~16~
"Come on, Kid."
Spike snapped his head at the door. The action itself startled his heart, as Spike gripped his chest. He got up from the couch and shuffled next to the door. Opening it slightly to see who was there.
Behind the door, stood an earth pony dressed up. Weird, Spike thought, as he opened the door, salespony don’t typically come out this far.
“Can I help you?” Spike asked.
The pony smirked, his eyes running up and down Spike. “From your looks, is it a safe assumption to say that you are, Spike the Dragon?”
Spike raised his brow, the urge to clap on-coming. “Right on! Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Well, changing the world for the better is the first on my list, but I don’t think you’re ready to that just yet.” Falcon place a hoof on his chin, sliding it a little to the left. “But maybe, if I were to offer you a job, then maybe you’ll go down a better path.”
Spike’s eyes shot wide open.
“A job?!” Spike shouted, immediately covered his mouth and looked up to Fluttershy’s room. Not a sound came from her room, except the light snores. Spike exhaled, dropping his head in defeat.
He then stepped past the door and closed behind him, before shooting his gaze back at the pony. “Who are you?”
The pony smiled. “Just a sales folk from an interested agency. The names Falcon” – he bowed –“ , Iand I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Really?” Spike struck a pose, putting on his biggest smile. “So you’ve heard of me? I guess you k; I’m already kind of a hero.”
“Hero?” Falcon placed his hoof on his lip, before clapping his hooves together. “Oh, yes! You fell that one time; grabbed a heart, and then was saved by a Princess. Yes, a heroic tale indeed.”
Spike stuck out his tongue to say something, yet no words came. So he crossed his arms and looked away. “Well... when you put it that way.”
Falcon chuckled, giving Spike a little pat on the back. “Come now! Any act bravery is still remarkable of itself. But, Spike: you know you’re a peculiar dragon, bearing such power that could change the world.”
Spike looked back at the pony. “Really?”
“Come on, kid,” Falcon replied. “ You’re a dragon; not a pony. Heck, you’re not even an ordinary dragon in that sense. Contained within is a magic you have not dared to experiment with. Surely, you know you’re a special kind of existence.”
Spike raised his claw before his eyes, studying each scale. And on its own, his claw reached out to the sun. “No,” he said, “I am anything but special.”
“Who told you that, your pony friends?”
The claw fell from the sky, returning to Spike’s side. “No, that’s what I’ve told myself; how my life has been.”
“Tch–” Falcon looked away, rolling his eyes “– a dragon with confidence issue, even that makes you unique in a way.”
“Funny way of looking at it.”
Falcon sighed before taking a step closer to Spike. “So… ah, what’s you plan, mate? Just stay at this cottage with a friend for the rest of your life? Live day to day, doing mundane things with your pony friends?”
“Is there anything wrong with that?”
“Not at all. But, if you dedicate your life to it, well, it’s not going to be eventful life. Especially for someone with your potential.”
Spike blushed. Honestly, before Twilight, he never gained much attention from anyone. It was almost like having attention focused on yourself was a sin. But gosh, having ponies talking about your potential, it’s hard not to feel good!
“This… job. Will I have to leave my friends for it?”
Falcon shook his head. “The longest you may sometimes be gone is a week. And even then, you’re doing good work and improving yourself.” Falcon smirked, bumping into Spike. “Besides, don’t you want to bits to help pay back your lady friend?”
“How do you know about Fluttershy!?”
“It’s kind hard nowadays not to know about the Elements of Harmony, kid. It’s because of the Elements stories that we are aware of you?”
“Speaking of which,” Spike began, “how do you know I’ll be cut out for this job anyways?”
“Because, Spike, I know you like to dance when no one is looking. You say weird things to gain attention, though act calm about what you just said. You want to be a hero and pretend to hit things with your sword. You like walks to clear your head, and if you could, you would eat gems for every meal of the day.”
Spike recoiled his head back, eyebrows falling town in confusion. “Ho-Wh–”
“Each of what I said, makes you the perfect candidate. I can promise that the sword fighting will be dope, that you can be a hero, and that your life will have a purpose to it. You will finally be Spike the Dragon.”
Spike sighed, shaking his head to allow better flow of his thoughts. “But, what is this job even? How do I even know that you guys are the good guys?”
Falcon divided into his coat pocket, pulling out both a card and a cigar. He handed Spike the card, and his mouth, the cigar. Falcon pointed the cigar up at Spike.
“Light?”
“Uh, sure.” Spike bent down and blew a tiny green flame. Falcon took a puff, played with the smoke, and blew the smoke up into the sky.
“It’s burning green,” Falcon said with another puff. “That’s pretty neat.”
Spike rose back up, scratching his head. “Thanks?” Spike exhaled, his shoulders a little tense. He raised the card in his claw before his eyes, twisting it around. “The card’s blank.”
“To your eye it is.” Falcon turned and began to trot away. “If I peaked your interest, then go to SugarCube Corner tomorrow. Whatever time is fine, so long as you acquire the seat by the neighborhood window.”
“When there, place the card on the table and tap it twice, then I’ll be at your service.” Falcon descended the hill and made his way across the bridge, offering Spike a wave of goodbye.
Spike returned the wave.
The winds struck hard, blowing so much, that Spike had to take a step back. They tried to steal the paper from within Spike’s grasp, but he clutched his claw shut, with the paper inside.
And returned home.