//------------------------------// // Interlude: Hero's Reward // Story: Another Hatchling // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// The next day, the group gathered again shortly after breakfast to hear more of the story. However, shortly before Samus or Spike could begin, there was a knock on the door. Confused, Twilight started to move for the door. "I'll get it!" Spike told her, heading for the door and opening it. Before him, two figures he had been starting to remember stood there, staring up at him in shock. Spike couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Last time I saw you, you were bigger than me," he pointed out to the unicorn stallion. "Spike?" Shining and Cadence gasped out in shock. "Shining? Cadence?" Twilight called out from inside, recognizing their voices as she rushed out to join what quickly became a group hug. "What happened to you, Spike?" Shining finally asked as the hug broke up. "Nope!" Pinkie piped up, jumping between them. "We've already sat through four days of storytelling. You can join in in the middle and get the refresher later!" Cadence couldn't help but laugh at that. "Or we could just read Twilight's notes," she teased, resulting in Twilight blowing her a raspberry. Shining rolled his eyes at that. "Yeah...she's the only filly to ever take notes during The Cat in the Hat." "Shi-ning!" Laughter and introductions went around, as well as a few quick explanations, and Shining and Cadence took seats around the table. "So what have we missed?" Shining asked. "Any chance we could get a cliff notes version before you continue?" "Samus hatched Spike due to crazy time stuff," Rainbow began. "Spike ate bad stuff which is actually good for dragons, grew super tough, fought a dragon, fought a demon, saved two planets, and had trouble convincing himself he wasn't a monster. Oh, and he apparently snagged a kiss at some point we haven't heard about yet, since apparently dragon fire cleanses their mouth completely, even of bad breath, leaving only a 'smokey aftertaste'." Rarity gave Rainbow a long suffering look. "That was a rather...blunt way of putting it," she commented, noting Shining's somewhat shell-shocked expression. "However, I must admit I'm still curious about who it was that you got such...attention from, Spikey-Wikey." She fluttered her eyelashes at the dragon, making him scratch at his neck uncomfortably. "Funny you should bring that up," Samus pointed out. "That's actually the next part of the story, when we went back to that same world where Spike had his 'monster' moment before." "Ya took him back?" Applejack asked in shock. "My idea," Spike indicated. "I wanted to face up to what I'd done and accept it...and prove to myself that I'd moved past it." "And boy did he..." Samus chuckled. As Samus and Spike stepped out on the world where their previous abortive picnic had occurred, Spike glanced around carefully. His armor hummed faintly, limiting his capabilities to account for the 1G environment, as opposed to the 20G he was used to. He was still immensely strong like this, but with luck he wouldn't break anything, or anyone. He wasn't surprised to see looks of concern or hostility sent his way after his last visit there. Samus, for her part, greeted any hostility directed at Spike with a hostile look of her own. She was much better at it than the civilians. Few hostile civilians remained any longer than it took them to turn tail. Cadence couldn't help but giggle at that. "I never would have pegged you for the overprotective type, Samus," she teased. Samus merely shrugged in response as Spike rolled his eyes. "Well, considering I thought I'd lost him at the end of the last mission-" "Wait, lost?" Shining asked, confused. "Oh, yeah, Spike died at the end of the second planet," Rainbow added nonchalantly. "He got better though, and he apparently has a taste for brains. No big." Discord busted several guts laughing. "Shiney...Cadey...you should both see your faces!" The Princess and Prince Consort both blushed, as while Discord was the most vocal, he wasn't the only one laughing. Samus suppressed her own chuckles. "At any rate, things were...tense. At least until the fire broke out." "Fire?" many of the listeners gasped out. Spike rolled his eyes. "Mom, I don't know which of you is worse..." Spike and Samus were caught off guard when they saw the fire truck go racing by. However, neither hesitated either. Samus donned her Varia Suit - Arm Cannon restored - and raced after Spike, who managed to get ahead of her in the short time she had taken to get armored. Arriving at the scene, she saw the fire truck in position, dousing a large apartment complex with their hoses, trying to extinguish the flames. "What's the situation?" she asked the head of the squad. Recognizing her by her armor, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Fuel Gel tanker had a navigation malfunction and crashed into the apartment building. It's mostly empty, but there are still people and animals trapped inside. Was the dragon with you?" He gestured to the large hole in the wall. "Spike went inside?" she demanded in shock. "He said he was fire proof!" one of the other fire fighters called out. "Not Fuel Gel proof!" Samus snapped, getting ready to charge in. "Fuel Gel?" Twilight asked curiously. "A highly reactive chemical substance, naturally occurring on various worlds," Samus explained. "Ideal for interstellar ships as a fuel source. Highly acidic to organic materials." Twilight and several others winced. Samus continued the story. As Samus got ready to move in, the fire bowed outward around the hole as Spike stepped out carefully, several people and animals shielded under his armored wings. The fire fighters raced forward to guide them to the EMTs. "I think that's everyone," Spike told the one in charge. "My baby!" one of the women shouted out. "My little girl's still in there!" His eyes going wide, Spike turned and immediately raced back inside, eyes closed and nostrils flared. "Eyes closed?" Shining asked, confused. "Sight isn't actually the strongest sense in most reptiles," Fluttershy pointed out. "From the sound of it, Spike was trying to track the difference in heat between human body temperature and flames, and scent anyone living left in the burning building." "That exactly, Fluttershy," Spike praised. "Unfortunately, I was nearly too late..." Samus watched from below, focusing on using her power beam to shoot any fragments of debris that were flying towards other buildings or people. She regretted her lack of Ice Beam, as it would be ideal for the situation. Not even her missiles were useful here. While focusing on what she could do, she pushed back her worries about Spike. After all, he was a big dragon, right? At that moment, a scream was heard from the far side of the building. Up near the top, a teenage girl - presumably the one Spike had gone back in to find - was holding on for dear life from a window ledge, fire shooting out the window above her. Samus raced over with the firemen, trying to position an impact pad to help the girl survive the fall, but she lost her grip before they'd even made it around the corner, screaming as she fell. As she passed the halfway point - about when the impact pad was fully unpacked - the side of the building exploded outward just above her. The civilians screamed in fear, but Samus felt her jaw drop as she saw lances of green incinerate bits of debris falling towards the girl. Spike swooped down out of the cloud of smoke and flame, moving as fast as he could to catch up to the girl. Just before she hit the ground, he managed to snag her. His armor's anti-G field kicked in, using the same energies that limited his strength in a low-G environment to neutralize the effect of sudden G's on his body - or anything he was holding - allowing him to shift instantly to lateral flight without tearing himself or the girl apart as he pulled her into his forelegs. He performed a gentle swoop up and around to land amongst the civilians safely. "You alright, miss?" he asked as he set her down gently. The girl smiled up at him. "My hero," she breathed, throwing her arms around his head and planting her lips firmly on his. His eyes popped open in shock. After a few moments, she pulled back, licking her lips thoughtfully. "Hmm...smokey." She giggled. "My name's Lauren. What's yours?" "Er...I...uh...guh..." Spike stammered out. "Spike!" Samus shouted, catching their attention. She pointed upward, where a bit of pipe blasted upward by another explosion in the building had caused one of the aerial tankers carrying the flame retardant to extinguish the flames start to list dangerously, losing altitude. Without thinking, Spike took wing, shooting up into the air to catch the listing ship, using his own strength and wings to position it in the right place to dump its load. Lauren looked up with an awestruck grin. "Dragons are awesome!" "That they are!" Rainbow crowed, holding out her hoof for Spike to bump. Rarity sighed theatrically. "A young girl bestows her first kiss upon her rescuer...how romantic..." Samus chuckled at Spike's embarrassment. "Well, we weren't able to stay for long. By the time we were finally ready to unwind, we got called up for another mission. We had to meet up with one of the Federation's main fleets near Planet Norian for debriefing. That mission...was a doozy." "Made some friends while we were at it, though," Spike pointed out. "You know how that ended," Samus countered. Spike shuddered. "Don't remind me-" "Forgive my interruption!" Luna spoke up. "However, my attention is required immediately. An errant comet has just entered our region of space and is approaching the planet at untoward velocity!" Twilight let out a shocked gasp, shortly followed by the entire group racing out of the castle. "Where is it, Luna?" Celestia asked. Luna focused her magic, and her eyes widened. "That is far too fast! It has already entered the atmosphere!" She pointed upward. A bright blue spot surrounded by a red corona could be seen shooting through the atmosphere, coming downward. "Shining Armor!" Luna barked out. "We need your strongest shield spell, backed by all the magic we can bring to bear! If that thing impacts at those speeds-" "It won't," Spike commented calmly, his eyes locked on the object and the readouts his visor was giving him. "It'll slow down well before it reaches the ground, and come in for a gentle landing..." He tracked the course projection, and pointed to a clear space near the crystal castle, within walking distance. "Right about there." He glanced up at Discord. "I wonder how they got the course so accurate? Or knew where to find us?" Discord glanced away, whistling innocently. "I...I don't understand..." Luna began. "It's not a comet," Samus explained as the object began to slow its descent. "It's a spaceship...made of living ice." "And machines, from the looks of things," Spike pointed out. As the ship landed gently, its door opened. Three familiar figures stepped out into the light.