Kaiser

by MellowSoul

Beaten Path (Part 4)

Author's Note:

"FROM FLESH TO STEEL, I FORTIFY THIS EASILY-SPLINTERED BONE INTO A STRONGHOLD OF WILL AS THE BALANCE OF MAN LAY BEATEN IN THE WAKE OF ITS OWN FRAILTY! HOLLOW WORDS WILL BURN! HOLLOW MEN WILL BURN! A HORDE EAGER TO ACCEPT DECEIT, AND MORESO TO SPEAK IT! WORDS WILL SEAR THE THROATS OF ALL WHO FREELY BEGUILE! THE TRUTH BURNS THROUGH MY VEINS IN MY BLACK HEART! BREATHE THE FLAME THAT WILL OVERWHELM YOU!"

Maple modeled several new outfits for her draconic companion. Each one, he found endearing in its own special way. To tease him, she got up close, murmuring sensual phrases to set his blood aflame.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were undressing me with your eyes."

"What if I am?"

"Then I guess I'll have to up the ante."

"You look beautiful..."

"You're rather dashing, yourself."

"It's a strange feeling being this close to someone."

"Strange, but in a good way."

"Yeah."

"I know you felt pride when we did it back home. It's not every day someone makes it with a ghost."

"I felt a kinship with you I didn't have with anyone else. Even though our circumstances were different, the end result was the same."

"I felt the same way. There was something inside me begging me to ease your pain. I couldn't just ignore it."

"I guess that's what Unearth were referring to when they wrote The Stings of Conscience."

"I have an idea of what your life was like as a child, but I'd like to hear the specifics."

"Twilight and I spent all our free time back then playing games and listening to music. It wasn't a particularly exciting existence, but I was content with it. I guess I should've know it was gonna end sooner or later."

"You preferred living life on the fringes of society. You did what you had to so you could spend time with friends and family. It was a powerful philosophy for someone your age."

"Seems to have served me well anyway. I'm dating a woman in her thirties fresh out of high school. Most guys my age struggle to get along with their own demographic."

"Most of them aren't sure what they want out of life yet. That's what sets you apart."

"I guess that's one way to look at it. I don't look down on them for it or anything. I just see us as cut from a different cloth."

"That doesn't have to be a bad thing. Like I said before, your family raised you to be a sweet, kind-hearted boy. So long as you keep their lessons in mind, things will work out."

"You're too good to me, ya know that?"

The couple briefly locked lips, breaking apart to plan their next course of action.

"I know you're eager to find that girl. I think I've seen enough here for one day. Try not to be too disappointed if she doesn't show."

"I won't be."

---

Outside the ice cream shop, Spike examined the parking lot. Just like with Twilight, everything looked the same.

"I'm surprised this place is still open." he voiced.

"This city's bigger than the ones back home. Business is probably more stable here."

"Probably."

"Should we go in?"

"After you, my lady."

Spike held the door open for Maple, following close behind.

"Hey, y'all," the employee behind the stand greeted, "What can I get ya?"

"We're actually just here to meet a friend. You wouldn't happen to know a mare with blonde fur and a light brown mane, would you?"

"You mean Ms. Vanilla?"

"So that's her name..."

"She comes in almost every day. You know each other?"

"We ran into each other when we were kids. We're passing through town right now, so I thought I'd drop by and see how she was doing."

"Wait a minute...I think I recall her mother mentioning something about a dragon: somethin' 'bout giving her money for a replacement cone."

"Looks like I've been found out."

"Golly...That must've been about ten years ago...You ain't seen each other that long...?"

"I was living with my sister for a while before I left. This is my first time back."

"Wonder if she'll recognize ya."

"I doubt it. We've both changed a lot since then."

"Tell ya what. Since you came all this way, how about a cone on the house?"

"Mind if I get one for my lady friend, too?"

"Sure thing. What's your name, son?"

"Spike. This is Maple."

"Gregory. Nice to meet ya."

"Likewise."

The dragon shook the stallion's hoof. A few moments later, Spike and Maple received their cones.

---

While waiting for Vanilla, Maple further questioned her lover about his childhood.

"I've been searching through your memories for a while, but I can't figure out which ones stand out the most."

"Probably everything between 2000 and '02. That's when things felt like they really started to pick up. We were finding bands left and right everywhere we looked. The games, the movies, the toys: all of 'em were the greatest thing since sliced bread. We even had our own band, Fields of Grace. We wanted to change things up and bring some positivity to a dark and depressing genre."

"I think that's a noble pursuit, especially considering what you found later."

"The metal scene was so divisive and filled with so much hate. Dudes in their forties were acting more angsty than I was. It was really fucking sad, actually."

"It must have been if it upset you that much."

"Sorry."

"Don't be afraid to express yourself. The older generations were supposed to act as role models, so I understand your frustration."

"It got to a point I just quit using the internet altogether. I only used the computer to play games and listen to music. By then, I had enough music to last me the whole year. If I listened to just one record a day, I could refresh my memories of the others during the next cycle. That's basically how things went from the time I was thirteen onwards."

"So your best memories have a specific timeframe - 2000 to 2005."

"After that, everything changed. I was completely alone. I had nobody to turn to - not even Twilight. I told everybody I was fine, but in reality...I was one bad day away from snapping..."

"Think about it this way, though: with the internet being what it's become, it's a lot harder to get away with shitty behavior."

"Ya know, I actually thought about that. Now that everybody's keeping tabs on each other, there's more accountability. For that trade-off, it's definitely worth a couple assholes."

"See? It's all a matter of perspective."

"Meeting you opened my eyes to a lot of things I never noticed before. If I'd given up, I never would've seen them. For that, I'm grateful."

"Now, why don't we lighten the mood a bit? Tell me more about the stuff you guys were into."

"There are a couple bands that stand out like Dead to Fall and Undying. We found them around the time all this started. Same thing with the PS2. It's tied for my favorite game system with PC. I used to watch the DBZ movies on both all the time."

"Since we're on the topic, what was that one game with the devil dude with the horns and big muscles?"

"You mean Devil Jin?"

"That's the one."

"He's from the Tekken series. His human form's been around since Tekken 3, but he couldn't use his demon powers until five."

"He's the one who inspired you to take up the kyokushin style."

"His grandpa Heihachi tried to kill him at the end of the third game. He switched out his fighting style to distance himself from his demonic bloodline. Ever since, he's used a mix of karate, jiu-jitsu, and judo. It's hard to decide which form I like better."

"One's the story of redemption. The other is retribution."

"I feel like I relate to the former more."

"I think so, too."

"I've never wanted to hurt anyone. That's why I train so hard. I'd rather be strong enough to subdue an opponent than kill them."

"Makes sense. I wouldn't want to kill anyone either."

"It makes me wonder how things would've turned out if I'd died instead of you..."

"Hard to say, but I'm fine with how they are. We might've never met otherwise."

"Yeah. That's true."

The parlor door rang. Spike turned around. It was Vanilla. She'd shown up as expected with a group of friends. After ordering their cones, Spike and Maple made their way to the group's booth.

"Vanilla?" Spike asked.

The girls went silent. Vanilla gave the dragon a look of confusion.

"Do I know you?"

"You probably don't remember me very well. We only met once."

"I'm sorry. I can't remember."

"It's okay. My name's Spike. I met you and your mother when we were little. You dropped your ice cream and I gave you money to get another one."

The realization hit Vanilla like a freight train.

"That was you!?"

"Long time, no see."

"I've been trying to find you since that day! Where have you been!?"

"I never got the chance to tell you, but I went home the day that happened. My sister Twilight was attending the university here. I ended up staying with her for a while until I got homesick."

Vanilla looked between Spike and the mare next to him.

"Is...That her?"

"Nah. This is my girlfriend, Maple."

"Gotcha."

Vanilla shook Maple's hoof.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." the spirit replied.

"How've you guys been since I left?" Spike asked.

"Fine," Vanilla stated, "I wanted to thank you back then, but there wasn't enough time. We had to get home before it got dark."

"I just did what I thought was right, ya know? It's good to see you again."

"Yeah. You, too."

"Twilight's in town right now, so I figured I'd drop by and check up on you. It's almost time for us to meet up at the campus, but I figured we could trade info to stay in touch."

"We can do one better. Let us finish our ice cream and we'll go with you."

"For real!? That'd be sick!"

"Just give us a few minutes and we'll pack our stuff."

"Hell yeah! I can't wait for you to meet her!"

"You came all this way. It's the least we can do."

"Awesome! We'll be a few booths down when you're ready."

"Works for me."

Spike clenched his fist in victory. He'd expected their encounter to feel awkward and uncomfortable. Instead, the opposite had happened. Twilight was in for the shock of her life.