Breath of Fire

by Shahrazad

Breath of Fire chapter 3

Written by: Shahrazad
Edited by: Level Dasher
Cover art by: TheNoodleFace

Breath of Fire, chapter 3

~~~~~

Spike wiped the tear from his emerald eye and sniffed once. He would never again see Rarity smile, hear her laugh, or help her find gems. She hated him now. How could he blame her? He nearly burned one of her eyes out. So much for the impressive and mighty dragon. The doctors were right, he was a danger to everyone around him. He growled. He sighed and idly wondered, why am I growling? I’m not angry, I’m sad. Another growl escaped his stomach. Oh, that’s why.

He jumped down from the bale of hay and landed on both feet in a shallow puddle. Daisy happened to be walking by when she received a splatter of mud. Seeing Spike standing in the puddle near her made her nose wrinkle up and one corner of her mouth twitch. Spike backed away on the verge of tears again, “I’m sorry, I can’t do anything right.” He stammered out before he turned and ran away with smoke leaking from his nose.

Spike skidded around the street looking in every direction for something, anything, to eat. His stomach felt like a furnace running low on coal. He tiptoed into Sugercube Corner through the infrequently used side door. Thankfully Pinkie wasn’t there at the moment, at least not that he could see. Mrs. Cake was behind the counter with a short line of customers. The smell of baked goods made Spike’s mouth water and a little smile creep into his features despite his mood. Leaving three-clawed mud prints on the otherwise pristine floor, he snuck around to the back.

He found Mr. Cake busy making blueberry muffins. His stomach growled again but Mr. Cake was making quite a bit of noise himself as he mixed more flour into an oversized bowl with a wooden spoon. Spike spied a tray of muffins on the window sill, still steaming hot. He grabbed the hot tray without so much as a whimper, his scales protecting him from the heat. He was running down the ally with the entire tray as if he were being chased by Cerberus. Mr. Cake didn’t even notice.

Spike munched on another muffin. The tray had held a dozen when he started, only one remained. He was seated with his back to an empty rainbarrel in between two buildings. The sounds of the noisy market continued on the other side of the barrel as he picked up the last muffin and tossed the tray aside with a clang.

The smell of muffins had attracted a certain pegasus who was sitting on a low cloud directly above him, waiting for the chance to snatch an extra treat. He can’t eat the entire tray by himself she thought, but she was dead wrong. She watched as muffin after muffin disappeared down the fanged maw. Her mouth fell open and it nearly brought a tear to her eye.

urp

Spike tapped his claws on his swollen stomach. His burp let loose a tiny tendril of black smoke. His stomach felt full, but somehow he still felt empty. He walked slowly through the market, ponies all around him talking, laughing, living. And why shouldn’t they? They hadn’t nearly blinded the one they loved. They weren’t a danger to their friends. Spike sat on a park bench next to a fat little colt with an ice cream. The colt seemed to take no notice of him.

URRRPPP

It came without warning this time, not only was there smoke but there was fire. Enough to make the colt jump up and drop his ice cream in fright. He galloped away yelling something about fire-breathing dragons. Spike caught the ice cream just before it hit the ground. He didn’t really think about it he just reacted. He shrugged and ate it without so much as a second thought.

He staggered out of the market. He didn’t want to hear any ponies laughing or talking or doing anything joyful. His vision was blurry like someone had smeared a thin film of grease all over the world. His limbs felt like lead. He yawned, letting himself feel tired. Sleep was good, it was a way to escape from this reality for a while. The sun was so warm, and the grass under his feet was soft. He laid down, intending to just rest for a moment but before he knew it he crossed the threshold to reality’s exit.

~~~~~

Rainbow Dash was supposed to find ice water. Finding water was easy, she could simply get some from the Ponyville reservoir. Ice was harder, especially in large amounts. She didn’t have many bits and winter was already wrapped up. Flying to a nearby mountain for snowmelt was out of the question. She was about to dig into her bits when she spied a little purple dragon sleeping in a meadow just outside of Ponyville.

“Spike?” She hovered above him. “Spike! Wake up!” Nothing. She groaned inwardly, not again. I thought Rarity was supposed to watch him? Where is she? She landed next to Spike watching for any fire breath. Fortunately nothing nearby was particularly flammable. She stomped the ground in frustration. Spike started to snore. She was so frustrated he had fallen asleep again she was ready to buck something. I have to find Flutters again! Horsefeathers! AHHHH I’m so mad I could scream!

Thunk

She didn’t mean to hurt him, but it was too late. Spike was on the receiving end of a hoof to the side of the head. Dash realized what she had done when Spike groaned and a pair of claws were pressed to his temples. “Ohmygosh Spike, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” Spike sat up and opened his eyes. “You’re awake!”

Spike yawned, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be awake?” Spike wobbled to his feet.

Rainbow Dash scooped him up and put him on her back. “Spike, you fell asleep again. I gotta keep you awake till egghead finds a cure for you.” A mischievous grin appeared on her face. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with your fire breath in the meantime, right?” The guilt made her grasp at straws to make him smile. Where is Pinkie Pie when you need her? Spike’s eyes lolled in their sockets and his eyelids fluttered. A hoof shaped welt appeared on the side of his head. “Spike? Are you ok? Talk to me buddy.”

“Yeah I’m fine, lets go have fun.” Spike’s voice was thick and slow. Rainbow Dash thought he wasn’t all there, but couldn’t refuse him after bucking him in the head.

~~~~~

Rarity tore through the market, her face etched with fear both for Spike and for anypony that might see her and wonder why she was wearing her hair in such a way as to cover half her face. “Spike?” She looked in empty wooden barrels and under carts. “Spike?” She checked under tables and on top of bales of hay. “Spike?” She even checked in the Golden Oaks Library, behind town hall, the spa, and inside of Sofa’s and Quills, but couldn’t see even a single purple scale.

When she checked behind the asparagus stand her patience was as frazzled as her mane. She couldn’t imagine where he could have gone and desperately didn’t want to run into Twilight Sparkle before she found him. So of course after pushing through the market crowd, right past the public fountain, that’s exactly who she found herself nose to nose with. Rarity cringed.

“Hi Rarity! Where’s Spike?” Twilight said with narrowed eyes and a stare that threatened to burn a hole in stone. Her saddle bags were straining to contain some large round object.

“I...um...” Rarity lowered her head in defeat. “Spike tried to impress me by breathing fire. It didn’t go well and I think he ran away because he was embarrassed.”

Twilight Sparkle didn’t fly off the handle, instead she put her hooves around Rarity and hugged her. “I’m so sorry Rarity. I thought he wouldn’t leave you because of his little crush. I didn't see this coming; I should have had Dash or Fluttershy watch him in case he decided to run off. Are you alright?” Her face softened and the expression told Rarity more than words.

“Oh I’ll be alright darling. We need to find him before he gets hurt, or-” Rarity left the rest unsaid because Twilight’s expression became strained and she prefered to stay in Twilight’s good graces. She absent-mindedly flipped her mane, a tick she did often when she was nervous. It gave Twilight a brief glance at her face.

“Rarity! What happened to your face?”

Rarity stuffed a hoof in Twilight’s mouth, “Shhhh, not so loud!” A few stallions passing by gave them a round of smiles. A bead of sweat appeared on Rarity’s flank as she gave them a strained smile in return. She waited until they were out of earshot before she continued, “I told you Spike tried to show me his fire breath. Well, he ran away after he caused this.” She pointed with a hoof at her mane covering half of her face.

Twilight couldn’t help but smile with a crooked mouth. She tried to contain her laughter but tears began to leak out of her eye. “Ok Rarity, I forgive you for losing Spike. After all you were keeping an EYE on him.”

Rarity’s face darkened, “That’s not funny! We need to find him!”

Twilight’s expression became serious, “You’re right, but where could he have gone?”

Just then a cross-eyed pegasus half landed, half crashed, half fell from the sky next to Twilight. She stood and dusted herself off, her eyes focusing in Twilight’s general direction. “Twilight Sparkle, you need to stop your criminal!”

Twilight looked at her and tilted her head, “What criminal? I’m not harboring a criminal!”

Derpy nodded her head, “Yes you are! You live with that criminal Spike. I saw him eating the most precious things in the world and he didn’t share them with anypony!”

Twilight blinked, “He ate foals?!” Rarity gasped.

“What? No, muffins. Blueberry Muffins. You need to teach him better Twilight. I just don’t know where you went wrong.” Her eyes were rimmed with tears at the tragedy and she looked at Twilight expectantly.

Twilight buried a hoof in her face, “Which way did he go? I’ll fix him.” Derpy brightened up, a huge smile on her face and pointed with her entire body.

~~~~~

FWOOOSH

The fire toasted the bottom of the glass tube and sent the mercury inside up to the top. Rainbow Dash and Spike snickered and hid behind a nearby bush. An elderly stallion with coke-bottle glasses opened the window. He looked at the thermostat hanging beside his window and gasped. He closed the window and galloped inside. If you can call a shaky trot a gallop. The smoke rising from his chimney sputtered and stopped after a few moments. Rainbow Dash took to the air as the neighbors trotted out with scarves wrapped around their necks. Spike and Dash laughed with mirth as they searched for a new target.

“How about that one?” Dash said as she flew under a pair of earth ponies floating in the basket of a hot air balloon.

“They could use some heat.” Spike said with a mischievous grin. Dash flapped hard as they surged higher. The earth ponies were floating above them, lazily drifting on the wind in their purple hot air balloon. She bored into a cloud allowing them to hide from their quarry. They waited, giggling while their prey drifted closer. When they drew close Dash burst from the clouds and stopped near them.

“Need a lift?” Dash said with a huge grin. The pair of mares in the balloon looked on in horror as Spike blew a gout of flame just over their heads.

“Are you crazy?” The cream-coated mare said as she covered her head with her hooves. The pink mare just snapped her goggles over her eyes and ducked into the basket. The balloon began to rise.

“Catch ya later!” Dash laughed as Spike shut his maw and the balloon floated higher. Dash circled lower looking for yet another target they could prank. Spike was laughing so hard he nearly rolled off of her back.

“How long do you think it will take for them to get down?”

snort “I don’t know, it won’t take too long. We gotta be gone by then. Oh I know what we can do! Pinkie Pie had those fake fire extinguishers left over from last week’s party.”

Spike began to laugh, “That's perfect, who can we use them on?” Dash looked around and pointed. Spike gasped, “No way.”

Dash laughed, “C’mon you know it will work. And who better to use them on?”

It took only a few minutes to set up. They grabbed the extra special fire extinguisher from Pinkie’s not so secret tree stash of party gags and placed it conspicuously near their target. Then all it took was a small pile of dry leaves to be gathered into just the right spot. Spike inhaled and blew a bright flame onto the pile of leaves. They caught fire instantly. Spike and Dash darted behind a hedge and waited. They didn’t have to wait long.

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding

The fire alarm went off inside of the brick building. Heat Wave and a troop of fire stallions marched out of the firehouse and spied the burning pile of leaves before the last pony was out the door. Heat Wave snatched up the ‘fire extinguisher’ placed neatly near the corner of the firehouse and dashed to the little fire hazard with all of the bravery and heroism that is trademark to his profession.

Sprong!

Coiled “snakes” shot out of the nozzle into the burning pile of leaves. Heat Wave just stood there dumbstruck for several moments while the “snakes” burned up into oily smoke. Dash and Spike roared with laughter while the other fire stallions recovered and galloped into the firehouse for a fresh and preferably usable fire extinguisher.

“Did you see the look on his face?! Classic!”

Spike nodded, “He was like uhhhhhh...” Doing his best rendition of Heat Wave. It made Dash laugh even harder.

“OW OW OW” The green scale on the right side of Spike’s head was enveloped in a purple aura. Dash stopped laughing and looked up, wondering what was going on. A similar but light blue aura appeared around her own ear.

“OW OW OW! OK OK, I’m sorry, we’ll stop pranking the fire stallions!” Dash pleaded as her ear was caught in a painful twist. Twilight and Rarity trotted out from a nearby hedge, their horns glowing. Spike gulped and scratched the faint hoof shaped bruise on the other side of his head.

“Oh boy, I’m going to get it now.” Spike said as his shoulders slumped.

“Darn right you are. You ran away from Rarity, you stole muffins, you pranked poor Heat Wave. Goodness knows what else you’ve done.” Twilight Sparkle's anger flooded out of her in the form of tears. “And you scared the hay out of me.” She squeezed Spike in a tight hug. Spike just hugged her back in the hopes that being extra loving would get him out of any further punishments. Twilight suddenly held him at hoof length with dry, hard eyes. “You’re in it deep mister.” Spike’s gaze found the ground quickly.

“Aww isn’t that cute? Well I think it’s time to go.” Dash tried to sulk away but a light blue aura tweaked her ear and her entire head tilted painfully to the right. Rarity’s glare froze her in place.

“I am not having a good day Rainbow Dash. THIS is what happens when you play with fire.” She pulled her mane back revealing a frightening, wide eyed face. Dash quivered and snapped to attention once the magical grip on her ear was released. “You do have the ice water like a loyal pegasus don’t you darling?” Rarity’s voice had a cold and dangerous edge to it.

“Getting ice water, right away ma'am.” Dash saluted and took wing. Frankly she would have done just about anything Rarity ordered her to do in that moment.

Rarity sighed and smiled as she looked at Spike. She lifted his chin to make his eyes meet hers. “Spike I want you to know I am not mad at you. Disappointed that you stole muffins, but I am not angry that you ran away. I often feel as if I should do the same when I am having a wardrobe malfunction. However one cannot simply hide at home even on a bad day. It’s best to face the day, head

“I don’t know... I just wanted to laugh, what else could I do?”

“Even at the expense of others? Darling, that’s no way to go through life.” Rarity’s disappointment stabbed at Spike’s gut again. Rarity sighed, “I want you to get better Spike. I want the old Spike back. So I need you to eat, can you do that for me darling?”

Spike’s eyes rose to see Rarity offering him ice cream. Am I dreaming? I do bad stuff and get ice cream? He gingerly took the ice cream cone, vanilla and liquid chocolate dripping down the sides and took a tiny lick. He looked at Twilight for assurance he was doing the right thing. Twilight and Rarity smiled and nodded, urging him on.

By the time he finished the ice cream Fluttershy found them. She was carrying a sloshing pitcher balanced on her back trying not to spill it. Pinkie Pie bounced behind her, keeping the large bowl on her back from falling. “Heya Spike, are ya hungry?” Her grin was infectious and Spike couldn’t help but smile.

“Don’t be too nice to him Pinkie, he’s in trouble for pranking with Rainbow Dash.” Twilight’s glare told Spike he was going to get it later.

“Oh was it a good prank? Did it involve banjos? Or rabid wolverines and underpants? Oh-oh-oh did it have fire and flying hot air balloons? We should have a pranking party!” She stood on her hind legs with her front legs stretched wide as if she were about to hug everyone.

Spike just looked at her, “No, it didn’t have banjos or underpants or hot air balloons. What would I do with a rabid... wait there was a hot air balloon that I-” Twilight shot Spike a look that froze him mid sentence.

“Time for frozen yogurt!” Pinkie said as she stuffed the entire treat into Spike’s mouth. Spike coughed and the bowl popped out empty. He clutched his temples with his claws.

“AHHHH!” Spike hollered, his claws clutching his head. “Brain freeze!”

“Time for lemonade!” She swiped the pitcher of lemonade off Fluttershy’s back and poured it into Spike's open mouth in one swift motion. Spike sputtered but most of the ice cold drink found its way into his stomach. Spike flopped onto the ground moaning.

“I’m so full, no more please.” He curled into a ball shivering, the ice cold food and drinks were having the desired effect.

Rainbow Dash landed next to Rarity holding a bucket of ice water and a funnel. She set them down and saluted Rarity and spoke with crisp precision, “Ice water as requested ma’am.” Rarity nodded and pointed at Spike with a hoof. Rainbow Dash saluted again and popped the end of the funnel into his mouth. Spike’s eyes went wide and before he knew it Dash was standing over him holding the bucket with a wicked grin on her face.

“Down the hatch.”

SLOOSH

Ice water splashed over him but most of it went into the funnel. Ice flooded his body and he shivered again. Rarity sidled up next to Dash and said, “Enjoy your little pranks today?”

“Oh yeah, the one with the hot air balloon was- OW!” Dash’s ear was suddenly tweaked again in light blue magic. She whimpered and wilted under Rarity’s gaze.

“That’s for whatever you did to ponies in a hot air balloon. I trust you will fix this afterwards or do Twilight and I have to treat you like a spoiled filly?”

“Yes ma’am, it’ll be fixed by sundown ma’am.” Rarity released her magic and allowed Dash to take several steps away from her. Dash rubbed her ear, waiting for the ache to slowly fade away. Twilight created a new mental note for herself: do not mess with Rarity on a day when she has a wardrobe malfunction.

“Uhrrrggg, no more...” Spike moaned as Twilight opened her saddle bags. A pair of watermelons, still fresh with condensation were lifted out in a purple aura. Fluttershy looked on with worry etched into her face. Water, yogurt, ice cream, and lemonade were splattered on the ground around Spike. His stomach looked like it contained a beach ball. Each breath he took was labored and made his stomach quiver.

“Um...maybe this is enough Twilight. We can stop feeding him, if that’s ok with you.”

“I want to be sure.” Fluttershy winced at Twilight’s words. The aura shimmered and the watermelons split into slices. They hovered around Spike’s head in a circle. Spike never thought he would be so afraid of fruit as he was at that moment.

ulp ulp ulp

There was nothing left but the rinds; even the seeds were gone. Spike moaned again. Fluttershy trotted over to him with concern on her face. She pulled out a stethoscope and began to check Spike with it. Twilight leaned in closer as well. “Is he going to be alright?”

Spike moaned and his eyes closed. Fluttershy checked the first vital point on him when he let out a horrible sound.

SKNNNXXXX

“HOW? How can he be asleep?!” Dash exclaimed, “He's fallen asleep twice today already. What are we going to do?”

Twilight and Rarity looked at Dash. Twilight spoke first, “Twice? What do you mean? Did he fall asleep again? How’d you wake him?”

“Shhhhh,” Fluttershy raised a hoof to her mouth. The stethoscope granted her authority and Twilight fell silent. Dash prayed she would forget about the comment she had let slip. Fluttershy prodded a few more spots with the instrument.

~~~~~

It was HOT. This was to be expected. Spike sat in the bubbling lava, steam rising from its surface. He sat against a solid rock, the molten stuff flowing around his torso. He dunked his head in allowing the warm liquid to relieve his aches.

He broke the surface with molten drops trickling down his face. His eyes went wide. She was there, sitting in the pool of lava with him. Rarity leaned back and flicked her mane, batting her eyelashes at him. She held a shiny red crystal in her hoof, and beckoned him closer. He smiled as the lava swirled in his wake.

crunch

The gem was eaten in two bites. His stomach felt like it was full of the same molten rock he was swimming in. Rarity smiled and pulled him close, making him flush. “How is my brave dragon today?”

“Just peachy. Kinda hot in here though. Are you warm?”

She smiled, “Why it’s just fine Spike. Don’t you like it... hot?” The flutter in her eyelashes said things to him he desperately wanted to hear.

Woosh

A gust of air blew past bringing with it a hot wind. Rainbow Dash was flying overhead, her coat an odd purple hue as it reflected the light of the lava pool Spike and Rarity were sitting in. She laughed and started to singsong, “kissy kissy Spikey wikey!” He flushed even more, his core temperature rising at her words.

Fluttershy’s disembodied head floated by. Spike stared at it while Rarity gently stroked his scales. “Yay,” the head said as it drifted on the hot wind. Spike looked at it in wonder trying to figure out what the hay was going on. He felt the lava boil in his stomach.

“Spike...” Rarity gently put a hoof under his chin and pulled his eyes to meet hers. Their noses almost touched. “I think you should take a dip.” With a languid motion she pushed him deeper into the lava pool. He saw nothing but molten rock. The fire in his stomach threatened to consume him.

~~~~~

FWOOOOMMM

The fire rising from Spike’s mouth as he snored was less of a stream of fire and more like a blossoming fireball. It rose above the roofs of Ponyville like a tiny sun. Twilight and her friends could hardly believe so much fire and heat could come out of a tiny creature like Spike. “What do we do now?” Rarity stood back protecting her mane and remaining eyelashes.

“I-I don’t know. Let me think.” Twilight’s brain seemed to freeze up. She tried to use her logic to find a solution but every time she did, images of Spike intruded. A cold pit formed in her stomach as she watched him continue his ‘snoring.’ Rainbow Dash was on a cloud far away from Spike. Rarity shrank back behind a tree. Fluttershy was behind her, flat against the ground with her hooves over her head and her eyes closed, shivering with fright. Pinkie Pie was the only one still near Twilight. She was wearing a shiny fire suit she found from who knows where and was trying to eat popcorn. The fluffy white treats she threw at her open mouth bounced off of the clear face shield and landed a short distance away on the grass. This did nothing to deter Pinkie, who seemed surprised every time it happened.

clop clop clop clop clop clop

Several sets of hooves trotted down the cobblestone road toward them. I hope somepony can help Spike Twilight thought. When the group rounded the hedge her ears dropped. Applejack was trotting forward leading Mayor Mare, Heat Wave, and a member of the royal guard. “Uh, hi Applejack.” Twilight said trying to keep her voice even. “What brings you here?” Behind her another miniature sun rose into the sky.

Applejack just deadpanned at her. Mayor Mare stepped forward with a small frown, her eyes set on Spike. She turned to Twilight, “As Mayor of the city it’s my job to keep the city safe-”

“Good, then you can help me figure out a way fix Spike.” The Mayor narrowed her eyes at Twilight.

“And by state policy I am to remove anything I deem a hazard to the health and wellbeing of its citizens,” she said imperiously. Mayor Mare looked directly at Spike and pointed a hoof. “I deem HIM a fire hazard.”

“He’s NOT a fire hazard! He’s a living creature. And he’s my friend. He’s not going anywhere!” Twilight placed herself in between the Mayor and Spike. She set her hooves apart and lowered her head. She snorted, a tiny cloud of dust kicked up from the ground.

The Mayor’s mouth was set in a line and her brow furrowed as she glared at Twilight. “You have got to be kidding me. I saw those little fireballs from town hall sixteen blocks away! Oh this is silly, I’m not going to argue with you.” Her nose rose into the air and she didn’t even look at Twilight when she spoke, “Guard, remove that fire hazard and place him outside the city limits. If he tries to return you may use force to stop him.” The guard nodded and started forward.

Twilight whirled around and broke into a gallop, tears streaming down her face. “NO.” She reached Spike after yet another fireball burst from his lips. She knelt beside him and pulled him close keeping his mouth pointed at the sky. “Please Spike, wake up.”

~~~~~

Spike cracked his eyes open and stumbled back. Lava splashed around him. Twilight was holding him instead of Rarity, her face set in a pained expression. “Where did Rarity go? I need to find her.”

“Wake up.” Spike felt odd when she said that. Like bile was rising in his throat. He opened his mouth and the world was consumed in fire.

~~~~~

He was standing near Carousel Boutique. He could hear Rarity singing about cooking, and a wonderful smell was wafting out of her kitchen. He glanced around to find the city of Ponyville strangely deserted. Night had fallen, so everypony must have been asleep. He stood on a barrel under the kitchen window and spied Rarity. He smiled as his heart fluttered again.

She was cooking something in a pot, but he couldn’t see what as the pot had a lid over it. She sang quietly to herself so he couldn’t make out the words. He rested his head on the window sill and just watched her. It was enough just to see her happy. She opened her eyes and caught him watching her.

The window flew open, and before he could react hot air blew into his face. Rarity smiled warmly at him and said, “Would you like a little taste darling?” The smell made his mouth water.

“You always know just what to say Rarity. I’ll bet your cooking is as lovely as your voice.”

She blushed, and so did he, making him feel even warmer. “Oh Spike you really should say that sort of thing to me more often.” She fluttered her eyelashes, “Could you do something for me darling?”

“Anything.”

Rarity opened the lid to the pot and Spike’s eyes went wide. Twilight Sparkle’s head popped out of the pot, “Wake up.”

He burped and the world turned into fire.

~~~~~

Ha ha ha ha ha

Spike allowed Peewee to chase him through the park. The little phoenix could never hope to catch Spike with his tiny hops. Spike didn’t run too fast for him so as to make their little game of tag more fun. Spike ran around a wide oak tree and lost sight of Peewee. He sat in the grass still giggling.

The sun was low in the sky; sunbeams warmed him and the tree trunk. He stifled a giggle as he waited for Peewee to find him. He felt the warm tree against his back. He felt full, although he couldn’t remember eating. He frowned. How did he get here anyway?

Quork

Peewee surprised him by falling right onto his stomach from above. A few leaves floated down around the two of them. “Heh, nice one Peewee. You got me.” He hugged the little guy close. He was so warm - he felt like a hot cup of cider against Spike’s belly. “Now what should we do?”

“Spike.”

Spike blinked and looked around. “Who called my name?”

“I did.”

Spike’s eyes went wide, he looked down at Peewee still held in his claws. He opened them so he could see the bird and look him in the eye. He gasped at the tiny thing in his claws.

It was Peewee’s body but it had the tiny head of Twilight Sparkle.

“Wake up.”

He burped and the world turned into fire once more.

~~~~~

He was covered in soot. He was in the library but everything was scorched. Nothing was left of the books but ashes. Embers glowed along the edges of the ashes, covering everything. Ash and heat floating down on Spike like a heavy fog. He snorted as a flake of ash tickled his nose.

FWOOSH

Fire shot out and he saw it. There was a single book half consumed by the fire he hadn’t noticed. It was hit by the flame and turned to floating ashes in a flash. He gasped, “Did I do all of this?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

Spike whirled around to face Twilight. She stood behind him, impassive. She looked at him the same way she might read a particularly puzzling book. Her eyes bored into him. He sniffed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to burn your books.” Tears began to leak down his face. “Please don’t kick me out.” He started to sob.

“Why would I kick you out?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and said in a tiny voice, “Because I burned your books. You should yell at me because you’re angry. You should stop being my friend, I’m just a fire hazard. I should just run away so nopony gets hurt.” He found he had a red gem in each claw. He didn’t remember where they came from, but all he wanted to do was stuff them into his mouth to soothe the fire in his belly. He felt like he was stuffed with hot coals.

“Spike I would never stop being your friend. And if you really are a fire hazard... Then I’m going with you. I’ll never leave you.”

“Really?” Spike blinked back tears. They mixed with the ashes, leaving his face smeared with soot. “What about your other friends?”

“Spike, I’d never leave my number one assistant. I’ll make it work even if I have to trot hundreds of leagues to keep my friendships alive. That includes you. But I don’t want you to leave, I want my friends together. You have to stop breathing so much fire. Can you do that for me?”

Spike opened his eyes and looked at her directly. She was smiling and it made him feel calm inside. His stomach growled and he looked again at the gems in his claws. He knew if he ate them it would feel better. He always felt better after a meal. He opened his mouth to consume the ruby.

“No Spike, I don’t want you to eat anymore. I want you to wake up.”

“Huh? What are you saying? URP!” His stomach heaved. He felt like he was going to throw up. Fire shot up his throat from his stomach. No. Stay DOWN.

~~~~~

Spike cracked his eyes open. Sunlight poured into his pupils making him wince in pain. His stomach lurched and he fought to keep his mouth closed. He quivered for a moment and swallowed. The feeling passed, but he still felt like his stomach was a ball of lava. He groaned.

“I’m still dreaming aren’t I? My stomach feels like its on fire. Twilight is here already. And the Mayor too? Why is everypony looking at me?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His claw was covered in soot when he withdrew it. He blinked at the scene around him. Twilight was smiling wide as she hugged him. Her friends drew closer but allowed Twilight her moment.

“Twilight? What the hay? I thought you wanted to feed him.” Pinkie Pie spoke from behind a clear face mask. Spike glanced down at the thing in his claw. The crushed remains of popcorn tumbled out of his palm and into the dirt. Mayor Mare looked on, stunned.

“I finally figured out why he was breathing fire so much! It’s because he kept eating. The more he ate the more sleepy he would get. And while he was asleep he would breath fire to work off the food. It’s his body’s way of keeping him from getting fat.” She poked his paunch. “It’s a losing battle with the way Spike’s been eating lately. And I don’t even want to think about what all that food was doing to his hormones. So you get to go on a diet Spike, and I’m going to help you.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Uh, I’m not dreaming?”

“No Spike.”

“And we really had that conversation about you leaving Ponyville with me?”

“Well I don’t really know what you heard or saw but I think so.” Spike and Twilight stood while their friends crowded around.

“Can we go home now? l’m hungry.”

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Spike on a diet? Now this I gotta see.