Arktophobia

by Aeluna

Spike Part I

Spike wasn’t sure of the last time he had been as scared as he was right now. His eyes were wide as he watched Starlight very nearly go up in flames of fury; carefully, he made sure to ignite a small spark of fire in his throat just in case he should need it.

He didn’t think he would, but with a face as furious as Starlight’s, one could not be too careful.

“H-hey!” Spike called, waving his hands. “It’s probably not that big of a deal.”

Starlight stiffened and twitched. “Not a big deal?” She snorted before she then all but screeched, “Not a big deal?”

Spike yelped and scarpered back, shielding his face with his arms slightly. “So, uh, maybe what I should have said was, this is a huge deal, but it’s—ah—nothing you can’t fix! Yeah!” Spike nodded quickly, trying to hide his slight shaking. “You just need to go see Twilight… She was the one who banished the ursa last time back when she was just a unicorn too! With the two of you I’m sure you could defeat it!”

Starlight stood, twitching, for a moment longer before she let out a breath and visibly deflated. “Yes. Yes, that’s true,” she said, nodding slowly as she regained her sanity. Her posture slumped, visibly relieved. “I’ll do that. Yeah, I’ve got time. Yeah.”

Spike nodded awkwardly, uncertain. “Yeah?” he agreed, fiddling with one of his scales. “You sure?”

“Yeah!” Starlight said again, suddenly jumping to attention. Spike couldn’t help but wonder if the coffee cups littering the floor of the library had anything to do with her sudden bout of energy.

He nodded quickly. “Cool. Tell you what! Why don’t you run and tell Twilight, and I’ll go see if I can catch up to Trixie and stop her from going in there?”

Starlight nodded. “Okay, that sounds fair,” she said, her face slightly scrunched in thought as if debating the matter. “So... uh, I guess Twilight’s in bed now?”

Spike cringed. “Yeah, Twi turned in early,” he said, a shadow of worry falling over his face.

Starlight gulped. “I’m a dead mare,” she whispered, her ears falling back. She then took in a deep breath and plastered a very forced smile on her face. “Hey, Spike. You’ll give me a proper funeral when Twilight burns me to a crisp for waking her up over Trixie, of all mares, right?”

Spike smirked. “Sure thing, Starlight,” he chirped, before turning. “Good luck. If I can give you any advice, it would be to just get it over and done with.” He paused in mid-stride and scratched his chin with a claw. “On that note, maybe keep up a force field just to be safe as well.”

Starlight laughed quietly and lit up her horn. “I’ll take any advice I can get at this point,” she weakly agreed, turning on the spot. She then sighed before she began to drag herself down the corridors, calling back to him, “Good luck to you too!”

And then he was alone.

“C’mon then, Spike,” he said, beginning to walk down the corridors in the opposite direction to Starlight. His little legs carried him almost instinctively; his thoughts were entirely elsewhere. “You’re not actually going into the Everfree. It’s fine.”

Stepping out of the front doors to the castle was arguably the hardest thing Spike had done in a long time—and he had done some pretty tough things, if he could be so vain as to say so himself. The darkness of the starlit night smothered him. He hissed and had to fight to keep going straight; his legs worked against him with every step, desperately trying to drag him back inside.

A cold wind blew through the streets of Ponyville as Spike shakily wandered onwards. He cringed and gritted his teeth, shivering violently. He held his arms close to his chest in a desperate bid to conserve a little heat—but to no avail.

He passed Carousel Boutique longingly, every fiber of his being pleading with his mind to give up this quest; to go and see Rarity instead. But then a thought occurred to him, and it was just enough to give him the motivation to carry onwards.

Wouldn’t Rarity be amazed if he could be her saviour?

Spike had matured a lot since he and Twilight had first moved to Ponyville. But, at the same time, his crush on Rarity had also evolved. No more were the days of him literally drooling at her hooves—but his love had grown with every generous act she did. By now, he was well and truly enamoured with her.

And in that moment, Spike made up his mind. Falling to all fours, he ran to the old tree that stood just outside the boutique and dug his claws into the bark. He scarpered upwards with ease, then ran along his favourite branch: the one that came to an end just outside Rarity’s window. Her curtains were drawn tonight, but that was okay; the window itself was slightly ajar.

With a small smirk, Spike reached out a claw and snagged the curtain through the gap, pulling it aside gently. There she was, sleeping so peacefully. Beautiful.

Spike shook his head and clambered down from the tree, looking up at the window with a goofy smile.

He would do this. For Ponyville—and especially Rarity.

He set off at a gallop now, a newfound excitement coursing through his veins. But there was no sign of Trixie at the entrance to the forest—and yet, when he pressed his nostrils to the floor, her scent was so heavily concentrated that it almost made him dizzy.

“Only one thing for it, then,” he said, now standing on all fours as before. And, with a quick backwards glance at the dark silhouette of Ponyville and a brief pause to charge up a spark of fire in his throat, he smirked with a newfound confidence and ran straight into the forest after Trixie.

Comments

[FridayPie]

8917981
Horse Sense?

[DarkDMan]

Spike is on the hunt! Good luck dude!