//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Small Scale // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// "What do you mean, you haven't seen Spikey-Wikey all day?" Rarity was never one to overreact. Unless one counted the times that called for it, of course. The ruined fashion show for Sapphire Shores, the rejection of her puppet theater for the Foal and Filly Fair, that time last week when she accidentally sewed a mauve button to a lapel instead of a burgundy one...all of those deserved the overreactions she gave them, so much so that it probably wasn't even fitting to call them overreactions in the first place. Today's overreaction, though, threatened to trump them all, in terms of both appropriateness and intensity. "Weeeell..." Pinkie Pie began, tapping her chin with a hoof. "I didn't see him at midnight. Then I didn't see him at 12:01, and I actually thought I saw his silhouette at 12:02 but it was just a melon with a mohawk wig on it. Come to think of it, I don't even know why I keep those two things together..." "Miss Pie, please focus!" Rarity exclaimed, trying her best to stay calm and failing miserably. "I fear something terrible may have happened to my Precious Scales...usually he can smell my pancakes from a mile away! I swear, one time he knew they were finished frying before I did. And he wasn't even in my house at the time!" "Maybe he just has a cold?" Pinkie offered. "Or maybe he smelled something really bad before and put a clothespin on his nose to block it out? Ouh, or maybe an evil wizard came and stole his sense of smell and locked him in a biiiiig maze and the only way he can get out is to follow a certain scent..." Pinkie stopped in her tracks as she saw the look of panic on Rarity's face. "Sorry," Pinkie said sheepishly. "Not helping." "Well, I've looked all over the castle and all over Ponyville in general," Rarity said with a frown. "And the poor darling is nowhere to be found!" She thought for a moment before stomping her hoof resolutely. "I'm catching the next train to the Crystal Empire to inform Twilight." "And I'm coming with you!" Pinkie chimed in. Rarity gave her a warm smile in response. "So am I!" came Rainbow Dash's voice. The two ponies looked up to see her hovering just above their heads. "Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said with a start. "How long have you been here?" "Pretty much the whole time," Rainbow responded. "You've been talking just below my favorite napping cloud. And I think we should get Applejack and Fluttershy too! Best to have all of us there in case something really bad has happened." "Excellent idea, Rainbow Dash," Rarity agreed. "You go get Fluttershy. Pinkie, please summon Applejack, and the four of you meet me at the train station." She held one hoof out in front of the two. "For Spike!" "For Spike!" Pinkie and Rainbow shouted, meeting hooves with Rarity. Then the three split off in different directions. ~~~~~~~~~~ If there was ever a perfect time to make an escape, this was it. His captor was locked away in her room. He was left completely alone. He remembered the path to the dining room, and the path to the outside from there. At the very least, he could get out of this cave and hide somewhere else until Princess Celestia showed up. And yet Spike just couldn't do it. He couldn't get the sounds of Celia's sobs out of his mind. As much as she'd mistreated him...well, no, she hadn't exactly mistreated him, per se. She'd been treating him very well. It just wasn't treatment that he wanted, and the good intentions of it were sullied by the whole kidnapping and babying thing. In retrospect, though, the babying wasn't the worst thing in the world. It wasn't something he wanted for himself, but things could have been far worse. He could have been found by a violent dragon. Spike let out a deep sigh. He knew what he had to do, and as was often the case with things he had to do, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to do it. But doing so was the right thing, and doing the right thing was...well...the right thing to do. Spike made his way down the corridor, keeping an ear out for the exact sound he didn't want to hear again. He didn't like the way Celia had been treating him, but other than her prejudice against ponies, she was a nice, caring dragon who seemed to have a good heart. He would have taken an angry reaction to his words in a heartbeat over having to hear her cry like that. The sound of Celia's sobs eventually slowed as Spike made his way down the corridor, but finding her room was still rather easy. Even if hers wasn't the only door that was closed, the name "Celia" scratched into the door was a dead giveaway. It took a fair amount of courage for Spike to reach out towards the door, but hearing her choke back another sob from inside cemented his decision. He rapped on the door lightly, hoping that it was loud enough to hear. Silence filled the few moments after the knock before she finally responded. "Come in," Celia said quietly. Spike stared at the daunting door. "Um...I can't reach the doorknob," Spike replied sheepishly. To say that he was feeling a bit small was an understatement. There was a sound of shuffling, followed by heavy footsteps. Finally, the door opened. Spike felt his heart sink as he looked into Celia's miserable face. Seeing a face that had been so joyful look so morose was a bit much for him to bear. "Can we talk?" Spike asked, barely able to look her in the eyes. "Of course," Celia said. She turned away from him to walk back into the room. Spike briefly held his claw out, expecting her to take it and lead him inside, but hers never came. He lowered his arm, feeling embarrassed to have requested it like that, and followed her inside. Celia's room easily felt like the largest room he'd seen so far, but at the same time it was also the least decorated. A stone bed sat at the farthest wall, covered by a rather plush-looking bedspread, and a mirror hung on one wall at the level of Celia's head. A couple of framed photographs hung around the mirror, and tying the room together was a small nest of twigs, leaves, and other natural objects in the far corner. Spike eyed that nest as he followed Celia to her bed. She sat down on it, looking to him as he tried in vain to climb up as well. Try as he might, Spike couldn't reach the top of the bed, even with his highest jump. Finally he relented, looking to Celia but unwilling to ask for the aid he needed. Without a word, she reached down and scooped him up, setting him on the bed next to her. Part of him was surprised at the lack of the kiss she always gave him when picking him up, but considering how he'd spoken to her, the surprise was unwarranted. "What did you want to talk about, child?" Celia asked, doing her best to keep her composure. Hearing her refer to him as "child" without a "my" qualifier before it was also jarring for Spike, a sign of the effect his words had on her. It was progress. Depressing progress, but progress nonetheless. "I wanted to apologize," Spike said, looking down at the bedspread. "I mean...I think I needed to say what I said, but I think I could have said it better. If that makes sense." He kicked a bit of the blanket with a sigh. "It's just that...you said such awful things about my pony family and I got upset, and I really could have picked a better way to say what I said but I was just so annoyed I couldn't think straight. I mean, I just don't get why you'd think ponies would do something as terrible as brainwashing me." There was a long, long pause, long enough to worry Spike. He finally managed to look back up to Celia, taking note of the sorrow on her face. "You remember when you said I didn't have a child?" Celia asked. Spike nodded sadly at the reminder of his harsh words. "Well...you're both right and wrong about that," Celia told him. "Huh?" Spike asked. "How could I be right and wrong about something like that?" "I had my own egg once," Celia said, looking off into the distance. "I did my best to take good care of it, kept an eye on it as much as physically possible. I couldn't tell you how excited I was to have a whelp of my own." "That explains that nursery already being set up, huh?" Spike asked, receiving a nod in response. "I did everything in my power to protect my egg," Celia continued. "Because I knew all too well what would happen if I didn't." "What?" Spike asked, worry seeping into his tone. "They might steal it," Celia said quietly. She took note of Spike's questioning look and didn't wait for him to ask. "The ponies at the bottom of the mountain range our town is built in." "S-steal it?" Spike stammered. "But why would ponies steal a dragon egg?" "Some say they use them for some manner of magical rituals," Celia said darkly. "Some say they hatch them and train the hatchlings as slaves. My mother and father knew about this from experience because their first egg was stolen. My oldest sibling was taken from my family by those ponies." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "I left my egg at home for the briefest of moments one day...and that was the last I ever saw of it." Spike felt a lump in his throat, one that was absolutely not a potential oncoming of tears no matter what anyone else said. No longer caring about the awkwardness from before, he leaned in and took one of Celia's arms, hugging it. "I'm so sorry, Celia," Spike said, giving her arm a squeeze. "I didn't know." Spike felt her other arm wrap around him and give him a gentle hug back. "I know you didn't," Celia responded. She gave his back a gentle rub. "You're such a sweet child when you're not so upset with me. That's why I just don't want to send you back to them..." "But Celia," Spike said, looking up to her but not moving out of the hug. "Those ponies may be like that, but that doesn't mean all ponies are. I mean, you didn't find me in their village, right?" "Right," Celia confirmed. "The ponies in Ponyville would never, ever do something so terrible," Spike told her. "I mean...there are good and bad dragons too, right? I met some teenage dragons who bullied me and made me feel terrible, and they were bad dragons. But then there's you, who..." He hesitated. "...Well, I mean you did kidnap me. But your intentions were good, and you've been really, really nice to me. If I was your child, I'd be lucky to have such a caring mom. You're a good dragon." "So why won't you just let me be your mom?" Celia asked sadly. "Because I have a family already," Spike said, finally shifting away from the hug. "The ponies I live with who aren't bad ponies like the ones that took your egg, who would never brainwash me or anything like that. They love me and I love them, and it's all real emotion, not a lie I've been made to believe or anything." Celia looked down at Spike, and if he didn't know any better, he would have thought she was staring straight into his soul. "...I don't know," Celia said softly. "All of my previous experiences with ponies have been terrible. I know you at least think you're telling the truth, but it's just so hard for me to understand..." Spike felt his frustration begin to build again, but he took a deep breath and allowed himself to think rationally. Then his rational thought disappeared as well, giving way to impulsive decisions. "You said your shaman can tell if I've got any hexes or anything on me, right?" Spike asked. "Yes, he can," Celia responded. "And he'll be back tomorrow." "Well...how about this?" Spike asked. "If the shaman sees that I'm not brainwashed, then you'll let me go home. But if I am brainwashed, then I'll stay here and be your child." Spike didn't know where that offer came from, and frankly, he wasn't too crazy about his impulsive mind throwing that idea out or his mouth for verbalizing it. He knew he wasn't brainwashed, but what if that wasn't what the shaman found? Spike made a note to himself to be far more careful about controlling his impulses in the future. Maybe if he spoke up before she responded... "Really?" Celia asked, eyes wide. Spike gulped and gave her an awkward smile. "R-really," Spike answered. "You're just saying this because you're confident you're right, aren't you?" Celia asked. "100% confident," Spike responded. A few minutes ago, that would have been 100% true, but now seeds of doubt had been planted. "Then it's a deal," Celia told him. "If it turns out these ponies really are good like you claim, then I'll give you back to them." "They are, I promise," Spike replied. "We'll see," Celia said. Then she gave Spike a sad little smile. "Guess you'll want to go spend your time before the shaman arrives away from the kidnapper who doesn't listen to you, huh?" Each reminder of what he'd said to her stung Spike that much more. Although the words were technically true, he still felt bad for saying them like that. And she seemed so lonely... "Actually..." Spike said, shifting a bit closer. "I'd kinda like to learn a little more about dragons, if that's okay?" Celia smiled and patted Spike's head. "Of course, child."