Apple Bloom was truly turning into a responsible young mare. She was beginning to treat her situation more seriously than she had before. The next following day after that night, she seeked out Spike to thank him for his gift personally. No nothing like that, but there was some kissing… a lot of kissing. Also during the baby shower, Spike had a little get together himself with some stallion friends; organized by Macintosh. It was just the usual dude hangout moment that Spike felt honored to be a part of.
A few weeks after that, Apple Bloom had another appointment to check up on her pregnancy progress. Everything seem to be well as always, but Redheart and Rhyme noticed something in the test results that slightly questioned them. They told Applejack, Apple Bloom and Spike who were all there that the baby seemed to be a bit bigger than it should be at it's present state. But it wasn’t labeled as a threat to Apple Bloom but more like something out of the norm. The nurses told them that everything was okay for now; but if something very unusual happens, they were to contact them immediately. For now, Spike and Apple Bloom were just glad that things were looking well for them and their child.
Afterwards, Apple Bloom went home to rest leaving Spike on his own to do whatever he wanted. Up to now, Spike couldn’t believe that they had already been through more than half of the month’s length of Apple Bloom’s pregnancy. It was only a matter time until their child came into the world; and they would officially become parents. Once some time passed after Spike went by a couple of his favorite spots in Ponyville, it was near the beginning of the evening as he arrived at Golden Oaks Library and walked in with a pleased smile on his face. Twilight was reading some important documents as usual; but she looked up as Spike walked by her feeling upbeat.
“Man, I’m telling ya; life is good, Twilight.”
“You seem to be in a good mood, lately,” said Twilight with a little smile.
Spike then laid himself down on a couch stating, “You better believe it! I mean… just some months ago I was feeling all these different kinds of emotions from the situation that I’m in; happy, sad, fright, anger, worry, confused…”
“Don’t forget hysterical,” Twilight added.
Spike then groaned while glaring at Twilight and continuing, "Anyway, as of today... I feel so upbeat, so invigorated, so proud! In fact, I don't even know why I was being the way I was before; I should really count myself lucky of what I have now. I have great friends, and a great life; and now I have a special somepony to dedicate my life to. And... I'm going to be a father! Heh, I still can get over that, but... I feel so excited... like all of my stress is finally gone."
Seeing and hearing of how Spike was feeling and expressing himself, Twilight felt quite relieved for him and was glad that he was handling things much better than before.
“Looks like you’ve finally accepted your new responsibility. I mean… you already have been for months, but… you’re not letting it bother you anymore, right?”
“Nope,” Spike said proudly, “Although… I’d be lying if I said that I’m not nervous at all, because… I still am. How could I not be? Fatherhood is a huge deal. But I think I’m finally ready. When my son is born, I’m going to try to be the best father I can be!”
‘Hooo, hoo hoo!’
“You said it, Owlicious.”
Twilight got up and walked over to Spike and gave him a little pat on his head as he continued to relax. “I’m proud of you, Spike. It’s good to see you completely calm about this now. You’ll do great, I promise.”
“Yeah,” Spike chuckled, “I know.”
As Twilight walked away, she suddenly turned around towards Spike and said, “Oh, by the way… I meant to ask you; how did that appointment of Apple Bloom’s went anyway?”
“Oh yeah,” said Spike, “it went pretty good. No problems, complications or or hindrances. Everything seemed to turn out okay.”
“Well that’s good to know,” said Twilight, “I’m glad it went well.”
“However…” Spike stated.
Twilight suddenly froze and looked over at Spike questioning, “Huh? However what? Something come up?”
“Y-yeah. It's no big deal, but… the nurses said something about the baby in A.B’s womb being bigger than usual; well… at this stage of her pregnancy anyway. You wouldn’t know if that meant anything, could you?”
“Can’t say that I do, Spike. Although, since this process is in the last months, my advice is to pay close attention to Apple Bloom’s body movement and the emotion in her eyes. Who knows what could possibly happen with this sort of thing.”
“Well… that’s comforting to know,” said Spike, “But… I don’t care. I’m not going to let this get me down now. I have to stay strong for Apple Bloom’s sake. And I know her friends will be strong for her too.”
“Speaking of friends,” said Twilight suddenly, “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m expecting a couple of our friends to come over here soon.”
“Really?” said Spike as he looked over at Twilight curiously, “What are you doing?”
“Oh… y-you know,” said Twilight sheepishly, “Just… normal, regular mare stuff. Just us mares doing our own thing. You probably won’t be interested.”
Spike just scratched his head thinking that maybe Twilight was trying to shove him away for some reason. But then he just shrugged and said, “I don’t know about that, but thanks for the heads up.” He then reclined back into the sofa. “Just pretend that I’m not even here.”
Just then, the entrance door swung wide open, and Apple Bloom came walking right in shouting, “Hey, Miss Twilight!”
Spike was so startled he yelled and fell off the sofa with a loud thud. He lightly groaned after impact.
“Oh; hey, Apple Bloom,” said Twilight, “Nice to see you.”
“Is Spike here?” Apple Bloom asked.
Spike slowly got up and saw who was here. He jumped up and said, “Ugh, what the… Apple Bloom?! Wh-what are you doing here?!”
“I’d say that he is,” said Twilight to Apple Bloom from her earlier question.
Apple Bloom chuckled as she went over to Spike and nudged her head on his side and said, “Hey, Spike… darling. Ah didn’t surprise ya too much, did Ah?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Spike replied, “I’m fine.” Spike then noticed that Apple Bloom was wearing the jewel encrusted necklace that he got her in which she had wore every day since then. “Heh, you just can’t get enough of that gift that I gave you, can you?”
“How can Ah not?” said Apple Bloom as she held the necklace in her hoof, “It means so much to me cause obviously… it meant a lot to you.” She then placed a little kiss on Spike’s cheek that caused him to have a little proud smirk. “Anyway, Ah came here to ya because Ah was wonderin’ if ya wanna maybe… go fer a stroll.”
“A… s-s-stroll?” Spike questioned.
“Yeah, ya know… a stroll… as in a walk. Ah figured that we could just walk through the park a bit; then maybe just hang out on a small hill in the flower plains and watch the sunset. Is that okay with you?”
To Spike, this was a bit out of the blue for him. But when he looked over at Twilight, she smile at him and nodded her head telling him to go for it. He then looked back at Apple Bloom, took a deep breath and answered, “You know what… that sounds like a good idea to me. I could use the exercise; not to mention it will also be good for this little guy.”
Spike gave Apple Bloom’s pregnant belly a couple of pokes with his claw. Apple Bloom giggled a bit and pushed Spike’s claw away stating, “Oh cut it out, Spike; yer claws are so ticklish.”
“Oh, sorry,” said Spike sheepishly.
“Well… I guess you two should best be off now,” said Twilight looking at clock tower outside, “Don’t want to waste that romantic moment watching the sunset… together.”
“Yeah, come on, Spike,” said Apple Bloom giving Spike a little nudge, “Let’s get goin’.”
“Right!” said Spike as he and Apple Bloom were headed out the door. But then he looked back at Twilight and told her, “Oh, have fun with… whatever it was you were going to do with… whoever.”
“Yeah, have fun!” said Apple Bloom with a bright smile.
Twilight smiled and nodded her head while responding, “Not to worry, I will.”
After Apple Bloom and Spike left, Twilight sat back at her desk to continue the reading she was doing while waiting on her friends. She looked over at Owlicious who flew down beside her and said, “Can you still believe that Spike is going to be a Father, Owlicious?”
‘Hoo… hoo hoo?’
“I’ll just take that as a yes. But still… I’m a little unsure of what we’re about to do. I just hope it goes well.”
After a few more minutes passed, the entrance door opened up once again, and a couple of ponies walked in. Twilight looked over and was glad to finally see who she was waiting for to be here on time.
“Ahh, hello. I was wondering when you were going to get here. You girls ready to do this?”
-------
Apple Bloom and Spike did exactly what they were planning. They stuck together while strolling a bit through the park enjoying the scenery and taking it easy. They even spotted a few more couples that were hanging out in the park as well and greeted them as they walked by. After some time passed, the sun was beginning to set and Apple Bloom led Spike to a certain small hill in a flower field near Ponyville; and the two of them sat there to relax in each other’s company. Apple Bloom was laying on side beside Spike who was sitting and leaning back on his arms; and they were both enjoy the beautiful sight of the sunset.
“Isn’t this nice, Spike,” Apple Bloom sighed, “Just the two of us… sittin’ here… relaxin’... enjoying the sunset together. Kinda makes ya think of the simpler things in life, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Spike responded, “it is kinda nice to just… relax and take it easy every once in a while. Heh, but then again, I do that all of the time.”
“But have ya ever done it like this?” said Apple Bloom as she laid one of her hooves on Spike’s leg.
Spike blushed a bit looking down Apple Bloom’s hoof caressing his leg and said, “N-n-no; I can’t say that I haven’t. But I gotta say… I think I like doing it this way better.”
As they continued to sit there, Apple Bloom suddenly brought up an interesting topic to Spike. “Hey, um… Spike? Now that we’re here all alone… just the two of us… there’s somethang that Ah wanted to ask ya?”
Spike wasn’t sure of what she going at with that comment, but he was quite curious of what she meant. “S-s-sure; what is it?”
“You may think that Ah’ve never notice, but… all those times that Ah’ve… acted weird and drove ya crazy… ya almost wanted to knock me out from frustration, didn’t ya?”
Spike’s eyes went wide as he looked at Apple Bloom in slight shock and then tried to deny it. “H-h-huh? Wh-what are you talking about? Wh-why would I even think of doing something like that?”
Apple Bloom lowered her eyes at Spike and said, “Just tell me the honest truth, Spike. There’s no reason for ya to hide it from me; Ah already know.”
To realise that Apple Bloom knew of his inner intentions over the past months caused Spike to feel a little uneasy. He didn’t want her to know that he almost went that far off the deep end, but there was no way he could hide it now. So he went on ahead and explained himself to her.
“Okay, you got me. But honestly, I was hoping that you didn’t notice at all. After we did what we did that day and you became preggers… and after my little freak out at the center, I felt like I could handle this situation. After all, I’m a strong, tough and loyal dragon; I can handle anything. But… I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t handle it at first. The way your pregnancy changed your personality sometimes and the way you treated me and acted towards me; overtime, I just wanted to rip my scales out. And… yes, there were times that I… felt like ripping your fur off of you and smack my claw across your face.”
Apple Bloom looked at Spike with a shocked expression for a few seconds, but then smiled as she chuckled a bit feeling amused. “Heh heh… so why didn’t ya?”
“What do you mean why didn’t I?! Did you actually think that I would go through with that; to hit a mare who is pregnant with a foal?! I'm not a monster! Besides, I knew that it wasn’t your fault that you acted like that, it was the procedure of your pregnancy. No matter how much I wanted to do it, I… I-I-I couldn’t do that to you. My loyalty still stands. No matter what happens, I’ll do all I can to protect you… and our son. I came this far, so I’m not going to back down now. This time, I am actually ready!”
Once again, Apple Bloom felt moved of Spike’s words; but she could help but giggle as well. Spike could be pretty corny to her sometimes when he tries to talk so serious. “Oh, Spike; still bein’ yer corny yet loyal self again. It's quite cute.”
“Oh come on, I’m just expressing of how I feel," said Spike, "I’m trying to be serious here!”
“Ah know, Ah know. Ah’m just messin’ with ya; but it's nice to finally hear you admit to how ya felt towards all of this.”
“Just... don’t tell your siblings about this," said Spike nervously, "They might give me evil glares if they hear what I felt like doing to you; whether or not it was intentional.”
Apple Bloom chuckled as she patted Spike on his back and said, “Mah lips are seal. It’ll be our little secret.”
The two of them then stayed quiet for a while as Spike allowed Apple Bloom to lay her head on his lap. They were just relaxing and enjoying the sight in front of them hoping that this moment wasn’t going to be ruined. But then, Spike got a sense of something from his ear; like he heard something nearby. His eyes narrowed as he slowly looked behind him and noticed a shadow peeking out from behind a tree. And Spike could see something glowing; more or less, it was magic.
“Apple Bloom, look out!!!” he shouted as he suddenly grabbed Apple Bloom and leapt away as a magic landed near the very spot they were relaxing. Apple Bloom screeched a bit as they tumbled a bit on the ground; but she was more than okay since Spike shielded most of her from the impact.
“Are you okay?” asked Spike as he let go of Apple Bloom.
“A-Ah’m a little shaken up,” said Apple Bloom hesitantly, “but… yeah, Ah’m okay. What was that anyway?”
Spike then turned around behind them from where the beam came from with a slight scowl, “I’m not sure, but… I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”
As Spike and Apple Bloom looked ahead, they suddenly saw the one who ruined their romantic moment; but it was quite strange. It was a pony wearing some kind of rubber suit that covered its entire body and dark shades that covered its eyes making it hard to make out who it was. Although, there was a horn pressing against the suit, so they at least knew that it was a unicorn.
The Unicorn was looking their way and then spoke out in a deep, foreboding tone, “If it isn’t the pony/ dragon couple I’ve heard so much about lately. Hanging out here all alone watching the sunset? How romantic.”
“S-S-S-S-Spike?” Apple Bloom shuddered.
Spike didn’t know who this pony could be, but he felt he was bad news. “Get behind me, Apple Bloom.” His protective instincts began to show as he bared his teeth blowing some smoke from his nostrils while shielding Apple Bloom from the mysterious pony’s sight. “Hey you, what’s your deal firing at us like that?! Do you even care that this pony is pregnant and could’ve been seriously hurt?!”
“Oh I am very aware of that,” the unicorn stated, “That shot I made didn’t even land in your spot; it was just to gain your attention.”
“Well, it worked; you have my full attention. So now if you wish to continue living, tell me who you are and what the hell you want from us!”
The unicorn chuckled feeling amused of how Spike was reacting and replied, “My name is a bit confidential, but I’ll tell you why I am here. I’m here on important business.”
“What kind of business?” Spike questioned.
“I believe there was word spread throughout Equestria that mentioned of a pony who was impregnated by a dragon and will give birth to the first pony/ dragon hybrid known to the world!"
Spike wasn’t quite sure what this unicorn was going at, but he wanted to know his full point. "Yeah... so what's it to you?"
"Heh heh, foolish dragon; don’t you see... there are many rare and exotic creatures in this world! But as of now, none of them will be as rare as the very creature inside that pony's womb! There are some certain sources in dark corners of Equestria that would be very willing to have such a creature... at a high price."
"Wait... did Ah hear right?” Apple Bloom shuddered, “D-did he just say that... he wants to... sell our child... like some kind of exotic pet?!"
That was all Spike needed to hear. This unicorn was apparently set on kidnapping Apple Bloom and keep her until their child was born; then eventually sell to the highest bidder like a some prize. Spike knew what he had to do; he was now on full protective alert.
"Okay okay…” Spike chuckled sarcastically, “now I know that you have a death wish. Did you honestly think that I would just stand here and just let you take Apple Bloom just so you can sell our child for money?! Like hell that will happen! I don’t know what you've been drinking , but if you think that you're going to succeed, you got another thing coming!"
"Oh yeah; you tell him, Spike!" Apple Bloom cheered while trying not to move too much.
"Now I suggest that you start running and hope that I don’t chase after your sorry flank."
However, despite Spike’s threat, the unicorn didn’t seem to waver at all. "I'm afraid that you’ve failed to intimidate me, young dragon. I'm not going anywhere until I get what I came here for."
“Is that so?” said Spike, “I guess you’ve already made up your mind.” After taking a few steps away from Apple Bloom and towards the unicorn, Spike lashed out his claws and said, “You make the first move, buddy.”
But the unicorn chuckled as it stated, “I do believe that I’ve already done that?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?!”
Just then, Spike heard a terrifying sound behind him. “Ahh!!!”
“What the…”
Spike suddenly turned around and saw that Apple Bloom was already captured. Another pony in the same attire who was an earth pony had dragged her towards them using a whip in it's mouth. Fearing for her life, Apple Bloom yelled out…
“Spike! Spike, help me!”
“Apple Bloom!” Spike shouted as he was rushing towards the earth pony. But then out of nowhere, another pony who was a pegasus and in the same attire as well came swooping down from the air and knocked Spike down on the ground. It caught him by surprise and he didn’t see it coming.
Afterwards, the unicorn used it's magic to levitate Apple Bloom over to its location as the other two ponies trotted over there as well.
“Ugh… dammit,” Spike groaned as he was getting up from being knocked down; and when looked up, he saw all three ponies staring back at him. He scowled at them as he saw Apple Bloom hovering over them feeling completely helpless.
“You didn’t really think that I was going to go against a dragon all alone, did you?” said the unicorn, “Well actually, I’m sure I could still take you on myself; but why risk it on such a big opportunity like this?”
“Give her back, you bastards!” Spike shouted out in anger.
“No need to get all worked up,” said the unicorn, “We’re just going to keep her until she gives birth to her child. Then afterwards, will bring her back to you intact… heh, hopefully.”
Spike had enough as he got more pissed off. “That’s it… you’re dead!”
He then fired a huge fireball at the three mysterious ponies. But the unicorn suddenly blocked it with a small magic barrier.
“Oh my, that was a risky move. What if that fire blast of yours had hit your precious lover here?”
Spike growled at the pony realizing that he was kind of right. He didn’t think that move through.
“You two, make sure to keep him distracted while I make my getaway.”
“Sure thang,” said the earth pony in a similar deep tone.
“You got it, Boss!” said the pegasus in the same tone.
It freaked Spike out a bit of how all three of the ponies’ voices almost sounded the same. But he didn’t dwell on t much once he saw the unicorn start to run off in the distance with Apple Bloom in tow.
“Hey,” he shouted as he began give chase, “who said that you were going to get away?!”
“Obviously… that would be us,” said the pegasus as it and the earth pony got in his way.
Spike kept trying to sidestep pass them or jump over them, but they kept preventing him to get by.
"Get out of my way now!" he shouted in frustration.
"Sorry buddy,” said the pegasus, “not happening. We have strict orders to keep you occupied no matter what."
“Is that so?” Spike growled, “I’m afraid that’s a big mistake on your part. Have you not realized that I’m a freakin’ dragon!?”
Spike suddenly took a deep breath and released a huge flow of fire from his mouth that engulf the two ponies blocking his path. He was aiming to char them enough to make them run in fear and pain; but when the flames settled, the two ponies were still standing and no injuries were seen on them.
‘What the hell?’ Spike thought to himself.
“That won’t work, little dragon,” said the pegasus, “These suits are encased with a heat resistant spell, so fire won’t hurt us… not even dragon fire like yours.”
Spike definitely didn’t see that coming, but he still wasn’t giving up that easily. “Oh yeah, well… lets see how you like this!” He lengthen his claws and then leapt at the two ponies. He took a giant swipe at the pegasus but completely missed as it quickly hovered to the side. He immediately swiped at the earth pony afterwards, but only scratched the fabric of the suit. So it was then that Spike found an upper hand. “Looks like your suits aren’t completely invulnerable after all. Now you’re in trouble.”
“Don’t think yer suddenly lucky,” said the earth pony, “That was a lucky swipe ya made earlier. You can keep swipin’ at us all you want; but just know that with each minute that passes, the further away your sweetheart gets.”
“So what’s your next move, dragon?” said the pegasus.
Spike realized that they were right. The more he spent with them, the further away the unicorn would get with Apple Bloom. He needed to think more clearly. Spike decided to shorten his claws and tried to dash past the two ponies a second time, but only to be pushed back by the pegasus. He tried again and grab a hold on the hoof and swung the pegasus to the side. He continued forward, but only to be pushed down from behind by the pegasus again. And when he tried to get back up, the earth pony grabbed a hold of his leg with the whip and swung him right back over them right he started.
“Aw, wook at the poor, defenseless, wittle dwagon,” the pegasus chuckled, “He can’t even muster up the strength to take us on and protect his lover. That’s so weak.”
Spike’s blood began to boil again as he got back up and shouted, “Shut up! I’m not weak!”
Spike dashed forward again, and this time rammed right through the two ponies knocking them both on the ground. However, the pegasus quickly got up and tried to go at him again, but Spike quickly counterattacked by grabbing the pegasus and throwing it right on top of the earth pony… hard.
Both ponies groaned and Spike smirked proudly and shouted, “Now stay out of my way!”
Meanwhile, the unicorn pony was making it's way across the fields trying to get away with Apple Bloom. However at some point, the pony looked back and saw Spike charging towards them from behind.
“I’m coming, Apple Bloom!”
“Spike!” said Apple Bloom happily.
Although, the unicorn chuckled and thought, ‘Yeah, that’s it. Keep it coming.’
Spike then proceeded to carefully shoot little fast fireballs at foot level to trip up the unicorn. But every shot Spike made, the unicorn kept dodging quite easily. Spike was becoming frustrated. “Dammit; come on!”
Not wanting to waste anymore time, Spike built up more speed in his step, and then took off into the air very quick. His body soared through the air and headed right for the unicorn with his claws ready. He was about to make the strike when suddenly…
“I don’t think so!”
That same pegasus came out of nowhere and rammed Spike away from the unicorn. Spike grunted loudly from the impact and landed on the ground. He suddenly saw that the pegasus was re-joined by the earth pony as well.
“You didn’t think that you had us down for the count, did ya?” said the earth pony.
The unicorn was carefully watching what was happeing and then continued on while hanging on to Apple Bloom; but the angered dragon still got back up still set on rescuing her. “Get back here!” But once again, the other two ponies got in his way, and the earth pony snapped it’s whip right in Spike’s path causing him to halt. However, Spike didn’t falter and he was ready this time as he got in a ready stance and said, “Bring it.”
The pegasus dashed towards him and threw a punch, but Spike easily dodged it and threw one himself getting the pegasus in the nose. The pegasus wiped the bruise and then got in a fist/ hoof fight with Spike exchanging blows over and over. Spike was a bit surprised how good a fighter this pegasus was; the style was even a bit familiar to him. However he was not planning on losing and letting Apple Bloom get away.
Suddenly, Spike saw a quick opportunity and gutted the pegasus with his fist, causing it to fall to the ground. And while Spike was distracted, the earth pony came from behind and tried to lash out its whip to trap him. “Gotcha again.” But without turning around, Spike reached out and grabbed the whip in a tight hold. Spike then glared over at the earth pony and grunted lowly from the his nostrils. All the earth pony could think was... “Uh oh.”
Spike used his strength to pull on the whip and brought the earth pony to him in his claws. He then took the two ponies and and tied them up using the whip. Then he carried them while running again towards the unicorn who was still getting away with Apple Bloom. He checked his angle and lept up in air shouting, “Spike fires into the end zone!”
With one strong throw, he sent the two tied-up ponies flying right towards the fleeing unicorn. The unicorn happened to look behind him and saw what was coming.
“What the…”
The two ponies slammed right into the unicorn, and all three went tumbling across the ground together. The magic holding up Apple Bloom disappeared and she fell back down surprisingly landing perfectly on her hooves. “Nice; Ah landed on all of my hooves!” She then smirked as she saw Spike catch up to her and was bending over to catch his breath. “Spike are you okay?!”
“Never mind... me;” said Spike feeling exasperated; then he looked up at her and said, “are... you okay? Everything… ‘whew’... intact?”
“Yeah, Ah think Ah’m fine… thanks to yer smooth protective moves.”
Spike suddenly brought a glare back on his face as he looked back over to the three ponies who were recollecting themselves from what they were put through. Just looking at them made Spike more pissed off the longer he stared. And now that Apple Bloom was out of their clutches, there was something drastic that he wanted to do to them.
“Hey Spike,” said Apple Bloom, “Ah’m afraid that Ah have a confession that Ah wish to tell ya. Ah’m a bit embarrassed to admit to this, but…”
“Hold that thought, Apple Bloom,” said Spike as some smoke was coming out from his nostrils, “First, those ponies need to be taught a lesson. I need to make sure that they never do this again.”
Apple Bloom saw the menacing look Spike’s eyes and knew what he was planning to do. She tried to stop him, “Spike, wait… y-y-ya don’t have to…”
But Spike didn’t hear as he was already dashing towards the other ponies; and because of her condition, Apple Bloom couldn’t stop him. Meanwhile, the three ponies were just getting themselves together when they suddenly saw Spike up in the air above them. Spike blew a strong stream of fire and engulfed the area around the ponies so they were trapped and couldn't see clearly.
“What the… what’s he doing?” said the unicorn.
Spike then slowly crept into the fire's embers and had his sight set on the three now trapped ponies. They couldn't see him, but he could see them.
“The three of you have made a huge mistake here today. I gave you a chance to drop your act and run away safely, but apparently I didn’t make my point across well enough. So perhaps I should make my point across… another way.”
The three ponies were huddled together trying to figure out where Spike was coming from. Then the unicorn suddenly pleaded, “Spike, wait! Y-y-you don’t have to continue on with this; we give up! W-w-we surrender!”
But in a dark tone, Spike replied, “A little too late for that I’m afraid.”
Then out of nowhere, Spike knocked the earth pony away with his spiked tail startling the other the other. In a slight panic, the pegasus tried to fly upwards; but Spike reached up and grabbed it by the leg and then twirled it around followed by being thrown down on the ground hard. Spike then had his sights set on the unicorn who was slowly backing away from him seeing his angered eyes and sharp claws.
“Spike, calm down!” the unicorn shouted, “It's not really…”
But Spike suddenly picked the unicorn up by it's neck in a tight grip and growled, “Shut up! I don’t want to hear another word of your crap! I hope your followers are watching carefully, because now I’m going to make an example… out of you!”
And with that, Spike released the unicorn’s neck only to swipe forward strongly with his claws. He sent the unicorn flying further than than the other two leaving a few red marks on its side from his razor claws. After falling on the ground, the unicorn laid still with a slight twitch of its hoof. The other two ponies quickly rushed over feeling worried of the unicorn's condition.
“Oh no!”
“He should count himself lucky," Spike growled as as smoke blew out from his snout, "As for you two, you’re next!”
Suddenly, Apple Bloom finally got close enough and yelled out, “Spike, stop! Ya don’t need to keep goin’ like this!”
“Apple Bloom, stay back;" Spiked shouted while keeping his sight on the three ponies, "it's too dangerous! I need to make sure I get my point across so that these three will never do this sort of thing ever again!”
Then Apple Bloom took a deep breath and shouted in a more demanding tone, “Ah said… stop, Spike… NOW!”
The sound of it caused Spike to stop and suddenly stand down. He felt a little startled by Apple Bloom’s tone of voice, and then he turned around only to see her staring back at him while gasping for breath and kneeling on the ground.
Worried for her health, he rushed over to her to make sure that she was okay. Once he found that out, he said to her, “Apple Bloom... I don't mean to be rude, but... what’s your deal?! These three just tried to kidnap you and were going to sell our child like a wild, exotic animal! Are we just going to let them get away with that?! I don’t think so!”
“Spike, that’s what Ah was tryin’ to tell ya!" said Apple Bloom, "This isn’t fer real. Those three aren’t who ya think they are!”
“W-wait… what? What are you talking about?!”
Just then when Spike looked back over at the three ponies, he received the shock of his life as the earth pony took off the top half of it's suit. Who it was made him suddenly freeze in place as he shouted...
"Wh-wh-what the... Applejack?!"
"Howdy," she said in her normal southern voice.
Then the pegasus took off the top half of it's suit.
"R-Rainbow Dash?!"
"S'up, Spike," she said while flashing a nervous grin.
Then he looked over at the unicorn just waiting for the top half of its suit to be pulled off. Sure enough it was… and Spike couldn’t believe his eyes.
"N-n-n-no way! T-T-Twilight?!"
"H-h-hey, Spike. We didn't shock you too much, did we?"
Spike just stood there with wide eyes, gaping mouth, and pointing his claw in their direction. He was completely speechless. But pretty soon, his silence broke and he was slightly stuttering in his speech as he questioned, "W-w-what in the wide world of Equestria is going on here?!” He then looked over at Apple Bloom and raised his voice, “WHAT… THE HELL… IS GOING ON HERE?!"
Apple Bloom was looking at him with a nervous smile as she responded, “Heh heh, Ah have a very logical explanation fer this.”
“Oh, I just bet you do,” said Spike as he crossed his arms. He then looked over at Twilight and said, “By the way, Twilight; are you okay?”
“Don’t worry about me and these... few wounds,” said Twilight, “Nothing that a mild healing spell won’t fix.”
Spike was very relieved to hear that. “Whew, good." But then... "Now again I ask… what the hell is going on here?!”
“Come on, Spike; calm down,” Apple Bloom pleaded.
“I will not calm down! After what I was just put through only to find out that it wasn’t for real; I want an explanation now!”
Just then, Rainbow Dash inched forward and said, “Uh… try and not get too mad; but… this was all kind of a test.”
"A... test? This was all a test?! For what?!"
"To prove yer loyalty to mah sister, of course,” said Applejack, “We wanted to see just how far you would go to protect her if she was... ever in any danger.”
Spike began to get angry again seeing what all of this was about. “All of this… was a test… to prove my loyalty?!”
“Okay; maybe what we did may have not been the best option," said Twilight nervously, "but… it definitely kept you on your toes, didn’t it? Now imagine if this was for real. At least now we know that just how much effort you put in to save Apple Bloom. You truly had the intent to kill.”
“Although, we didn’t exactly planned it to go as far as you took it," said Rainbow Dash, "You really did a number on us. But don’t worry, we took it like a bunch of tough mares.”
“Speak fer yerself," Applejack chuckled as she rubbed her cheek.
They were all expecting Spike to be okay with it even though he was quite confused about it; but unfortunately, he wasn't. He was just standing there looking at them with a pissed off expression and was lightly huffing and puffing. Twilight was getting a bit worried for him and tried to say something to him.
“Um… Spike?”
“So... let me get this straight,” said Spike trying to keep his cool, “After everything I did… everything I went though and put up with… everything I proved up to this point… and you guys pulled this?! Have you all lost it?!”
Apple Bloom tried to speak to him, “Um… actually…” but Spike kept on rambling.
“I can’t believe you… a-all three of you! Just who is the mature one here? I never thought that you girls would do something like this to me! Well… maybe I could see you doing something like this, Twilight… you know, for experimentation and research; and now that I can think about it, I guess Rainbow Dash would be in it for the action.”
Twilight blushed a bit and said awkwardly, “M-m-maybe.”
But Rainbow Dash fully agreed, “Eh, you’re right.”
“But you Applejack; I would’ve thought that you wouldn’t drag your little sister into something like this! Why would you?! I thought that you trust me being with her?!
Applejack suddenly felt a little awkward herself. “Heh, y-y-ya know… it's a funny story.”
“Spike,” said Apple Bloom trying to get his attention, “I’m… actually the one who…”
But Spike still wasn’t listening to her.
“I mean come on… I know that it's obvious that those suits that you wore were fire-proof, but did you see what I almost did to all of you. I almost couldn’t control my calm side! I… I-I-I could‘ve killed you!”
“Y-yes… Spike; we were pretty much aware of that,” Twilight responded.
"Man, is it kind of awkward that we're being lectured here by a baby dragon?" Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack.
"Ya do know that he's not exactly a baby dragon anymore, right?"
"You know what I mean!"
Apple Bloom suddenly shouted as loud as she could, "Spike!"
Spike turned to her still feeling upset and shouted, "What?! Do you have something to say about this?!"
Apple Bloom lightly brushed the side of her leg trying to gather the courage to tell Spike the truth. "A-A-Ah do... actually. Ya see... this wasn't all their doin', it was actually... because of me. Ah'm the one who planned all of this. B-b-but don't take it the wrong way; Ah just wanted to test and see how much you could hold yer own because… well… lets face it… y-yer not much of a fighter.”
Spike was now at a loss and was even more shocked than he already was.
“But…” said Rainbow Dash trying to step in, “your strength more than made up for it and you were able to take us all on in the end without a single scratch on Apple Bloom. You’re proud of that, right?”
Spike glared at Rainbow Dash, and then glared back Apple Bloom who was nervously grinning at him hoping that he wouldn’t be mad at him. But it still didn't change anything; in fact, Spike was now even more upset.
“Okay… I get it now. So it was you who came up with this whole ridiculous plan and those three were your… what; guneia pigs?! That makes this scenario so much better.”
“Oh great, he’s being sarcastic," said Twilight.
“And seriously, Apple Bloom; who cares whether I can fight or not! I figured that I was already more than capable of protecting you and our child; but you obviously still had doubts about it, so you did this! Do you even trust my instincts anymore?!”
“Ah told ya, Spike," Apple Bloom pleaded, "it's nothin' like that! A-A-Ah just decided that… that it was okay to test ya. A-Ah thought... that it would be worth it to see if you were truly prepared and up fer the job, and… a-and… wait, Ah’m just repeating mahself, aren’t Ah?”
“Yes, yes you are. And may I remind you that your test almost got your sister and two of her friends slaughtered by my claws! If that had happened, would you think that it was worth it then?!”
Apple Bloom knew that could have been possible for real, but it kinda frighten her suddenly as she was thinking about it. She didn't say a word.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so," said Spike with a smug look, "You should’ve clued me into this whole thing and see what I thought of it! But to be perfectly honest with you, Apple Bloom… this whole thing was stupid, irrational and totally… unnecessary! I guess somethings never change.”
Apple Bloom suddenly lowered her head feelin a bit hurt from Spike's words.
“And you three…" Spike shouted turning to Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, "you should be ashamed of yourselves of even going along with this; especially you Applejack. You’re all lucky I didn’t tear you open and eat your bowels! N-n-n-not… that I would… actually… do that.”
There was a sudden silence throughout their area except the sudden light gusts of wind that swept through the tension. Spike wanted to say something more to Apple Bloom, but to keep himself from saying something worse in his state... he didn’t.
“I… I-I need to go; and don’t bother to follow me!”
Spike then fled away from the scene leaving Apple Bloom with the others. Apple Bloom tried to call him back...
“Spike, wait; come back!”
However, he didn't answer; he just kept on running off. At that moment, Apple Bloom truly regretted what she did.
“W-w-well... that could’ve gone better," said Twilight, "Never did I thought that I would be talked down to by him… literally.”
“Spike does realize that if we had clued him in it would’ve defeated the whole purpose of this plan, right?" said Applejack, "But… maybe he had a point that this whole thing was s… um, u-u-unnecessary.”
“Yep, I knew it," said Rainbow Dash trying to hide her guilt, "I told you girls that this was a horrible idea. I figured that the entire time.”
“Please; you were all up fer this," Applejack retorted, "Ya said that it would cure you of yer… adrenaline absence.”
“I know," Rainbow Dash admitted, "But hey, it totally worked! My body is all rilled up and alert! I needed a good rush.”
Twilight went over to Apple Bloom who was lightly sobbing with tears going down her face and calmly asked her, “Hey, uh... are you okay, Apple Bloom?”
Apple Bloom wiped away some of her tears and responded, “Ah’m… A-A-Ah’m alright, Twilight; but… did ya hear what he… said to me?”
“Oh we all heard what he said, Sis;” said Applejack, “and Ah oughta smack him er saying that straight in ya face.”
“No, Applejack… no. He’s right,” Apple Bloom admitted, “Ah’m a mare now, and Ah have a responsibility. Ah have to be more mature about mah decisions. But what Ah did here… maybe it was a bit too much; a bit rash and… kinda stupid Ah admit. Ah really need to learn to think better and more intelligently; not just fer Spike or anypony else… but fer mah child too. Ah guess… maybe Ah was still a bit doubtful about this.”
Applejack knew what her young sister was saying was right and was being pretty mature of not denying herself of her mistake. However, Spike’s words still didn’t make her smile. “That’s mighty mature of ya to say, Apple Bloom; but it still dosen’t mean Spike had the right to say that comment to yer face.”
“Where do ya think Spike went off to?” Apple Bloom said to Twilight, “It's possible that he could’ve gone anywhere... to be away from me.”
“Apple Bloom... Spike doesn't hate you, okay?” said Twilight, “He’s just… a little upset of what could’ve happened and that you were behind it… is all.” Twilight then had a little smile thinking of how Spike had brooding moments in the past, “But not to worry. I think I know exactly where he is.