//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Of Ponies and Dragons // by Jeckard Cain //------------------------------// As Twilight and Rarity enter Carousel Boutique Twilight is immediately caught by the colors in front of her. The dress is magnificent with colors that compliment Twilight's coat and has stars spread evenly across it with different constellations. Almost like Twilight's Gala dress, but still so very different. Twilight gasps when she sees it, "You hate it don't you OH I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, I should have worked on it for another week and perfected it, it's it's-" Twilight cuts her off, "It's amazing Rarity." "Really? Do you really mean it!?" Rarity is on the edge of her seat so to speak, with anticipation of an answer, "Yes Rarity, I haven't seen anything this amazing since your last dress." Rarity rushes forward and embraces Twilight "Oh THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" An hour passes and Twilight leaves Rarity's workshop and makes her way back to her home. "I hope Spike decided to come back, he didn't look good when he ran off" Opening the door to her house she calls out "Spike!" A quiet response is heard "I'm up here Twilight" She walks up the stairs towards her room and finds Spike sitting on her bed looking out the window. "Spike," she calls out quietly. "How could I have been so stupid, to think that somepony as beautiful as Rarity would ever like me?" Spike begins "I followed you guys through the streets after I saw her walk away with you, I was about to come talk to you and then you asked her that question and I decided to hide and follow you. Sorry for scaring you if I did." he finishes almost in a whisper. Twilight walks around the bed and sits down beside him "I'm sorry Spike, I really am, I know you like her a lot." Spike begins sniffling and he hugs Twilight and begins silently crying, though he finds the strength to speak through the tears, "I know she *sniff* won't be my special somepony, how could I ever have thought she would say yes *sniff*. I really am still just a kid, and I know my home is here in Ponyville with you. I just wish I had someone, y'know?" he looks up at Twilight tears still in his eyes and she smiles at him and ruffles his scales on his head. "Spike, just give it some time. I'm sure there's somepony out there for you. Maybe a pretty red dragon with all different colors for claws" Spike looks back out the window before wiping away his tears and standing up. "Thanks Twilight, you're the best friend I could ever ask for, better than any dragon that's for sure." He smiles a little before making his way downstairs, as Twilight gets up and calls after him "Spike? Where are you going?" He turns and looks up at her, beams, and says "I'm off to find my Special Somepony!" before leaving the tree house. As Spike walks he becomes sullen, dropping the act he put on for Twilight. She understood how he felt and yet not at all. Sure he could go and try to find a special friend who is a dragon, but she seemed to forget how dragons just are. Spike wanted to scream “Am I really the only dragon who doesn't act like a dragon!” He was still making his way out of Ponyville however so he refrained and just continued his depressing march. As he walked he passed by Sugarcube Corner and he hears a strange noise above him. “Now what's Pinkie doing?” he wondered aloud, before the window in the upper part of the building opened very loudly and suddenly making Spike jump. and Pinkie came flying out of the window in a helmet with flames on it. Spike runs over and bats the flames away before making sure Pinkie is okay, “What the heck happened Pinkie are you okay!?” he questions, she hops up like nothing happened, “Hiya Spike! Oh nothing's wrong, just taking care of the twins again. You know how kids can be.” she says before sniggering. Spike stares at her, not even he was that bad when he was a baby dragon with Twilight, he knew that. “How did they launch you through a window?” Spike questioned as if he would get a normal answer, maybe just this once he hoped. “Oh, well first one of them used magic to light a toy on fire, then another grabbed a toy and started flying around with it and I had to stop her from getting hurt by it so the only choice I had was to jump off a trampoline in the room and grab the toy, should have positioned it better so I didn't go through the window though. Oh well, that was FUN!” She goes from standing and explaining to scratching her chin to jumping for joy before patting Spike on the head. “Gotta go Spike, busy day and I just started!” She runs back inside leaving Spike to ponder what in the world just happened. He blinks a few times before turning and continuing down the street. “Definitely not Pinkie, she would probably find some way of getting us both in trouble or worse.” Spike looks around town some more before making his way out by the main road, he turns to look back once more at Ponyville, it had been almost three years since he and Twilight had moved in against her will. Thank Celestia she decided to stay, Spike couldn't imagine life without all his friends in Ponyville now. It brought a smile to his face before he felt a drop of rain on his nose. Then another, then a whole downpour dropped on his head and he was soaked. “Of course.” he says before looking up at a small cloud directly over his head. He heard snickers within the cloud, then “Pahahahaha!” Rainbow Dash drops from the cloud onto the ground laughing hysterically still. “Very funny,” Spike begins before Rainbow cuts him off “You should've seen the look on your face! You were happy one second then SPLOOSH! Hahaha.” She wipes a tear from her eye and stands up before wiping him down with her wings a little. “Couldn't help myself, y'know?” “Ya I know” Spike gives her a scowl. “Aw sorry man, I was just bored is all. Truce?” She holds out her hoof and Spike smiles before shaking and replying “Truce, so why are you so bored you felt like terrorizing me?” Rainbow ponders for a moment then shrugs “dunno, just felt like it I guess, anyways you're much more fun to tease, you get over it quickly” she nudges him playfully hoping he will take her challenge in a battle of wits. Spike complies and goes in for the kill in one fell swoop “Well at least I don't crash into clouds while flying then play it off as a prank!” Rainbows jaw drops and then she keels over laughing and Spike joins in falling down onto the ground with her. Once the laughing dies down, its silent, except the wind whistling through the trees. Spike lies next to Rainbow for a time, not noticing how long its been, she is the first to break the silence “well I guess I should go and make sure the weather stays clear out there.” Spike wished he could fly too and help her, it was a simple kind of fun being around Rainbow Dash. “Alright, don't have too much fun up there” he says. Before she takes flight Rainbow turns and says “see you soon, hopefully not under a raincloud.” She winks then flies off. Spike is left alone and smiling at how she could always see the truth in things. Sweet Apple Acres, and appropriate name Spike thought, it really was acres and acres of just sweet apples. He noticed a few buckets full of apples surrounding a nearby tree, maybe one of the Apple family left it there. He walked towards it and rounded the tree to see Apple Jack sleeping underneath it. He laughed a little “Sleeping on the job eh?” She wakes with a start pushing her hat away from her eyes and back on top of her head. “What in tarnation, aw must've passed out again. I was just resting my eyes for a second.” She rubs her tired eyes before finally noticing Spike “ Oh, hi there Spike, didn't hear you comin'” yawning and stretching she stands up before walking over to a bucket. “What brings you out here anyways Spike, shouldn't you be with Twilight?” Spike thinks for a second then replies “She said I could have today off because I've been working so hard.” while not entirely true, this little lie wouldn't hurt anything. “Well ain't that nice of her, I've been out in the fields bucking apples since dawn so I at least do have an excuse for sleepin a little.” “No no I understand AJ no need to worry.” Spike smiles and crosses his heart “Thanks Spike, hey as long as you're here would you mind helping me load up these apples to carry back to the farm?” Spike rolls up his “sleeves” and moves in to help. He lifts one side of a bucket while Apple Jack puts her head under the other side and helps him lift it into the large cart. “phew, one down, five to go.” Apple Jack smiles and gets ready to lift another. While lifting Spike decides to ask her something “So Apple Jack, do you think I'm still just a kid?” AJ thinks for a moment as they lower the bucket into the cart. “Somewhat, you sure have grown since I've met you, not in size that's for sure,” she says laughing a little “but inside, the part that really matters. Your heart has grown and you've become a very dependable friend. I consider you a very good one and part of my family” She finishes smiling as they lower yet another of the buckets into the cart. Spike blushes a little at this, “Thanks Apple Jack, that means a lot to hear that from you.” “ Well I mean every word Spike, well this is the last bucket. I can take the cart back from here.” as she turns to leave she stops and turns once more to Spike “If anyone doesn't appreciate who you are Spike, then maybe they're the one who needs to mature some. But remember your family will always be there to support you when no one else will.” She turns and begins leaving “See you later Spike, say hi to Twilight for me!” she lifts her hat and waves it to him, he waves even though she can't see him. He sits under the tree for a few more minutes, just looking at Sweet Apple Acres, how it encompasses and holds everything so close, like a very large hug towards the town of Ponyville. Spike walked along the treeline just enjoying the scenery and the afternoon sunlight. He decided that maybe Fluttershy would like a visit from a friend. Maybe she needed help around the house like Apple Jack did, he passed though the trees and over the small creek by her home. Birds tweeted in the trees and flew off in couples. Spike looked around at many of the animals, they all seemed to have pairings, just like in some of the romance books Twilight left lying around. Such a normal cliché, he hated it. He knocked on Fluttershy's door and there was some noise of clacking inside the house before the door opened ever so slightly. “Hi Fluttershy, I just came by for a visit, what are you up to today.” Fluttershy smiles and opens the door more to show angel bunny and a few other furry creatures sitting at a table with food in plates. “I'm just welcoming the new beaver family into the area, just letting them know where they should be fine building a dam and where other animals are in the forest.” Spike raises an eyebrow at the beavers sitting at the table chewing on some food and looking blankly at him. He blinks and so do they an instant later, “Mind if I join you for some food maybe?” Spike asks “Oh how rude of me, of course, let me get you some uhh. Lettuce?” Spike shakes his head “fruit?” again, shaking, Fluttershy is getting flustered and doesn't know what to do. “It's fine,” Spike says finally after she frantically searches for some food in her home, “I wasn't that hungry anyways.” “Oh, well I'm sorry I don't have any gemstones for you.” Spike waved away the apology, “It's fine, really, I just wanted to visit you anyways.” there is a loud thud on the table where Angel Bunny has set his cup down, “you too Angel.” he adds, Angel seems pleased and continues eating. “Actually, the truth is,” Spike starts “I wanted to know, do you know of any dragon colonies in the mountains nearby?” Fluttershy eeps and shifts uncomfortably in her seat “um, well, I uh, I'm not sure. There maybe have been a big ferocious fire breathing dragon headed away from Ponyville and into the mountains a few days ago that I don't think I want ever coming back and I don't think he wants to be bothered anyways we should just let him go wherever he wants as long as its away from here hehehe.” She finishes with an awkward laugh after just going on and on and on. Spike stares at her before getting up from the table and walking to a window. She follows him and points to a mountain far in the distance. “That one I'm certain is where he is.” Fluttershy says with conviction, Spike looks at her and smiles “Thank you Fluttershy, I won't bring him back home, I just want to talk is all.” She looks very nervous about that last statement. “You're sure you'll be fine by yourself out there?” Spike juts his thumb to his chest and puffs it up, “I'm a dragon too y'know. I'll be just fine!” He finishes. He walks to the door and opens it, he turns and waves to Fluttershy and the beavers and Angel Bunny, “See you guys soon, I'll bring back something interesting.” this seems to peak Angel's attention, the bunny spreads his arms wide as if to say Spike has to bring back something big. “Don't worry Angel, it should be pretty big.” Spike left Fluttershy's home with a smile, his friends really did know how to cheer him up. Everything they did for him, they helped him find his place here in Ponyville. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and, Rarity. Even though he was in a good mood thinking of her made him frown. He shook his head “I have to be strong, none of them would stand for me being so weak. I may be just a small dragon, but I'm still a dragon and if I can't feel better even after all my friends have done for me then what's the point.” He stopped as he realized he was just talking to himself for such a long time, then smiled and headed off in the direction of the mountains.