//------------------------------// // ACT I: I – Introductions // Story: Spike's Temporary Stay // by B_25 //------------------------------// Spike's Temporary Stay Act I "Feelings of Hontesy" ~I~ INTRODUCTIONS A late evening’s ray of light shimmered down through the branches of the densely packed trees, landing upon the dragon limping by. Instead of the trees lessening at his side, they increased in bunches with a red gloss adorning their leaves. As his feet stumbled along the ground, a raised root laced around his ankle, causing him to trip and slam into a tree. The world around him slowly morphing into one giant blur. Spike’s right claw trembled against the bark of the tree as he pushed himself upright; his left claw reaching out to some blurry red orbs dangling just above his head. “Hold it right there!” Spike spun around to the distorted voice, allowing his trembling claw to slip off from the bark and his body to fall sideways. His arms spun around like propellers to keep him aloft, though this lasted for only a few seconds, before he collapsed onto his chin. The voice giggled, then tried to hold back said giggles, before breaking out into full blown laughter. “You know—” The drake grunted as his claw pressed against the ground, lifting himself back up, only to fall backward onto the tree “—it’s not polite to laugh when someone falls down.” “Neither is it polite to be wandering on others property without their permission.” The orange blur grew in size. “Care to explain what you’re doing out here?” “Going for a lovely evening stroll?” “I ain’t in the mood for funny business.” The voice paused a moment, its blurry form beginning to swing like a pendulum. Attempting to follow it left and right only caused vomit to rise in the dragon’s throat. Yet the glimpses he did catch were the intruder’s eyes scanning up and down his body. “It looks like you’ve seen your fair share of the the world.” The voice sounded feminine, and the southern accent was cute on the ears, yet it carried a strong pitch spoken from the chest. “I’ve been to towns that have better reception, if that counts.” “Cut. The. Funny. Business.” The voice of the mare grew into a protective growl. “Just what do you thinking you’re doing on my family’s farm?” “Farm?” Ponyville had just been looming in the distance from the edge of the forest, and somehow, Spike had wandered onto a farm. “My vision really is screwing me up…look. I’m just trying find a town called Ponyville.” The moment was kept in a state of silence, until a pair of hooves began to crush leaves that laid scattered along the ground, till the sound was no longer faint to the dragon’s hearing. “Have you heard of it before?” he tried again with a slight crack in his voice. The crunching of leaves stopped before it could reach the tree on which Spike was currently leaning against for support. The stranger drew a heavy breath, with spikes of distress interrupting the long draw. “Ponyville… what is it you want to do in Ponyville?” Spike chuckled as he attempted to slowly push off from the tree, careful to not put too much weight on himself, and more importantly, his wounds, just yet. “Was hoping to buy a nice hat, along with a few bandages for my arms…chest, torso, legs— you get the idea.” The claw that pressed against his hip received a spray of blood onto its palm, the shifting weight of the dragon creating more pressure on the wound. Spike leaned back fully onto the tree and stifled away his pain, lest he tempt the mare with the knowledge that she could overpower him. Not a whisper, nor a heavy breath, came from the mare. The expected screams for help never roared from her lips, but that did not mean that it wasn’t still a possibility. If it weren’t for the hollowing of Spike’s body, the mare would’ve already been put to sleep. “You look like a wild creature—” the mare began before being interjected. “Thanks for the boost of confidence.” “—a wild creature who ran into something far wilder than yourself… something tells me you weren’t lying about the other towns’ better reception of you.” The beatings of Spike’s heart chose not one rhythm to stick with. His breaths didn’t align with the surges of pain that stabbed daggers into his abdomen. It felt so easy to correct all these mistakes, but any thoughts or processes to make any changes were lost in a fiery cloud that clouded his mental capabilities. “What makes you think that?” he said as his inhales timed with the beginning of the surges, allowing them both to reach their peaks together, so that he may exhale the pain away. Along with droplets of blood, of course. “I don’t know many critters from the Everfree that can talk, nonetheless, speak as well as you do.” Her brows matted with perspiration narrowed upon him. “It’s almost like this ain’t even your first time speaking with a pony”   A sword comprised of pain slashed at the dragon’s core, causing him to gasp for air and stifle the expression of agony before the mare could finish blinking. “Thank you…for that…I suppose…” Amidst the abstract blurs of brown that made of the trees, and the green haze that was of the grass, her small orange smile was clear to his draconic eyes. The mare’s freckled cheeks adorable in the sun’s rays of light. “You’re welcome. But now you get why this whole thing is odd to me, right? First I think an overgrown lizard is going to terrorize my farm, and in the next moment, we’re having a conversation. So pardon my asking, but just what kind of creature are you?” Spike couldn't help but chuckle and grin amidst the bolts electrocuting his body. “A dragon. If you must know.” A rope flew forth and snapped in the air, the very sound shocking the dragon’s heart as he erected against the tree. Before he could even move, the rope sliced down like a saw before his snout, before being snapped back to its owner’s side. Green claws rose from the bark and wound, to before the dragon’s face, and the other, towards the mare. Her emerald eyes glimmering in the golden rays showed to all the honest character inside, as well as the conflict that brewed within the pools of green. “Dra… dragon.” White teeth clenched down upon the rope in her mouth, slightly muffling the voice, as the face above held an unreadable expression. “You…you’re a dragon?” “Call me… a reptile…” the drake’s breaths were getting cut short by the tightness in his chest. “If that...makes you...feel better…” There was a snap that whipped through the air. The brown blur tied itself into a circle big enough to fit around the neck of the dragon it flew towards. Spike flew his wrist before his face, the rope lapping around the green arm. With a great pull from the drake, the mare with the rope clenched between her teeth flew forth. Her screams caused the birds perched upon the branches to fly away into the orange sky, as her body hurled towards the dragon with no way of defense. A fist rose into the air, with the elbow eclipsing her sight of the sun, as the claw then came down upon her, weakening opening at the last moment before its talons slashed away at her furry cheek. Blood splatter towards the drake, as the force of the strike sent her flying back. Yet with another tug at the rope with an opposite claw, the mare was yanked back yet again, and flying her way for another strike. A popping sensation burned in the wrist of the hand that held the rope, spasming the muscles in the claw into opening, which allowed the rope to slide out from his grasp. No longer having her body tugged at, the mare leaned back and pushed out her hindlegs, aimed directly at the dripping wound upon the dragon’s hip. His eyes caught sight of their directions as he twisted off from the tree, blood splattering from hip onto the hooves that slammed against the tree. A tremble shook throughout the branches as a few broke off from the tree. The arm that hadn’t gone nerve dead had risen into the air, erecting each of its talons, and brought their sharpness down upon her. Yet he couldn't help but catch a glimpse of himself upon her eyes, a face of a savage dragon looking him back. The claw hurling towards her lost its speed, allowing for the mare to kick off the tree. Yet, the claw came just before her eyes, and she had already exhausted all movements she could away from it. The talons hovered before her pupils, ready to pluck them away. They then swung up to steal the thing upon her head instead. And as the mare fell back onto the grass, a familiar snap rang throughout the air. After a second, a great pain burned at Spike's hip, forcing him unto his knee, while a rope covered in blood swung back to its owner. Pants wheezed out from the fallen dragon, as his heavy eyelids began to slide close. Damn…it...can’t think…can’t focus on...her... The mare rose from the grass, no longer needing to look up to stare into the dragon's eyes. Her tied ponytail exposed to the lifting winds, yet her eyes fell upon the stetson in the dragon’s hand. Spike scoffed away the pain and humiliation as he tried to stand back up, the pressure of every rising inch forcing his claw to clench the stetson, further crumpling it.   “No. Stop! Please!” Spike clenched his teeth as he collapsed back onto his knee, his claw unfurling to show a well-worn hat…seemingly passed down by generations to protect the eyes of those who worked hard under the harsh rays of sunlight. Spike stumbled to rise from the ground once more, his claw careful to not clench the hat, as a chuckle escaped his lips. “Ready for round two?” A huff came from the mare as the two began to circle one another, the distance between them gradually shrinking as they began to talk, with Spike barely holding up his claws. “If you really are a dragon,” the mare began with a strain on her voice, “then why aren’t you acting like one? You hesitated back there at the tree, as that’s the only reason I even made it out of round one.” “I’m in a lot of pain.” Spike shoulders were invourtaily shaking at the weight it costed to keep his claws up. “My reflexes aren’t on point, so you can thank them for not having a cut on your other cheek.” The rope snapped at the grass in-between them that flew the dirt into the air, with the mare’s hoof stepping upon the hole in the ground. The dragon choose to retreat back as his left claw faltered to his side. “Even if that were the case, Mr. dragon, it still doesn't explain why you chose to not damage my hat.” The spark of Spike’s conscious was being drowned in the sea of pain, the luxury of coming up with lies and ideas too far gone to even be conceived anymore. “Alright, you got me. I don’t like to instill the maximum amount of misery that my dragon brethren seek when they burn down your villages.” The irritation that seemed to have narrowed the mare’s eyes slowly faded from her features, as her eyes became lost upon his wound, to the point where her pools of green began to glimmer. “You speak like you aren’t very close with your dragon family.” Spike dryly chuckled as his body began to feel hollow. “I tend to keep away from other dragons...too much king-playing and dumb-talking for my liking.” Her eyes narrowed again, but this time, the cause didn’t seem to be that of anger. “Another question for you.” “What? Not another surprise attack?” Spike’s side slammed into a tree his eyes had failed to see — eyes going wide as a sprew of blood erupted from his mouth. “K-Keep this up, and I-I’ll start thinking this is some kind o-of interview.” The mare began to close the distance between them, with Spike forced to dig his claws into the bark of the tree to stay afloat. No longer was running away an option for him, and the mare seemed to know this, as she took another step. “This interview is the only thing stopping me from tying you up, and dropping you off at the Royal Guard.” “Are... ponies always this friendly?” The mare took another step. “How does a dragon like you speak so well? “Do you mean, how am I so articulate?” Even in death, Spike could still be a dick. The mare huffed as she took yet another step, ignoring his comment “Every dragon I’ve met could only speak a few words, and at the same pace rivaling that of Tank.” “Ta...Tank?” “Oh.” The mare’s lips pouted forth as her eyes went blank. “Tank’s a turtle, so, the dragon spoke as slow as a turtle. Which means that you sorta speak faster than a turtle, almost faster than a pony.” Spike’s mouth hung open as his mind processed the mare’s logic, only understanding half of what she had said. “I see. So you’ve met a full-blown dragon and lived to tell the tale?” “Sorta.” Her head bounced in remembrance of something old. “We had Fluttershy scold the big fella for causing a big cloud of smoke to overtake the town. Heck, she talked him into finding another place to slumber down.” The mare’s eyes blinked in realization of something that was beginning to slip her mind. “Just wait a second. You haven’t answered by question!” Spike exhaled a long breath that dealt away with some of the tension building inside him. It’s like I’ve seen this mare everyday of my life, but had forgotten all about her while in a dream. “Most teenage dragons,” Spike began, the tightness loosening in his chest, “even some baby dragons, are able to talk as well as you and I. It’s only when our greed gets the better of us, that we begin to forget who we are, and even how to speak. “All a dragon is, after that, is his hoard. But the one thing that hoard will forever lack, is life itself.” Now that I think about it, I guess there’s more things than just greed that’ll take away a dragon’s life. Falling in-between the dragon and the pony was the sun that began its graceful descent. A wave of golden light washed through the lands of trees and even offer the duo the last of its warmth embrace. “Even if t’were the case,” the mare stepped closer to the drake, being perfectly outlined by the temporary golden light, “I get the feeling from you, by the way that you talk to the way how you act, that you’re different from the other dragons that my friends have talked about.” The mare took another step closer towards the dragon, but no longer did it increase the pressure in the dragon’s blood. “And that just makes you a plain interesting dragon. Albeit one that’s lost his manners along the way, yet that doesn’t stop from from being plain interesting. The mare uttered a soft giggle. “Only one other dragon comes to mind who was as close to interesting as you are. Heh, far better mannered, his name was Spiii…” No longer did the rays of light fall upon her being, as her head fell almost to reclaim that last bit of falling light, only to hang her head in the shame of the shadows of the trees. The back of her neck looked ripe for a quick slash that would keep her down onto the grass, affording the dragon the time he would need to escape back into the Everfree. The only thing that touched the fur upon her neck was the wind’s faintest touch.  “S-Say p-p-partner? W-What was...what is...your name?” “M-My name?” “Y-Yes.” Both beings were lost to the world at this time due their separate reasons: one appeared to be of a forgotten memory, while the other was suffering in the pain of it all. The latter still conscious enough to fall forward with a claw hung up high. Eyes as green as mine that spoke of their owner’s honesty… Freckles that shone admirably in the rays of sunlight… The hat she carries that shows respect to families past... And a tail tied so it doesn’t get in the way of hard work… I think I finally remember you. The mare shook out of her dreamy state only to see the claw too late upon her, without a chance to even flinch, it seemed that the end was near, so she closed her eyes and waited. Yet, it wasn’t pain that struck her, only the presence of something upon her head. When her eyelids slid open, she found them protected by the stetson atop her head, placed there by the dragon’s whose body just slammed against the grass. Blood soaked the ground and painted the land red, as it continued to pour from every hole the drake had to offer.   “I don’t have a name.” The words weakened into a whisper, as he looked up to her with the one eye that was above the grass. “Even if I had been given one at birth…I’d never...remember...it…” A seeming eternal darkness consumed the dragon’s orb of vision as well as his mental faculties. No longer did his body bear the weight of pain nor his mind the misery it carried, as his eyes finally slid close. The dragon went to sleep, with the mare standing above, able to do whatever a pony would please to a dragon who had once terrorized the town, and recently, her farm. In the black abyss that exists within everyone, the place where those who dream reside in their sleep, and those who die are forced to continually fall and see vague glimpse of stars, is where the dragon found himself plummeting to the bottom. He tried to scream, but had no mouth to do so with. Instead a claw reached out to the ceiling of the abyss to claim some kind of hope to cure his being, yet part of his body desired to reach the bottom, to extract whatever power that could create such a space. It was the dragon who began to roll that allowed him to collide against the walls of blackness, phasing on out through the middle of the abyss, eternally damned to wander in-between the cross roads, as he fell onto dry patch of grass. “Ah nelly!” A voice cried from just above. “I can’t do this! I can’t help him by myself!” Spike’s heavy eyelids began to slide open as the sight of a wooden ceiling and bundles of hay made his vision. So too, was the worried face of the mare before, with blood covering her hooves. “Hold it. Is he… are you…” The claw trembled as it barely rose off the ground, trembling as it turned, telling the mare to come a little closer. Her eyes drifted from the claw to the barely conscious dragon, as she brought her ear next to his mouth. “Could you… slam your hoof into my thigh, please?” The mare pulled back her head with quivering lips and eyes that kept shaking. “Are...are you crazy from all the blood lost?” “Pain.” Spike lifted his head ever so slightly from the grass, shaking every inch of the way. “I need a fresh dose of it, to stay, awake.” A tired furry brow raised up high, so too, did a hoof over a scaly thigh that was mostly barren of wounds. Looking to the dragon as he nodded his head, the mare then slammed her hoof onto his leg. A snap was lost to the screams of wailing pain. Spike lurched up his back and fell it upon the bundle of hay behind him. “A dose of pain is better than caffeine,” he gave a weak chuckle. “A useful thing to know when traveling through the Everfree.” The mare could only sigh in irritation. “So,” the drake let his head fall back as well, the mare being captured in his eyes, “I’m a little confused as to why I’m not six feet under the ground, or behind metal bars.” “Now’s not the time to discuss that,” the mare began, walking towards the door of the barn. “If I don’t find someone who can help you soon.” Her hoof reached for the door handle. “Don’t.” Came the voice from behind her back, causing her to turn and face the dragon. “By the time you find a doctor, and the tools required to save me, I’ll already be gone.” A sigh escaped her lips as her hoof fell from the door, as she began to walk back to the dragon, who had his eyes glossing down his body. “Neat. So I can’t feel anything in my upper-body.” Spike looked back up and offered the mare a smile. “That means I shouldn’t feel any of this!” Embers sparked out from his nostrils as a fire erupted from the cavern below, a green fire flaming down his chest and spreading along the surface of wounds, sealing them in a burning passion all the way down to his feet. Another cry of misery resounded off the ceiling of the barn. “I was wrong! I was soooo wrong! The mare, who no longer was just the mare to Spike, continued to be called as such as he sat down next to the drake. Her mouth retrieved the white box on the bundle of hay and brought it down to the floor. “Since you’re refusing anyone else’s help,” the box sprang open with bandages and clear bottles inside it. “Shall I get back to trying to help you?” As her hoof went for the box, a green claw refuted its entrance. “Thank you for the help so far.” Spike rose his claws and wiggled them as if to accentuate their sharp contours. “But it’s better to have claws than hooves when you need to be precise.” The wounds scattered across Spike’s body had dwindled in size, with less blood leaking out from them. But the bigger gashes had holes that offered the view of the inner-workings of a dragon, just as they spewed t blood across the wood and grass of the farm, in revenge for the irritation of the dragon’s flame. Spike’s bottom lip slipped into his mouth as his fangs pierced through the scales, drawing a trickle of blood. “Mind if we talk so I don’t lose consciousness while mending my wounds?” He noticed the forlong look on the mare’s face, not at all liking the sympathy, or guilt, that her eyes tried to suppress. “Depends on what you wanna talk about.” Spike blew a green flame unto his suspended claw, casting enough fire unto it until it burned by itself. The claw then lowered to the dripping gash upon Spike’s left pec, pressing the burning flame against the place where his heart beated. “Anything!” His eyes clenched in agony as his lips fully recoiled in misery. No longer could the mare suppress her sadness as it washed across her face, placing her hoof upon the dragon’s leg, much softer than before. “Alright. But I’m taking over as soon as this becomes too much for you, you hear?” The bottle of rubbing alcohol was lifted from the box, the lid coming to be bitten off by a pair of fangs, before being held over a patch swollen lips. “Isn’t it kinda ironic?” His emerald eyes drifted over to hers. “To save a dying patient, while being that dying patient?” “Uh-huh.” The mare suppressed her own groan at the liquid that was washing across the dragon’s chest, he being unable to suppress his own screams. “I guess bad jokes are the last thing you have to cling to?” “Yep!” The scream died down into a groan, allowing the dragon to look back down to her. “It’s why you shouldn’t feel bad for me: I’m the one who got myself into this mess. Besides, frowns never helped anyone, yeah?” “So what?” The mare lifted her hoof off from his thigh, irritation seeping into her tone. “You just want me to sit here and smile?” A needle hovered over the wound that barred the way to Spike’s heart, piercing the lips as a line followed behind it, bringing the lips closer together every time the needle went for another loop. “If you... don’t mind.” The ceiling of the barn began to fade away into the receding distance, the walls of the barn falling to reveal a storm of a vague blue surrounding them. Spike’s head felt faint as it fell left, with eyes still focused on coordinating the needle. I’m not...going to last...much longer... “You wanted to know why I save you, right?” Spike tried to nod his limp head, yet his toes wiggled instead, as another pair of lips became sealed. “Ye...ah…” The mare sighed as she rose from the ground, her tied tail swaying along with the movements of her hip. “I just couldn’t leave someone to die like that, bleeding all over the place, in a pain I probably couldn’t handle. Even if I don’t know the full reason on why I saved you, I know doing so was the right thing.” A squeal of air came from one of the sealed lips, spreading ever so slightly as the line became undone. Another dose of sleepiness attacked Spike’s mind, as his claws fumbled to re-do the stitching. “Sounds like…you did it…out of guilt…or curiosity.” The freckled face faded into an orange blur, as it bobbed, up and down. “Think it was a bit of both.” As soon as the wound was re-sealed, the needle fell from the claw’s grasp. “If that’s the case, then I would have rather you—” Blood torrented out from the dragon’s mouth and poured like a waterfall onto his body, covering green with red, hiding away the wounds, with their faintest place being betrayed by arising bubbles. The mare’s hoof slammed against the ground.  “That’s it! You can’t do this alone, and neither can I. We need to go get help!” “N-No!” A claw stretched out towards her, but only served in weighing its owner’s body forward, causing his chest and navel to collapse onto the ground.   “Ponies can’t see me like this! I-I won’t let them!” Blood continued to drip from his lips as the outstretched claw dug into the grass, pulling the rest of the body forward. “I’d rather bleed all my blood away than have another pony see me!” The mare stepped closer to the dragon, while keeping a safe distance away from his stretching claw. “You can’t be serious.” Spike stared the deepest of hatred into her bewildered eyes, never breaking contact as he rolled onto his back, and hovered a claw above his heart. The sharpness of the talons shining in the candle light. The gaze of pure madness struck at the mare’s very heart as she recoiled a few steps, chest looking weak as her breaths were faint. Eyes blinking nonstop, as if unable to understand the sight of a dragon willing to tear it all away. “What…” she stepped back while shaking her head. “What if I call just one pony, a great friend who's as kind as can be, and will treat anyone no matter what they may be.” The talons inched towards the bloody chest. “What’s her name?” A moment’s hesitation overtook the mare, seemingly debating if she should give such information to a dragon in quite a mental state as this one. Yet his trust was needed if there was going to be any hope of saving him. “Fluttershy.” The talons began to tremble over the wound sealing away his heart, so desperate to slash away at what gave him what life he had left, yet something else possessed the claw to allow the dragon to live a little longer. Unable to will his heart away, the claw smashed the box next to him. The sound of falling wooden pieces being carried throughout the barn. “I’ll take that as a yes?” The dragon merely mumbled something inherently as his heavy eyelids began to slide close, the weariness of the pain finally taking hold of his system. He could hear her faint breath that fell past her small smile, as she turned to to the door. “Before you...go,” his voice crackled with every word, causing the mare to turn her head “Can you...tell me...what your name...is?” Her smile grew bigger, just before it opened. “Name’s Applejack, sugarcube.” “Applejack?” His eyes blinked in horror, before his heavy eyelids finally slid close. “Please….don’t...tell...them…” Not a sound came from inside the farm, the hallowing wind banging outside. Then came the sound of hoofsteps against the grass, coming closer and closer towards, before they stopped entirely. After a moment’s silence, the hooves turned and became fainter by the step, till they disappeared past the squeaky sound of an opening and closing door. The claw that had been reaching out for Applejack fell to the land below. A fog composed purely of black streamed from the walls, falling towards the bottom that had an unforeseeable end. Upon a transparent bridge that shone lightly, the colors of the rainbow, laid a dragon whose claw dangled off the edge. His face scrunched in pain as his eyelids began to slide open, eyes dilating to the blinking red light hidden amongst the fog, then drifting downwards to the nothingness his claw hung too. The right side of his body began to lean over the nothingness, weighing the rest of the body to fall along with it. Spike screamed internally as he pulled himself back, rolling his back onto the bridge, and taking a much needed breath of air. At the circle ceiling of the abyss shone down a light, so bright and revealing, that Spike couldn’t help but raise a claw towards it. The green liquid that formed all around the dragon’s body found its symbiotic touch being torn away from the purple scales, ascending above the body like balls of paint into the light’s embrace, until nothing of the matter stuck to the dragon.   In the light’s grasp, the balls of green began to collide into one-another, growing in size as the light drifted across the bridge, leaving the drake in the faint glowing colors of the bridge. And as all the balls became one, so too, did they color transform from green to orange. Ripples formed on the surface of the giant orb, as four pillars shot from its core and stretched to the bottom of the abyss. Laughter roared off the walls of fog as the orb began to stretch and widen, taking the form of someone Spike once knew before. “Why if it ain’t the tiniest dragon around!” Her voice sent cracks shattering throughout the bridge, the colors nearer to her going faint, with the effect trailing Spike’s way. “Ready to talk again, even after the last time?” There was a tremble in Spike’s claw as it rushed to pull him back from the mare, while the other repressed his lips from ever speaking a word. Though he could only crawl as fast as the pain in his abdomen, which the surges of pain matched in time to the blinks of red light. “C’mon on now, hun.” Applejack’s face flew to behind her mane as her teeth bit down upon something, coming back to show the rope secured in her mouth. “You can trust me. Everybody trusts me!” The gigantic rope was tossed into the air and swung around like a saw that cut away at the fog, gliding all over the place as Spike saw himself just a splatter underneath its weight. He pressed his claw against the bridge and forced his weight upon his thighs, the red blinks growing brighter, while the colors of the bridge became fainter by the second. Spike’s eyes clenched closed as the comprehension that Applejack was back to tormenting created the impulses to just leap off the bridge, and allow this nightmare of life to finally be over. Yet, Spike felt his body go weak, as a smaller, semi-transparent version of himself, stepped out from his body, and began to walk towards the mare. Little Spike walked with open arms and a talkative mouth, that would smile as soon as it closed. The giant figure of Applejack smiled down at the itty-bitty dragon, yanking her rope down onto the bridge from where he stood, and shattered it all to fall to the nothingness that loomed below. Applejack laughed at the falling dragon, as her eyes drifted over to the other that ran across the collapsing bridge. “Always running! Never talking! Ignoring your feelings! You’ll never reclaim yourself, ever again!” Carrying forward despite the pain that lingered throughout his system, Spike came to halt before the wall of bright colors that barred the way to the other side. Shards of colorful glass fell just behind him, reflecting from below the other dragon who fell with eyes closed, but an open smile. With a huff of uncertainty at his own fate, Spike pummeled his shoulder through the wall of rainbow, trying to stop his shuffling feet as he reached the other side. Rages of golden flames burned to the right of the bridge, as a dragon’s head floated above the flames. Its purple eyes soaked in pleasure, derived from hatred at just what was burning below. Spike peered over the bridge as well to see vast amounts of gold burning into molten; libraries catching aflame, with one looking like an oak tree. Books filled with knowledge and answers having the edge of their papers set aflame. All that had been accumulated to achieve this grand plan of revenge burned away, along with those that the hatred had been set against. Ponies encased in clay couldn’t move an inch as the flames began to consume their bodies, horrified as the day they were first captured in the substance by the one whom they trusted. A claw trembled all the way to the chest to repress the beatings of Spike’s heart. It beated so fast, so gently, so freely, so greatly. Despite all the horror and hatred that loomed below, the greatest of all pleasures washed over the dragon’s being. A hollowness hid underneath the waves of pleasure, but that mattered not when the dragon himself felt so complete. Taloned feet recoiled back from the raging flames until they backed off the the bridge. Spike tried to scream as his body fell past the thin bridge, watching it shrink above his head. He quickly glance below to the thick, green glowing pool, swirling to deeper and deeper depths, until it all ended in the center. A claw shot up to the bridge and graced its edge, the severing pain in his core almost tearing away his abdomen. The jerk of pain caused the right claw to slip from the bridge, dooming the dragon to the pool below. And as the right claw fell down, the left one flew up and secured a fistful of the bridge. Spike’s body dangled below as he was forced to look into the acid pool below, before looking up into a pool of nothingness. Spike narrowed his eyes on the skeleton eye socket, which turned slightly, to show its other half that wasn’t made only of bone. “No way,” Spike said as he struggled to raise his other claw onto the bridge. Purple scales and green spines that had half of its bones exposed lit up in reflection of the pool below. “It’s me from before I had left!” It felt to Spike, that the eye socket composed of bones was the only thing watching his struggle, rather than the functioning emerald eye surrounded by purple scales, which stared solely at its reflection upon the surface of the pool below. Spike threw himself over onto the bridge and began to crawl forward, with the burning fires of pleasure and hatred to his right, and a pool of the unknown to his left, with a Spike that was half alive and half dead. A door stood at the end of the bridge, which the dragon rose before, reaching out a claw for the know, to seek whatever it was that awaited him on the other side. Whether it be the answers he seeked, or yet another nightmare, the door began to open. Celestia’s’ heavily orb shined brightly from atop the hill that Applejack was currently Applejack climbed the hill to meet her awaiting friends, who all sat on a blanket covered in many pastries and juice boxes, with a tree that hung overhead that shielded away the golden rays of light. “Look who finally decided to show up!” A tired smile became of the mare’s lips as she removed her hat from her head. “Apologies for the tardiness, girls. A few, extra matters, came up on the farm that I had to take care of right away.” Fluttershy stopped nibbling on her sandwich held between her hooves and offered her friend a forlong look. “Oh no. Did anything…severe, happen?” “Nah.” Applejack nodded quickly at the pegasus that seemed to relieved the worry from the pegasus heart. “Things are going as they should, but I like to invest the extra effort so everything keeps running smoothly. ” Fluttershy offered a small nod, as well as a smile, as she returned to nibbling on her meal. “And just what are these matters that’s always causing you to be late recently.” Applejack gave a haughty giggle as sat down on the blanket and picked up a sandwich herself, munching away happily as the stress lingering in her system evaporated through her nostrils. “Kinda a long story, Rainbow Dash.” The pegasus in question crossed her forehooves. “Give us the short version.” A sigh escaped the orange lips as well as breadcrumbs covered in saliva. “I guess you could say I have a, special guest, occupying the farm at the moment.” Rarity released a stream of giggles. “My my! Honesty is your forte, but I’d never expect you, Applejack, to be so blunt about your romantic interests.” “Yeaaah.” Rainbow head bobbed as her eyes carried about a certain confusion. “Wait, you telling me that while we waiting for you to get here, that you were hanging out with some some stallion instead?” “Don’t put it like that way, y’all!” Applejack’s teeth sliced the sandwich as she munched with an open mouth. “It wasn’t even a stallion neither.” “...a mare then?” Applejack dropped her sandwich onto the blanket. “No mares!” Rarity turned to her cyan furred friend. “Has your griffon friend returned to town?” “I have a dragon in my barn!” The pent up stress of keeping around the clock watch on a potentially dying dragon flew out the mare’s mouth as she erected from the ground. “No stallons! No mares! And definitely no griffins! What I have, is a live walking and talking, dragon, who needs special help in my barn because the boy’s an idiot!” Orange hooves shot to a pair of lips of the same color, only to arrive too late. Before they could leave to allowed words of redemption, another pair of alabaster lips had gone first. “You certainly are an adventurous type, aren’t you darling?”