The Zabrak and the Dragon

by DeltaXeno1138

Chapter 8

Twilight's mind had been overloaded the past few weeks with all the knowledge she was taking in about the universe beyond Equis. Starlight was in a similar position after the allure of said knowledge captured her as well.

Despite what they had learned, they were not at all prepared to see what they saw in the castle's hallway now, after the half hour it took to refocus them after taking away the datapad.

"A- Me- Ne- Si- Ha-" Twilight stammered as she beheld Spike's new appearance with dinner plate eyes.

Starlight's mouth hung open while her eyes copied Twilight's, though she scanned over Spike's new form with great interest. Dropped jaws and wide eyes were on the rest of the Mane Six, with Rarity copying Starlight's inspection.

Spike and Maul merely smiled at everypony's reactions.

"What....did you do to him?" Twilight finally managed to get out, more confused than angry. Rainbow was the opposite in this regard.

"Yeah!" Rainbow shouted as she flew right into the zabrak's face "Tell us what freaky experiment, mutation crap you did to him!"

"Rainbow!" Spike exclaimed as he used his hand to push Rainbow away without touching her, and placed himself between her and Maul.

"Relax. And don't yell at my master" he said, lacing the latter with a small bit of venom "He didn't strap me down and do this against my will. I agreed to it and did it myself. And even though I didn't know about the body change, I'm not complaining."

"Neither am I/same here/who would?" Rarity, Starlight and Pinkie all said simultaneously, earning them confused glances from everypony else.

"Well, because the new look suits you Spike!" Rarity explained rather quickly "So, there's not really anything to complain about."

"Yeah, what she said" Starlight said as she pointed a hoof at Rarity "And it'll be convenient! Since you're so much.....taller! You can.....reach things....from higher places now, you know?"

"I think he looks hot!"

Pinkie received stares of confusion, shock, and a few of anger. Spike meanwhile was blushing rather profusely and rubbing the back of his head.

"You really think so Pinkie?"

"Of course I do! I wouldn't be surprised if you had to use a stick to hold off any mares. If I were into best friends and dragons...."

"We get it Pinkie" Twilight said in a rather annoyed tone.

"Yeah/Quite" Starlight and Rarity added.

"Um....hello?" Rainbow called out from her detained position "Equestria to EVERYPONY!!!! Am I the only one seeing Spike do that magic force stuff?! And on me?!"

"Oh right" Spike said before releasing his hold, allowing Rainbow to fall to the ground.

"Ow."

"Sorry."

"Spike, how did you do that?" Fluttershy asked in wonder.

"Maul gave me a special elixir that helped unlock my Force ability. And it made me the way I am now." Spike emphasized his last statement by stretching out his wings.

"What kind of elixir?" Twilight asked in Maul's direction with great interest.

"It was a tea containing an ingredient used specifically for unlocking, or rather enhancing Force sensitivity. I also wasn't aware there would be a physical transformation. Curious, considering I didn't undergo one."

"Perhaps I could look into it" Twilight suggested insistently "I would just need to know what exactly the ingredients for this elixir were. Maybe even get a sample?"

"My apologies, your highness, but what little of the ingredients I had were exhausted. And even if custom permitted me to reveal what they were, it's unlikely they would be native to your world."

"Oh" Twilight replied somberly "I understand."

"So what you had was only enough to use once and you can't say what it was" Rainbow said "Hm. Seems a bit convenient."

"My people are almost entirely gone. I'm one of the few who still knows of our ways, so I must uphold them. And I was not intending to find an apprentice" Maul explained rather pointedly.

The zabrak's words caused most to glare at Rainbow disapprovingly, which actually made her feel a little guilty.

"Sorry Maul. I didn't mean to offend you or anything. And sorry about getting in your face earlier too."

"Your apology is accepted" Maul replied with a slight nod "Now, as to our main reason for being here, other than showing you Spike's new form. We were wondering if you'd like to see how he's progressed in his training."

"I'd love to" Twilight said enthusiastically "Girls?"

Everypony else agreed, Rainbow, Starlight and Rarity being almost as enthusiastic as Twilight.

"Great" Spike said "We're only gonna do combat right now. My Force training's only been light levitation, pushing and pulling."

Maul called their fighting sticks to his hands from against the wall, taking position opposite Spike.

"If at any time you feel concern for your ward's well being your highness, it would be understandable if you wanted us to cease."

"Thank you Maul" Twilight said with a nod.

Maul tossed one of the sticks to Spike, who caught with some help from the Force. The pair bowed to one another before getting into ready position, holding their sticks in front of them with both hands.

Maul made the first move, delivering two evenly paced strikes that were blocked by Spike. Spike returned the strikes, which were also blocked by Maul. The number of strikes increased, as did the speed. The pair traded blows, moving back and forth accordingly as everypony watched intently.

Maul started stepping it up a notch by delivering a few surprise strikes, which Spike successfully blocked, though he seemed alerted. Soon, the pair started to move about the room more freely and putting more into their movements, making wider and more forceful swings.

Maul parried one of Spike's hits upward, allowing him to land a quick strike at his midsection. This caused a few gasps from the mares, but Spike paid it little mind.

When Spike and Maul next connected their sticks, Spike pushed Maul away and rushed him with a flurry of strikes. He managed to land a few blows, which a Maul smiled approvingly at.

Soon enough, the demonstration could be considered a light duel, with the two opponents moving as if it were. Making wide sweeps, attempting to strike legs, narrowly avoiding some hits.

Eventually Maul was able to knock Spike onto his back, dazing him for a moment. One last strike was heard, as Spike had been able to raise his stick in time to block Maul's finishing slash.

"Well done apprentice" Maul said with a smile as he retracted his stick before offering a hand.

"Thank you master" Spike replied as he took the hand to be helped up.

The two bowed to each other before the room was filled with the sound of cheers and clapping.

"That was awesome Spike!"

"It was mighty impressive."

"Most impressive" Rarity emphasized.

"Yeah, it actually was" Starlight agreed.

"It was really....intense" Fluttershy contributed "At least it was when I was looking."

"Thanks everypony" Spike said a little bashfully.

"I'm glad to see you've progressed so well Spike" Twilight said "I can't imagine how good you'll be when you're finished."

"Speaking of which" Maul interjected "We should be returning to continue. He still needs to practice with his newfound abilities. Come apprentice."

"Yes master" Spike replied before following Maul out "I'll see you all later."

Everypony bid Spike farewell before going their separate ways.

"Starlight, I'm gonna need you to watch the castle for a bit."

"You're not gonna do some more studying on the datapad?"

"..............." Twilight stated off in the direction of the room where the device waited before shaking her head "Well I was, but I wanted to look into the ingredients for that elixir. Maul said it was unlikely they were native to Equis. That doesn't mean they aren't."

"Couldn't you try looking for them in the datapad?"

"I'm sure Maul would've told me if I could. And if they have connection to the Force, then they're definitely not in there. There's just so frustratingly little information about the Force and things connected to it, at least as far as something like ingredients goes.

"But if there's anything like these ingredients on Equis, I'm sure a certain zebra could tell me."

Author's Note:

Yeah, I know this is pretty short and not too eventful, but that was the intent. I have something special planned for the next one.

Yes I saw Twin Suns. I believe it was a good episode and a fitting end to Maul's canon journey.

Comments

[Just Sandy]

what were the ingrediants again? kinda forgot or were they mentioned at all?

[DeltaXeno1138]

8033224 It was just tea and Sombra's crushed horn. Maul concealing and stretching the truth.

[Just Sandy]

8033309 thanks

[CrossNail]

Well, they reacted as expected. Now the only question is: Will Twilight, and by extension, the rest of the Mane Six and the Princesses, find out who is really behind this sudden power up in both Maul and Spike?