Spike The Time Traveler

by FlashFoward

Make the Pains Go Away

Spike was grasping the handle of the door for Rainbow Dash's hospital room. His heart was beating quicker than usual. The more he turned the handle the faster his heart pounded against his chest. By the time he had twisted the handle all the way, Spike felt that his heart might jump out his chest and go running down the hallway. Once Spike opened the door, he noticed that Rainbow was looking out the window in her room with a longing look on her face. Instantly, Spike knew she missed flying outside in the sky and hates the fact that she's stuck in this hospital. It seemed, though, that Spike's presence didn't go unnoticed, Rainbow Dash turned her head to his direction and instantly the bored look in her eye vanished.
"Spike, is that you?" Rainbow said in disbelief.
"Yep, it's me alright." Spike said with a grin.
"Oh good, I was starting to worry about you." Rainbow said.
Spike felt a little odd when Rainbow said this. But, he continued to keep the conversation going.
"So, how long you're going to stay here?" Spike asked.
"Don't remind me, not until later today or early tomorrow morning." Rainbow said, with a large frown.
"But, how did you get out of your room? The nurses around here refuse to let me even leave my bed. Heck, they even start to flip out when I just stretch my wings a bit." Rainbow said, with a tone of jealousy.
"Ha, it's not like I made a great escape from my room to get here, even though that would've been pretty cool. One of the nurses told me that I'm healthy and she doesn't think I need to stay here anymore." Spike said happily.
He knew Rainbow would be jealous that he would be able to walk away from the hospital now while she had to sit here and wait, so Spike did his best in not trying to rub it in much.
"Wait, you can leave?" Rainbow said in surprise.
"Yeah, but I decided to drop by to see you and Rarity before I walked out. I think I seen enough of this hospital to last me a while." Spike said happily.
"Rarity huh, what's she nagging about this time?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh you know, whining about how dull the paint is here and such. She's so grumpy here, but hey, it is a hospital after all. However, Rainbow, you're holding up fine. In fact, you look happier than usual." Spike finished saying, raising an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow was unaware that she was smiling. Once Spike pointed it out, her face went back to normal. A nurse that came earlier today pointed out the same thing. The nurse seemed baffled that Rainbow was smiling when she was just sitting around in a hospital. As the nurse asked Rainbow what made her so happy she couldn't reply. Every time she thought of the tender moment she shared with Spike, Rainbow can't help but smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Rainbow said in a calm voice, trying desperately to have Spike not notice what the cause of her happiness was.
"Come on Rainbow, you can tell me." Spike coaxed.
Rainbow by now had her sheets held in front of her face, to avoid Spike's gaze. Spike pulled the sheets from her hooves and he looked right into her eyes, Spike's green emerald eyes met with her purple eyes. He grabbed her hooves and continued to stare deeply into her eyes.
"Want me to be honest, don't you?" Rainbow asked anxiously. Spike just nodded. With a great sigh Rainbow continued,
"Well, every time I think about what happened at the party I just can't help myself. It's weird I know, but that was really the only time I really got to sit down and talk with you." Rainbow finally said.
"And while I am being honest with myself, I was hoping you would pop by." Rainbow said in a whisper that was similar to Fluttershy's.
For a moment, Spike felt light headed. Here he was broken hearted not long ago and for Rainbow suddenly to say she was hoping to have him pop by was a huge shift. It felt like his heart was deflated and suddenly inflated with air again in a short space of time. Instead of air filling back up his heart though it was a mixture of adoring and…love. And unlike with his crush with Rarity, which seemed to be going nowhere anytime soon, the prospect of Rainbow even liking him back was an achievement.
"I had a dream about you yesterday." Spike confessed.
"Funny you mention that, so did I." Rainbow said with a laugh.
Spike joined in with Rainbow's laughing. The laughed until their bellies ached and their jaws were sore.
"So, what do we do from here?" Rainbow asked, trying to catch her breath.
"I really don't know. Can't really say we're just friends anymore can we?" Spike replied.
"I guess not. It's not like you dream about your friends every day in this kind of way." Rainbow said slowly. She wasn't sure if she should ask the definitive question, but it seemed like Spike was ahead of her.
"Are we…friends or closer?" Spike asked suddenly, he was trying to keep the nerves out of his voice with little luck.
"It would look kind of weird if you and I started going out together." Rainbow said. Spike let out a groan and Rainbow looked alarmed.
"I'm so sorry Spike! I didn't mean that you would be a bad boyfriend or anything like that! It's just that, don't you think it would look different?" Rainbow said guiltily.
"Oh don't worry about that. Truth be told, I am just so happy you even thought about it. I never got this lucky with Rarity, you and I know that." Spike said reassuringly.
"Can we still be friends?" Rainbow asked anxiously.
"Course we can, whatever gave you the idea we wouldn't be?" Spike asked with a wide grin.
"I should get going now; Twilight is probably having a fit right back at the library. See you around Rainbow?" Spike said.
"Hopefully, next time you see me it won't be in this place. Have a nice day Spike!" Rainbow called out to Spike as he left her room.
Having your heart squashed two times in a row would probably make your average creature fall apart, but not Spike. Instead of feeling upset and lonesome, Spike felt free and happy. He was no longer a prisoner in his own mind. Leaving the hospital, Spike felt like an entirely new dragon. Even with all this change in Spike's life, he still wanted to find out why Twilight didn't visit him at the hospital. As he walked to the front door of the hospital he saw the familiar nurse that had taken care of him while he was stuck in the hospital.
"I see you're doing fine. In fact, you still got that smile on your face." The nurse stated after giving Spike a quick scan with her eyes.
"Talked to my friends, they said by tomorrow morning they should be gone." Spike said simply.
"Do me a favor Spike, if you are ever to end up here again don't have Rarity come and visit. The last thing I need from her is another lecture about how dreadful I look in my uniform." The nurse asked, with a strain of anger in her voice.
"Don't worry about that. I am not a big fan of hers either anymore." Spike replied calmly.
The nurse gave Spike a rare smile and left him on his own. Spike walked out the hospitals front doors and immediately wind started to rush past his face. The first thing Spike noticed was that there were no walls surrounding him anymore. Everything looked more spacious to him and Spike had a feeling it was going to take a few days for him to get used to the outside again. Once Spike finally found his way back to the library, he noticed the library looked slightly run down. Spike knew Twilight heavily relied on him to keep the library in tip top shape, but he never realized how badly Twilight leaned on him though.
As Spike opened the front door, he heard an audible yelp and someone running from his view.
"Twilight, are you in here?" Spike called out into the dark library.
"Wait, is that you Spike?" a scared voice answered back from the darkness.
Growing annoyed with not knowing where Twilight's voice was coming from, Spike stumbled in the dark for a light switch. Just as Spike felt his way to the light switch Twilight magically turned the light switch on.
"I could have done it and I knew it was there." Spike said aloud.
"Oh I know, but you were taking too long." Twilight said happily.
Spike turned his head and saw that Twilight was near her bed, with a book on her back, and she looked very wild. Twilight's hair had lost its shine and was tangled up. As Spike was taking in the state of the library he grew more surprised. Some books weren't in their shelves, let alone in order, and covered in dust.
"This place looks great!" Spike said sarcastically.
"Oh hush Spike; I know this place has seen better days." Twilight snapped back angrily.
"I should be the one angry with you; after all you were the one who froze me. Anyway, happy you noticed Twilight. But if you knew this place needed a face lift, why haven't you been at least trying to keep it neat?" Spike demanded.
"About that, as you know I um never really kept this place tidy on my own before. And I froze you because I was worried you were going to do something dangerous." Twilight mumbled.
"Well don't worry Twilight; your number one assistant is back in action!" Spike said with enthusiasm, obviously not wanting to get into an argument with Twilight. "Now, where is that feather duster?" Spike wondered aloud.
It took some time for Spike and Twilight to clean up the library. The large abundance of books in the library was starting to prove as an issue.
"Finally, that shelf is in order!" Spike said in relief, placing the last book into the self.
"Hold up, found another stash of books near the kitchen table…" Twilight said sheepishly.
"More books! I was just done too!" whined Spike.
"Come on Spike, maybe if we are lucky this is the last set of books we have to put in order." Twilight said with a yawn.
"That's what you said three hours ago Twilight." Spike said spitefully.
Just as Spike and Twilight finally had the library back in order, there were a few knocks at the door. Spike stared at his aching claws and fumbled with the door knob for a while. When Spike managed to open the door, Applejack was standing there with a basket of apples harnessed to her back.
"Hey Spike, glad to see you're out of that hospital!" Applejack said happily.
"Yeah, I was starting to wonder if I would ever leave that place." Spike replied sourly. As he said this Twilight looked guilty and started to flick through the pages of a random book.
"Spike, not to sound pushy or anything but I was wondering if you can drop by the farm and help me with gathering up apples. Well, will you come along Spike?" Applejack asked.
"It seems you and Twilight were just hanging around anyway." Applejack added while looking in the library.
Spike glanced back into the library and noticed that Twilight was reading a book intently. This would be one of the few times Spike minded that Twilight was reading through a book. But, the damage was done and Spike knew if he rejected Applejack's request he would look rather inconsiderate.
"Yeah sure Applejack, I'll help out." Spike said with a fake smile. His ached horribly just thinking of what task Applejack might put them through.
"Excellent! Let's get a move on Spike, we're burnin' day light!" Applejack said with eagerness.
"Day light won't be the only thing burning today." Spike mumbled to his aching claws.
The walk to the library to Sweet Apple Acres was a painful one for Spike. His calf and feet burned with pain. Applejack, on the other hand, seemed to be holding up fine. In fact, she wasn't even sweating.
"How do you do it?" Spike moaned to Applejack.
"If ya walk on this road fer years on end ya'll get used to it." Applejack shrugged.
"Maybe I should walk more often then." Spike said jokingly. Applejack let out a giggle but stopped when she saw that Spike collapsed to the ground.
"Spike, ya okay?" Applejack said worriedly.
"Yes, just a little sore that's all." Spike groaned.
"Well, if you want ya'll can take a ride on my back." Applejack offered.
Spike staggered to his feet and tried to catch up with Applejack, but yet again he hit the ground with a dull thud. Admitting defeat wasn't going to be easy. However, at this rate Spike knew he would waste more energy getting to the farm then the energy he will blow off working there. Slowly, Spike made his way to Applejack and took a load off on her back while AJ continued to trot to the farm in the same speed as before. Secretly, Spike was slightly jealous of how strong Applejack was considering she was carrying a basket of apples and him on her back and she was still able to move up the hill with ease.
It only took a few minutes for AJ to get to Sweet Apple Acres once Spike decided to take a ride on her. As Spike slipped off Applejacks back, he noticed that there were several large baskets full of rotting apples. The sharp smell made Spikes nose twitch horribly, but it seemed Applejack was not bothered in the least by the scent.
"I see you already found the reason why I brought you here." Applejack said happily.
"A few baskets full of rotting apples? Oh joy, just what I wanted in life." Spike replied to Applejack sarcastically.
"Fairly simple, all you have to do is burn up these apples a little bit so I can use em as mulch." Applejack said, eyeing Spike now.
"Can't burn them into a crisp or have those becoming even squishier?" Spike asked Applejack.
"You got it. Now, after you're done I would like you to leave em in the basket. A friend of ours will drop by and scatter the mulch around the open plot of land Big Mac and I plowed out a few days ago." Applejack said.
"And maybe when we are all done with this I will treat thee both of ya to some "special" apple cider that's usually reserved for special occasions." Applejack added mischievously. She left Spike alone while she walked back into her house.
Spike grabbed a decayed apple and roasted it to the point of ashes. Feeling this was going to take longer than expected, Spike tested how hot his flames needed to be to roast the apples just right. After discovering the right temperature, Spike set off to work. As Spike worked his way to his third basket he was starting to wonder if this would ever end. The soft skin of the apples usually sliced open easily as Spike gripped an apple and by the time he worked his way to the third basket his claws looked like there were dipped in apple sauce. Daylight was nearly gone at this point and Spike knew that it was time to consult with his pocket watch again. Pausing time, Spike returned to his work of burning up apples. By the time he was done, Spike felt his throat was dry as a barren desert and his claws ached from grabbing apples. The promise of that "special" apple cider by Applejack sounded extremely appealing to Spike right about now.
After Spike let time commence, Applejack trotted back outside and was surprised to see all the baskets of decaying apples being replaced by baskets full of near liquefied apple mush.
"Gotta give credit when it's due and I must say Spike you did a good job. Even better, you did it in a short amount of time." Applejack said in a flattering voice.
"Thanks Applejack. Mind if I clean up? My hands are kind of covered in apple mush." Spike asked, showing his apple mush glazed hands.
"Go right ahead; wash up in the house while I bring out the cider. Shouldn't take long for our friend to spread out the mulch after all she is a fast worker." Applejack said in that same mischievous tone as before.
"Who is this pony anyway?" Spike asked.
"Oh, you'll see Spike." Applejack said, giving a wink to Spike as she said this.
For a moment, Spike felt like interrogating Applejack some more, but the mush covering his hands started to crust around his claws. After washing out his claws for what felt like ages, Spike walked into the kitchen of the house and saw Applejack chatting with Rainbow Dash. The sight of Rainbow nearly made Spikes jaw hit the ground. Applejack caught sight of Spike and waved him over to the table where she and Rainbow were sitting at.
"That crust is real pain to wipe off right?" Applejack asked Spike with a grin.
Spike stared at his claws for a moment. He tried to melt the crust off his claws but only achieved in making the crust feel like cement around his hand. Remembering the pain in tearing off the crust, Spike just winced and nodded with a groan.
"Yeah, I know how you feel. But, that's all behind us now and Rainbow finished spreading the mulch around so it's about time we start drinking this here cider!" Applejack said enthusiastically.
Applejack passed around a jug to Spike and Rainbow and poured in the cider in there jugs. For an added measure, Applejack threw in some cut up green apple slices in the cider and had a few cinnamon sticks in there as well. As Spike took his first sip of the "special" cider, he had a burning sensation growing his throat and a numbing feeling spread across his body. All the aches and pains were gone from his entire body. The cinnamon added a serious punch to the cider, which in Spikes opinion enhanced the taste and after effects of the cider. It wasn't long before Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike started to giggle at the slightest things.
"Applejack, what was in that cider?" Spike said in a drawl.
"What? Oh, well one of my cousins is into making moonshine and he mixes it with apple juice or in this case cider, and as you noticed, some apple slices and a few sticks of cinnamon." Applejack said with a slur. Just as Applejack finished her sentence, she laid her head on the table on started to snore.
"Spike, you look very handsome today." Rainbow said softly.
"I do try my best. Hey Rainbow I got to admit, you look very pretty as well." Spike said with a grin. Rainbow blushed at this and she started to smile.
"You know-"Rainbow moved closer to Spikes face "I want you to prove that you think I am pretty." At this point Rainbows face was right in front of Spikes.
"What do I need to say to prove it to you?" Spike asked slowly.
"Don't say anything, just show me…" Rainbow moved in and kissed Spike on the lips.
Spike returned the favor. When they parted, Spike tasted something in his mouth that tasted a lot like the "secret" cider. Rainbow rested her head on Spikes shoulder and fell asleep. Everything felt like a dream to Spike and he really didn't want to wake up from it. However, Spike knew the purpose behind even accepting AJs call for him to work at the farm needed to be fulfilled first before he slipped conscious. Slowly, Spike grabbed his pocket watch and he tried to manifest its magic on his claws. After he achieved this, Spike kept his hand over AJ's spilt jug of "secret" cider and watched the magic work its way through the trail of cider, around the jug and finally touching AJ. Once it touched her, the blue stream of magic slipped back into the watch. Happy to see that the usual purple button turning orange like Applejacks fur, Spike leaned his head against Rainbows and wondered vaguely if this was all a dream as he fell asleep.

A/N
I want to take a moment to thank all the readers who have spent there precious time in reading my fic. In honesty, I never could see this coming in where near 500 people have read this story and if you were to tell me a few months ago this would be happening I would tell you that you are crazy or just joking.

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[Spikelight42]

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