Tales Of Friendship

by Bluecatcinema

New Heights

"WOO-HOO!!"

Spike was flying above the School of Friendship, putting his newly-grown wings through their paces. The young dragon had completed his natural molting process mere hours ago, and was still greatly enjoying the new additions to his physiology.

"I still can't believe it." He said to himself. "I've got wings! Yeah-hah!"

He was still getting used to the sensation of flying, but he was good enough to stay aloft, at least. He flew downwards, then back up again, enjoying the feeling of the air against his wings. While the execution was a little wobbily, he pulled it off nicely.

"Awesome!" He cheered.

"Hey, rookie!" A voice cut short his revelry.

Spike turned in the direction of the voice, and saw Smolder flying towards him.

"Oh, hi, Smolder." He smiled.

"Well, well." Smolder appraised him. "Look who finally got his wings."

"Yep." Spike nodded proudly. "Not bad, huh?"

"I've seen better." Smolder shrugged nonchalantly. "So... you're still here? Not gonna strike out on your own?"

"Not any time soon." Spike confirmed. "Twilight doesn't want me going anywhere, and neither do I."

"Suit yourself." Smolder shrugged. "Kinda weird, if ya ask me..."

"Then call me weird." Spike said proudly. "Anyway, I'm just glad the molt's finally over. No more stone scales, no more terrible smell... which of course means I don't have to worry about predators anymore."

"Congrats." Smolder told him. "Now you're really startin' to grow up dragon. Aside from the 'not leaving home' thing..."

"Hey, it's not exactly written in stone that a dragon has to leave home after the molt." Spike pointed.

"I know a bunch of dragons back home who might disagree." Smolder muttered.

"Let 'em disagree." Spike shrugged. "We're in Equestria, remember?"

"Kinda tough to forget..." Smolder admitted.

"Besides, that's not what I'm taking away from the events of the day." Spike declared. "For me, the best part of all this was these babies." He indicated his wings. "As you no doubt noticed, I've just been breakin' 'em in. Not bad, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess you're pretty good at flying." Smolder admitted. "For a beginner, I mean..."

"'Pretty good'?" Spike smirked. "For your information, I outflew a Roc earlier today!"

"...Seriously?" Smolder frowned.

"Yep." Spike said smugly. "Even helped save Rarity and Zecora from its clutches, literally right after I got these." He pointed out his wings again. "Not to brag, I'm already pretty much an expert over here."

"Oh, really?" Smolder narrowed her eyes mischievously.

Timing it just right, Smolder flapped her wings as hard as she could, creating a gust of wind that struck Spike's own outstretched wings, knocking him off-balance.

"Whoa!" Spike yelped, struggling to right himself for a moment. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Just testing to see how you handle a little turbulence, Mr 'expert'." Smolder chuckled.

"Ha, ha. Real funny." Spike pouted.

"I thought so too." Smolder smirked. "Good recovery, though."

"If you say so." Spike declared, still a little annoyed at her prank.

"Now, whattaya say we see how your 'skills' measure up against a more experienced flyer?" Smolder challenged him. "Like, say... me?"

"Gladly." Spike grinned. "I'll show you what I'm made of."

"Just try to keep up." Smolder teased.

Smolder flew off in the direction of the school. With a determined look, Spike followed after her.

"You doing okay back there?!" Smolder yelled over her shoulder. "I know it's tricky for a newbie flyer to keep up this kind of pace for long."

"Don't worry about me, worry about yourself!" Spike yelled back. "I'm on your tail, and closing fast!"

"Only cuz I'm going easy on you." Smolder retorted, as Spike began to close the distance between them. "Wouldn't be much fun if I left in the dust right away..."

"Oh, yeah?" Spike sneered. "Don't hold back on my account. Show me what you can really do!"

"Okay, you asked for it..." Smolder grinned.

Smolder immediately picked up speed, becoming an orange and purple blur that rounded the side of the school in seconds.

"Whoa." Spike gaped. His face then set in determination. "You can't get rid of me that easy..."

Spike took off after Smolder, flying as fast as he could. He was still no match for her top speed, but was able to at least keep her in his line of sight.

"Still hangin' in there, huh?" Smolder called. "Let's see how long you can keep it up for!"

"Yeah, let's!" Spike smirked.

The two young dragons continued on with their little race, running a couple more laps around the school, before exhaustion set in for both of him.

"Wanna call a time out?" Smolder asked, panting.

"Yeah, I could use a break." Spike agreed.

The two decided to set down on one of the school's spires, so they could get their breath back.

"So what do you think of my flying skills now?" Spike asked after they'd had a moment to recover.

"Not too shabby... For a newbie." Smolder smiled, giving Spike a playful punch in the shoulder.

"Thanks..." Spike rubbed his shoulder.

"Oh, come on." Smolder rolled her eyes. "You're seriously telling me that hurt? I was taking tougher hits than that when I was half your age."

"Yeah, well, when I was half my age, I was learning how to take notes, send letters, and about a dozen other 'assistant' type duties." Spike shrugged.

"Oh." Smolder frowned. "Guess that's what happens when a dragon is raised by ponies."

"And what's wrong with that?" Spike said defiantly.

"Nothing." Smolder said quickly. "It's just... Y'know, different."

"Good different." Spike folded his arms.

"If anycreature would be the expert on that subject, it'd be you." Smolder pointed out.

"Thanks... I guess." Spike declared. "But it's not like I have any other upbringing to compare it to. You grew up in the Dragon Lands. What's it like?"

"Ehh... It's kinda hard to describe." Smolder mused. "I guess it's pretty rough, sometimes. Dragons are al about competition, and survival of the strongest... If a young dragon doesn't toughen up fast, the others will walk all over them. Luckily, I didn't have that problem. None of the other kid dragons messed with me if they knew what was good for 'em."

"Well, growing up among ponies wasn't exactly tough." Spike admitted. "Twilight was always there for me, and Princess Celestia was cool. After we moved to Ponyville, I made so many new friends. But being the only dragon around ponies did feel a little lonely sometimes. Like I was just... apart from the others, even Twilight. It didn't happen too often, but when it did..."

"How did you end up being raised by ponies, anyway?" Smolder asked.

"Princess Celestia found my egg out in the wilderness." Spike declared. "According to her, I was all on my own out there. No family, no nest, no nothing."

"Oh." Smolder's face fell. "Must've been hard to hear that." She said sympathetically.

"Yeah..." Spike nodded. "Sometimes, I wonder what my birth parents must've been like, and what life would have been like if they had been the ones who raised me. But not often. Like I said, growing up with Twilight wasn't anything to complain about."

"And she didn't kick you out over the molt, did she?" Smolder reminded him.

"Nope." Spike shook his head. "This dragon's here to stay. May not be how they do things in the Dragon Lands, but it's how we do things here in Equestria."

"Lucky you." Smolder nudged him playfully.

"Like I said, I can't complain." Spike grinned.

The two fell silent again for a moment. Tentatively, Smolder sought to alleviate the sudden quiet.

"...You know, Dragon Lord Ember told me a little about you before she brought me to the school." She admitted.

"Did she?" Spike grinned. "All good, I hope?"

"Yeah." Smolder nodded. "I didn't believe most of it at first, though. Seriously, a little runt dragon, who hadn't even gotten his wings, helped make the next Dragon Lord? It seemed totally unbelievable!"

"Gee, thanks." Spike frowned.

"But after you and the professors saved me and my friends, I started to think maybe there was some truth to what the Dragon Lord told me." Smolder declared. "You handled yourself pretty well out there."

"Ah, I didn't really do that much." Spike said humbly. "All I did was headbutt a Pukwudgie."

"It's more than what I did." Smolder admitted. "I was cowering behind a bunch of wagons with the others, while you were right there in the thick of it. Pretty impressive for a runt."

"I was pretty great, wasn't I?" Spike smirked.

"Easy there, shrimp." Smolder teased. "Don't let all this glowing praise go to your head, or pretty soon, those little wings won't be able to lift you off the ground."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Spike grinned. "Besides, after seeing you in action, I know I've still got a long way to go to master these beauties." He flapped his wings to empaphize his point.

"Just keep at it." Smolder encouraged. "Who knows? Maybe someday, you'll be good to almost keep up with me."

"Maybe." Spike nodded. "Or maybe you'll be end up being who needs to keep up."

"Anytime you want a rematch, I'd be happy to school ya." Smolder countered.

"Then I'll be sure to do my homework." Spike shot back.

The two looked at each other, fierce competitive looks in their eyes... then started laughing.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Smolder chuckled. "Been a while since I got to indulge in some competitive trash talk."

"Heh, heh...You know, this is kinda nice." Spike declared.

"What is?" Smolder asked.

"Just hanging out with another dragon." Spike clarified. "I don't get to do that too often."

"Um... What about Dragon Lord Ember?" Smolder asked. "Aren't you friends with her?"

"Sure I am." Spike nodded. "But she doesn't get the chance to visit too often, what with being the Dragon Lord and everything. You, on the other claw, literally live right next door. So we can hang out as much as we like." He suddenly looked unsure. "If that's okay with you, of course?"

"Sure." Smolder nodded. "Don't get me wrong, hanging out with my friends is great, but they're not exactly built for every dragony pasttime. Maybe when I find some time between classes and hanging out with my pals, I could teach you a few Dragon games? Carving with claws, spitting fire balls for distance..."

"That all sounds great." Spike beamed.

Smolder smiled back.

"Yo, Smolder!"

Down on the ground, Smolder's friends were waving to her.

"Hey, guys!" Smolder waved back. "What's up?"

"We're headed over to the lake." Sandbar announced.

"You comin', or what?" Gallus asked.

"It won't be the same without you!" Silverstream added.

"I'll be right down." Smolder nodded.

"Guess that's it for today." Spike shrugged.

"You can come with, if you want." Smolder offered. "Pretty sure the others won't mind one more."

"Thanks, but I can't." Spike declined. "I promised Twilight I'd help her with the lesson plans before sunset."

"Oh, right." Smolder nodded. "The whole 'assistant' thing."

"It's what I do." Spike shrugged. "You go. Try to have enough fun for both of us."

"I'll try." Smolder nodded. "And don't worry. We can hang out again real soon."

"Already lookin' forward to it." Spike grinned. "And I'll be putting in more flying practice inbetween. So don't be surprised if I give you more of a challenge the next time we race."

"And don't be surprised if I don't go so easy on you next time." Smolder joked.

"We'll see who should go easy on who." Spike challenged her.

"Yeah." Smolder jabbed him on the shoulder, slightly more gently than she did the first time. "Later, Spike."

"Later, Smolder." Spike nodded, not even bothering to rub his shoulder this time.

Smolder leapt off the spire, opening her wings partway through her descent and gliding the rest of the way down. She landed next to her friends, who greeted her warmly (even Gallus, in his own way). Together, they made their way to the lake. As they departed, she gave a parting thumb's up to Spike.

Spike watched them as they left, feeling elated. He had meant what he'd said before; While Smolder was by no means the first dragon he had befriended, it felt good to have another dragon friend in such close proximity. While he was perfectly comfortable with being a pony raised by dragons, he felt like it would be good for him to learn more about his native culture, especially if it didn't involve the more negative side of dragon nature, which he had been exposed to far too often for his tastes. But those possibilities would have to wait for another day.

"Well..." Spike stood up and stretched. "Time to get back to work. Can't keep Twilight waiting."

Mimicking Smolder's own movements, Spike leapt off the spire, opened his wings, and glided down (a little less smoothly) to the school's front door. The day's events had done more than just grant him wings. It had given him a new friend, one who could relate to him in a way nopony could. Though he treasured his pony friends, and always would, this friend would prove to be unique. Then again, all friends tended to be like that...

Comments

[Speculore]

This has got to be the most heartwarmingly charming character interaction I've ever seen. I sincerely hope that we get to see more of these in the future.

[OmniFox]

When's the wedding?

[SuperSonicHeroes]

I really like the interactions between Spike and Smolder in the show and you capture them perfectly here. I feel like Smolder has kinda taken on a big sister role for a Spike, teaching him about dragon culture and being protective of him.

I still ship Spike with Ember, so him and Smolder having a sibling-like-bond is acceptable for me.

[redmar]

This was a nice interaction between Spike and Smolder.