The Dragon Witch

by Xutiepops

The Aftermath

A few hours later, and the festival died down. Many venders retreated back to their own stores, including the Apples who opened up the tavern, letting in many dragons and ponies. Applejack and her big brother got more bits in that day than they ever have on any other Summers Sun Celebration. They assumed its because both species were extra happy.

The dragons were proud and confident in their soon-to-be leader, and the ponies were proud of their rocketing performances without the dragons performing.

The bottles on the shelves started to deplete and Applejack walked in from the back to replace the empty bottles. Once the door opened, she kept going, assuming Big Macintosh or Pinkie Pie would take care of the new customer.

Pinkie Pie gasped. "AJ! Look!" She pointed to a corner table where a mare sat all alone. Applejack looked and saw it was Fluttershy. She didn't see anything significant. Just before she looked away is when she saw it, she dropped an empty bottle and the whole tavern fell to a confused silence.

Suddenly, every dragon and pony was staring at Fluttershy with a shocked expression. She cowered at the attention, but that didn't make the silver band on a silver chain shimmer less.

"You're engaged!?" Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash exclaimed in unison. Fluttershy cowered at the yell and hid behind her mane. She finally looked past her mane once the conversation started back up and the clinking of glass against wood started back. Pinkie Pie bounced over the bar, Applejack ran from the side entrance, and Rainbow Dash flew up from her seat.

All stared at the silver band with shock, Fluttershy hid behind her mane. "B-b-but a guy never gets close to you!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looking at Fluttershy's scared eyes. She swallowed. "How could one propose?!"

Pinkie Pie gasped again. "It's the dreamy creature that dances with you at the festival!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at her like she was crazy. But upon hearing Pinkie's theory, Fluttershy smiled and nodded.

"What!?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash's yells were drowned out by the taverns noise. Fluttershy giggled and smiled instead of cowered at the shouts.

"Did you really not believe her?" She asked with a playful smile and a raised eyebrow, then she giggled again. "I don't blame you, I wouldn't believe it either. I'm surprised anypony guessed it."

"B-b-but who could it possibly be?" Rainbow Dash asked, hovering over the ground. "A beastly dragon? A hideous pony?" She question and Fluttershy bit the inside of her cheek. She shook her head timidly. "Then who!?"

"A-a-a... um, some one n-named D-Discord, he keeps himself hidden. But he isn't even close to beastly or hideous," Fluttershy explained. She smiled dreamily, "He's actually quiet handsome."

Rainbow Dash lowered herself on the ground. "How could a pony or a dragon hide themselves if a pony considered them handsome?" She seemed so confused, but Fluttershy was lost in her thoughts.

"Well congrats," Applejack tipped her hat. She winked, "Make sure to invite us, ya hear? Maybe you could convince him to let a few ponies see him." Fluttershy nodded and hovered in the air with glee.

"I would love that!" She smiled at each of them. She lowered herself back to her seat. "So, what are all your names?" Her smile was charming, all three could admit that.

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom called from behind the counter. Applejack turned to Fluttershy and tipped her hat again, "Applejack, gotta go." She ran back to behind the counter and orders instantly started going faster.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie!" Pinkie Pie grabbed her hoof and shook it with a smile. "But every dragon and pony calls me Pinkie Pie! Or Pinkie.... whatever works for you, miss Flutters!"

Fluttershy giggled at the nickname and turned to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, right?" Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest and smirked proudly, causing Fluttershy to giggle once again. "I'm sorry I never got to dance with you, I've heard you're an amazing dancer."

"You're a pretty good dancer yourself," Rainbow winked and smirked. "We could get one dance in, or is your fiancé that jealous?" She whispered.

"He's not that jealous..." she sat in thought. "Actually, yes he is. But most of the time, he just tries to keep me safe. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Rainbow sighed. "There goes my attempt at dancing with every girl in town." Then she smiled as a deep blue dragon walked in with a sparkly red dress. "Congrats, but I found my damsel in distress for the night," she flew over and started talking to the dragon.

The dragon giggled and they sat down at a table. Fluttershy looked to Pinkie, "Why does she do that?"

Pinkie Pie smiled as she watched Rainbow Dash order a drink for her and a water for the dragon. "She says she just really admires girls and likes dancing with them. She's danced with most every girl and town at least twice, she enjoys it and she says her dates enjoy it too." She smiled dreamily. "She might be a town casanova, but she isn't mean or has bad intentions.

"She doesn't lead a girl on and is a complete gentlecolt to them. She says she likes making a girl feel like the queen of the world," Pinkie Pie turned back to Fluttershy. "Even just for a night."

The night rode out well. Business was good for the apples, Twilight got a lot of reading done, Fluttershy got some new friends, and Pinkie smiled as she bounced in the tavern from the Cakes shop. She looked and saw Twilight helping Applejack clean up and wipe down the tables.

"The Cakes just closed up! I'm guessing it's the same here?" She asked cheerily. Rainbow Dash flew in next to her with a pink mark of puckered lips on her cheek and a proud smirk.

"One of the best dragons ever, if I'm being fair," she smiled proudly and glared at Twilight who didn't even look up. She slouched and rolled her eyes, wiping off her cheek with her hoof.

---

It was late, so of course the town tavern was closed. Garble looked through the window to see four ponies sitting in the tavern talking. The only light was a candle, but each one of them seemed so happy.

He wanted to blow out the fire, walk around, growl, do anything to scare them and take their smiles away. He sighed, he needed those ponies, he really didn't want their help. But his friend wasn't at the castle, and he assumed the only ponies Spikes ever talked to would have an idea where the prince was.

All eyes shot to him when he pushed open the door.

"Sorry partner, we're closed," the orange mare said and the pink one jumped up in front of him. The orange one sighed, "What do you want?"

"Uh," Garble said, pushing the pink pony away from him. "You wouldn't happen to know where the prince is, would you?" He tried his best to sound nice and not insult them. Surprisingly, his mouth finally listened to his will for once. Now Twilight seemed worried. And her worried look alone sent every one else to worry.

"Is he missing?" She gasped, "He didn't eat that gem, did he?" She started pacing and he pointed at a book and satchel bag pile in the corner, where the green gem sat on top. She blushed and stopped pacing with a sheepish smile and a nervous laugh.

At least they're adorably stupid, Garble thought. "I'm guessing you haven't seen him?" Everypony shook their heads.

"Is he in danger?" The pink pony bounced, her tone and smile were cheery. "I can help look! I know where dragons like to hide so no pony can see their emotions!" She bounced cheerily.

"Pinkie Pie, stop bouncin', yer gonna cave the floor in again," the orange pony sighed and looked at Garble. "You want our help?"

He really didn't want to talk to ponies, much less be in the same room as them. But he had no idea where a dragon could be, and he wanted some sleep. So, he sighed and grabbed the pink pony by her mane and dragged her outside without a word.

He turned to her. "You're gonna help me find Spike, and if any thing sees us, act scared and say I'm using you. Got it?" She nodded and started bouncing away. He rolled his eyes and followed her from overhead, he instantly felt stupid. He could just fly over Canterlot and he'd surely see something purple and green, right?

He saw he actually needed this ponies help. The streets were littered with food, confetti, banners, posters, trash, and fabric from fallen tents. And the colorful stages and caravans only made it more impossible to find Spike. He groaned.

"So, where are we going?" He asked the pink pony who bounced so high that she momentarily was as high as he was in the air. He pointed at her, "How do you do that? You're an earth pony."

She giggled, "Unicorns are magical, pegasi can fly, earth ponies are strong. Duuuuuh. Anyways, we're going to Canterlot central, the fountain!" She bounced even higher than him, he growled and flew higher than her, clearly seeing a competition. She saw the competition and got higher as well. They were tied by the time they got to the fountain.

The pink pony bounced up and pulled on his wing, sending him and her flying to the ground and landing in a bush. He groaned and tried sitting up. "What was that for?" He asked and rubbed his head. She put her hoof to him mouth and pushed him down in the bush. She pulled the leaves apart to reveal a purple dragon sitting at the fountain.

Garble was about to say something when he noticed something different about Spike. There were cracks in the base of the statue on the fountain, and Spikes claws were bruised and bloodied as he stretched them out to get rid of the pain. Spikes tail swayed behind him angrily, adding force with every push in any direction. He growled as he looked up at the statue.

"I'll be the hero," he snarled as his reptilian eyes narrowed. Garble looked at the pink pony and saw she was scared and worried. He looked back to Spike who punched the statue again.

"I can be king next to a snake and his witch bride," Spike growled and crossed his arms, his claws digging into the scales on his arms underneath his blue suit. Spike grabbed the gold charm he had on his necklace and ripped it off, throwing it across the clearing without any thought.

Witch bride? Garble thought. Snake? What the hell is he mad about?

Garble and the pony next to him stopped breathing once Spike looked in their direction and locked his eyes. Once he looked away, relief washed over them.

Spikes tail fell to a stop, as did the rest of his body as he looked up at the statue. He tried growling again, but just sighed and gave up. "Why the hell do you care?" Spike asked and looked at his claws. Spike looked back up at the statue, "Why am I even here? I should be at the castle with Garble. He should be convincing me to throw rocks at phoenixes with him and Fume." Spike sat down on the fountain.

Spike looked down at his claws. "Now I to deal with this and my back," his claw fell to his side. Garble smirked at the princes idiocy. Of course the prince had no idea that his wings were finally going to show, and Garble wouldn't tell him.

Spike sighed, "Why am I even here?"

"I could ask you that," a voice said. Garbles eyes shot to Rarity. She looked hideous in his opinion. She had her lovely purple hair and a dress different from the one from earlier, this one was a deep blue that sparkled under the moon. She smiled, "It's not usual to see a dragon prince here at night."

Spike looked more nervous than anything and he hid his bruised claws under his tail. "H-hi Rarity..." Suddenly, his eyes looked more dangerous and he looked away and scowled. Rarity looked hurt.

"Oh... um," Rarity shifted nervously. Spike glared at her and remorse instantly washed over him, he jumped up and ran over to her. She looked up at him and swallowed. "W-w-why?"

"Why do you look so sad?" He asked and she just cowered away and laughed nervously.

"I-I... w-well, this is ... um, I-I think I should just g-go. I mean, you should be back at your castle doing princely things and I should be back at my boutique and um," she rambled nervously. Once she saw his confused face, she stopped. "What?"

"You live in a boutique?" He asked and she nodded, a confused look etched into her face. "I thought witches lived in huts." She burst out in laughter and Spike looked at her in awe as she did. Garble rolled his eyes and looked away. The pink pony seemed ecstatic and was about to burst with glee.

Of course, Rarity had no intentions of running into the dragon. She told herself he was the last thing on her mind, when really, she was fighting to keep him off her mind. Of course, he disappeared when she was with Blueblood, because she had an objective.

But when she pointlessly waited for her potions to brew, he never left her mind. The green in the cauldron only reminded her of his shimmering spines when he gave his speech. The growl of her cat only reminded her of his, and the woods around her reminded her of when he went after her.

She needed to get away from the boutique to get her mind off of things, her mind always went blank when she stared at the moon anyways. She had planned to simply sit by the fountain and make new constellations and new dress designs. She cursed herself for even approaching the dragon after she saw him, but she needed a backup plan, just in case Blueblood failed her.

She didn't expect to feel hurt when he turned away, more hurt than usual when ponies or dragons looked at her. And she definitely didn't expect him to care or notice. And she certainly didn't expect for him to make her laugh.

"Well, I know a few witches that hide themselves in huts so ponies can't track them down easily," Rarity stated as she walked past him to look up at the statue of the pony. She saw the cracks in the alicorns hoof, she saw the blank stare of pupil-less eyes. She used her magic to snap the statue to pieces.

"That makes things easier," Spike walked up next to her. She turned to him and jumped away, forgetting he was there. She smiled sheepishly and he shook his head with a smile. "It's fine, I was vandalizing it myself."

She stared at him, confusion and curiosity etched into her face. You need to get away, Rarity, she pleaded of herself as she watched him admire her destruction. Before he hurts you, rips you to shreds, takes advantage, blames it on a bear.

She was cowering from her thoughts and sealing her eyes shut. She whimpered, she wanted to get away. She just wanted to feel safe. And this creature with a nice attitude was terrifying her. She didn't feel safe, she felt endangered and mortified.

"Are you okay?" He asked her and her eyes shot open. She stared at him and realized she was crouched down on the ground with her fore legs above her head. "I keep asking you that and you only seem to get worse," he started walking towards her.

Her fear shot through the roof, but she couldn't move. She was shivering as he kneeled down and held out his claw to her, offering to help her up. She shook her head, her mouth was sealed but her eyes wouldn't shut, in fear that the second she'd shut them he'd attack.

Spike stood up and walked away, his face suddenly red. "You're scared of me?" He looked down at her and her wide, terrified eyes. "Aren't you?"

She couldn't speak or even move her head to answer. She didn't want to lie, she wasn't one for it, but she couldn't possibly tell him she was scared of him. He'd only attack her sooner than planned. Or he make attacking her his plan. It seemed he didn't need an answer.

He started to walk away. She stood up, the paralysis melted off. She stared in confusion and finally spoke. "You're not going to attack me? B-b-but y-y-you're a dragon." He looked at her, sorrow made up his reptilian eyes. She felt guilty, but she didn't listen to the guilt. "No matter how nice dragons are or claim to be, you still have your instincts to attack!"

She sounded so desperate, as if pleading him to be dangerous. And she was, she couldn't believe a dragon would not attack and she couldn't handle the truth of it. "You'll attack somepony one day! All dragons do! Look at what that Torch one did to Luna! Princess Luna is dead because of a dragon!"

He was completely staring at her now, just caring to listen to her. He wanted to leave so she didn't have to be scared anymore.

"Torch was the one who be-friended Celestia, and he killed her sister!" Rarity rambled, fear and desperation seized her voice. "Dragons are ruffians and vicious monsters! They attack and steal, they're greedy and scaley, and dangerous!" She was sick just thinking of a dragons cold scales and reptilian eyes and sharp teeth and claws. She was getting more and more terrified by the second, especially as she spoke herself.

"Dragons kill! All of you will take Equestria and outlaw all the ponies! All who don't go get killed, and then you send an army to kill us anyways!" Rarity rambled, her eyes shut with fear as the images flipped through her head. She felt a set of scales on her shoulder and she looked up to see Spike staring at her. She swallowed, but she didn't run. As if her sub-conscious knew he wasn't scary.

"Couldn't you just let me leave?" He asked with a smile that was sorrowful and playful. "You're just scaring yourself more, why did you think I tried to leave?" He let go of her and she was appalled. His smile fell to a sorrowful one, but his eyes showed how much her words cut.

"Now, this time, let me leave," he started and walked backwards with his claws in the air. "No more scaring yourself." She couldn't help but swallow air and nod nervously. He finally smiled again and turned away, walking out of the park without another word. She finally recognized everything she said and her heart tore apart with guilt.

Tears sprung to her eyes and she hung her head and sobbed. "Why are you crying over a dragon?" She picked up her head and puffed out her chest. Her look hardened to steel and she held her head high like a snob. "I've gotten soft a for murdering species," she spat. "How un-ladylike of me."

She picked herself up and left, leaving Garble and Pinkie Pie by themselves as Spike went one way and Rarity went the other. They looked at each other and Garble just stood up and stretched.

"Next time, don't make me hide in a bush," he growled and spread his bat-like wings. Pinkie Pie jumped out of the bush and smiled. She started giggling when she looked at the statue.

"I'm guessing he's either gonna walk around for the night, or go back to the castle," she smiled at him and bounced over the bush back to the tavern. "You should head back!"

Garble stared at the ground and growled as he chased after her, he hovered in front of her and she stopped and starred. He groaned, "Just thanks, okay pony?" He pointed a sharp claw at her and flew off into the sky.

Pinkie Pie sighed dreamily, "Aren't dragons so nice?"

"Says the pony dating a pony," Rainbow Dash flew up next to her and crossed her arms. "Seemed like a jerk to me."

"He just doesn't want to admit he likes ponies, that's all," Pinkie Pie smiled and bounced back to the tavern. "Where's yooooour marefriend? I thought she always looked after you."

Rainbow went red and flew next to her. "Twilight's not my marefriend, we're just friends," she muttered the last part.

---

Spike didn't go back to the castle. Not even the next day. He was stuck in the woods opposite of the woods Rarity lived in. Around him, trees laid mutilated around him, they were perched on stumps from a previous tree cut down. He sat in the middle of the clearing he made for himself.

His back hurt more than ever, but he still had no idea his wings were going to come in soon.

He sighed and looked down at the dragon-royal charm in his claws, he went back for it early in the morning before anyone awoke. Though he knew every pony and dragon would be sleeping in, due to having woken up early the morning before for the festival.

He threw it at a tree, as he'd done many of times. He sighed again. Was it really just because he was a dragon that Rarity didn't like him? And what happened to her? She seemed so happy, only to be frozen by fear. He couldn't think straight, not when he thought about her.

He called himself stupid and childish for caring so much about her. He put himself in harms way just to make sure Blueblood didn't hurt her, he told himself he'd do it for any pony, but he knew he wouldn't care as much as his did when he realized Rarity was in his trap.

He was so confused. Why did he like her? Sure, she was pretty, but she did nothing but scream and get scared around him. So why was she the only pony he seemed to like? And he certainly tried to like dragonesses, but it didn't work either.

Rarity's yells about dragons being vicious rang in his head as he sliced down another tree and watched it fall. As if her words of dangerous dragons made him dangerous. Her words fueled his anger as he sliced down another.

He couldn't think. Anger clouded his mind. When it wasn't there, sorrow, regret, and confusion clouded his mind in its place. He took a deep breath and blew out a huge amount of green fire, charring a tree black.

He couldn't go back the castle, not when he seriously was dangerous. When he thought about it, he was angry like this before Rarity showed, one she appeared he was nice and her words didn't cut into him as far as they did when he was furious like this. It was as if only when she was near him he was sane enough to be nice and himself.

Without her, he acted like a monster. It only made him more confused and it only made him hate her more. He wanted answers as to why his heart drew to the mean brute that broke his heart. He wanted to know why he liked her.

Guys liked girls because they were nice, generous, sweet, and smart. Rarity was rude, selfish, bitter, and cunning. Why did he like her? He concluded he didn't like bad girls, he always liked sweet girls who laughed and smiled with him. Then, he'd always come to the conclusion that her personality was a cover up to mask her real guilt and remorse for every thing she does.

He really wanted to believe she was nice and sweet underneath that rude and selfish mask. But he knew that was just the years of fairy tales he had heard. She really was just mean and nothing more. He wanted to believe she was mean, but then he'd remember how scared her eyes got and how much hurt and guilt he could see in them.

Could a pony who didn't care for others really feel hurt when some one didn't care about her?

Comments

[The Great Derpsby]

I wonder if things wouldn't work out better if you stuck to the bet between Spike and Blueblood, and left out Blueblood's entire throw-Rarity-in-a-dungeon-for-no-reason plot. I mean, sure, that makes it really obvious he's a bad guy, but it's really on-the-nose too.