About an hour later Spike and Sweetie Belle were still picking their way through the dence undergrowth, chatting to each other all the while. "So Twilight got all worked up about some disaster for nothing!" Spike laughed Sweetie giggled uncontrollably "Didn't Twilight tell us about how you got sick on ice cream for like a week after?" "Yeah, but come on! It's ice cream! You cant just pass up an opportunity to eat as much ice cream as you want now can you?" "I suppose not..." Sweetie smiled with a look of understanding on her face. 'This is turning out to be a great day, I dont know what Rarity was talking about when she said this place is dangerous ...' Sweetie gulped. 'Now seems to be a better time than any to ask him.' "So Spike, Umm... What is it about my sister that you like so much?" "Well..." Spike thought for a moment, "Isn't it obvious? She's the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria!" "Ok, but isn't there anything else?" she asked Spike thought back to all the time he had spent trying to win Rarity over. "Umm ... well, of course she is a great friend and she's just so generous! You should have seen that one time she gave me this really cool bow tie!" Spike smiled dreamily but deep down he was concerned, 'there must be more reasons than that', yet as hard as he tried he couldn't think of any. "Right..." Sweetie said quietly ... "What about you?" Spike asked "What do you mean?" "Do you like anypony? You must have a crush of some kind" "I-I'd rather not talk about it..." She said blushing slightly "Well, I bet who ever he or she is they would love to go out with you if you just asked" "Thanks Spike but I don't think he would" "Nonsense! Who wouldn't want to go out with you? I mean your sweet, kind, pretty and clever, anypony would be beyond lucky to have you as there special somepony! ... Or what ever you would call it at our age." Sweetie was taken aback by this compliment and her face was burning a bright red. "You... You really think that?" she asked with a look of disbelief. "Of course, why wouldn't I?" Spike said smiling at her. "I-I don't know what to say... THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Sweetie wrapped her hooves around him in a tight hug. "Don't mention it, I mean what are friends for?" He said a little confused as to why Sweetie Belle was so happy. "Anyway! wanna hear about the time me, Twilight, Pinkie and Flutters nearly got eaten by a giant Hydra?" "Sure!" Sweetie said cheerfully "Ok well... It all started when Twilight was practicing this new spell ..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the day moved swiftly on and the pair travelled deeper and deeper into the forest, their chatting dying down untill they were traveling in near silence. "Its so dark!" Sweetie complained "Who knows what could be lurking this deep in the forest?" "Don't worry Sweetie, theres nothing out hear I cant handle" Spike said rather cockilly Almost on cue a roar sounded from somewhere quite far off "AAAGGGGHHHH!!!! WHAT WAS THAT?" Spike yelled as he dug his face into the ground. Moments later he peaked up from his hiding spot to see Sweetie Belle laughing. "Yeah, you can handle anything around here" she playfully gloated "Stop that Sweetie this is serious!" he scolded Sweetie just rolled her eyes as Spike got up from the floor and dusted himself off. "Anyway, shall we continue?" he asked a little sheepishly. The two continued on, walking a little more closely together now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sun was beginning to set now and the forest was growing darker by the minute. Suddenly a shadow sweeped over them, causing Sweetie Belle to scream and jump into Spikes unsuspecting arms. Surprised he toppled over and the pair landed in a heap on the forest floor. "What's wrong Sweetie?" Spike asked looking up at the terrified and also extremely embarrassed looking filly on top of him. "Oh I'm so sorry Spike!" she squeaked jumping off of the dragon with slight hesitation. "Its just I-umm... Did you see that shadow?" "Yeah, it didn't look that big!" he said unsure as to where this was heading. "I know what it was" she said with a scared look in here eyes. "Oh what?" he asked "It was a cockatrice, you know chicken head, snake tail, dragon wings" she said quickly "Really? That sounds stupid" he interjected "I thought that too but remember that day Twilight went to the everfree forest and didn't come back until really late?" "Yeah actually she never really told my why she was so late" "Well its because she encountered a cockatrice!" Sweetie urgently explained. "Really? what did it do?" Spike asked "The same thing the elements of harmony did to Discord, IT TURNED HER TO STONE!" "WHAT! but how? She was fine when she got back home" Spike inquired "A cockatrice can reverse its magic and Fluttershy was able to make it turn her back" "Well then what do we do?" "WE RUN" Sweetie yelled. "And what ever you do don't look into it's eyes!" The pair ran as fast as their legs could carry them, once they reached a large bolder they stopped to rest. "D-Do you t-think we lost it?" Spike asked out of breath. Suddenly a rustling of leaves sounded from above and a moment later the cockatrice landed with a squawk right in front of them. The two barely had enough time to sheiled their eyes. Looking towards Sweetie, Spike could see a look of determination on her face. "Just hold on Sweetie Belle!" he said desperately. The cockatrice was advancing now , trying to get a glimpse of their eyes. All of a sudden a chilling howl echoed from somewhere in the dence forest. At once the cockatrice stopped its offence an fled into the night, a panicked squawk escaping its toothy beak as it flew. The two friends stood, stunned as they watched it go. "What was that?" Sweetie asked "I-I think we should get out of here now" Spike said urgently "Ok!" the shaken filly responded still shivering in fear, "but can we please find a place to sleep?" Sweetie Belle yawned "I'm getting really sleepy" "Say no more!" Spike said as he lead Sweetie Belle into the trees a few minutes later they found a good spot, a hollow under a log just large enough for the two of them to squeeze inside. Spike noticed Sweetie was hanging back from him a bit, he did not however notice how red her face had become from being so close to him. "Hey Sweetie Belle are you alright?" "Huh? Oh! I'm fine really" she replied "Are you sure? You know, if there is anything wrong you can tell me" "Well it's just that ... I guess I'm just scared, I mean I've never spent the night anywhere without Rarity beside my room, let alone in the Everfree forest" "Hey now, its ok! I mean you got me" he said with a reassuring smile. "Yeah... I guess your right" Sweetie smiled slightly 'If only I really had you' Sweetie Belle inched closer and closer to Spike until their sides touched. Her already intensely red face lit up even more and even Spikes cheeks reddened a little. There they sat, gazing up at the night sky through a hole in the canopy, at the constellations and at Luna's moon. Slowly Spike put his arm around Sweetie Belle and pulled her a little closer. Sweetie tensed up a little but went with it. 'Oh my! I can't believe it! Spike is so close to me...' Sweetie thought. She felt exited and nervous at the same time, 'what did Pinkie call that? Oh yeah! nervouscited!' but above all else Sweetie Belle felt happy. Happier than she had felt in a long time, and that's saying something. 'She feels a little tense...' Spike thought 'Is she nervous about something? Hmmmm ... no probably not' he glanced over at her, 'gosh I never noticed how beautiful she was... so sweet and kind too' Spike smiled softly 'You can tell she's Rarity's sister.' All at once Spike felt something in his heart, something that told him she was more than just Rarity's sister, but before he could ponder any further he heard a quiet snore followed by another. He looked at Sweetie Belle again only to see that she had fallen asleep, one of his arms still holding her close. Something tugged at Spikes heart as he watched the cute little filly dreaming peacefully. "Sweet dreams, Sweetie Belle" he whispered before he to settled down to rest.