• Published 9th Jan 2013
  • 18,178 Views, 488 Comments

Her Knight in Shining Scales - The Dragon Warlock



Spike finds a book that reveals Twilight's true feelings for her number one assistant.

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Book of Secrets

The wind’s howling echoed throughout the streets of Ponyville on another blustery, cold winter day. Throughout the town, the buildings and roads were covered in a layer of snow, making getting around town a chore for many. Some businesses were closed due to the weather while others, such as Sugarcube Corner, remained open and were selling stuff to keep other ponies warm. In the Ponyville Library, one of the occupants living there was running around like a chicken with their head cut off. The other occupant, a tall, groggy, and rather muscular dragon with pointy green spines and a rather round snout, was watching a tall, skinny lilac unicorn run around in a panic.

“Oh, where’s my winter hat Rarity made for me?” the unicorn asked to herself. “I’ve been looking everywhere and I can’t find it.”

“Um . . . Twilight? That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” said Spike, who was dressed in a dark green shirt and blue sleep pants.

Twilight, who was dressed in a heavy purple coat, black mittens, blue snow pants, and brown boots, looked at her assistant with an exasperated look. “Oh good Spike, you’re up. Well if you know where my hat is, can you tell me?”

The dragon pointed behind her and she turned to see a purple snowcap, with flops on the side to cover the ears, hanging on a coat rack. Twilight’s face went red in embarrassment and went over to grab the hat. “T-thanks Spike,” she said in a small voice. “But why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“One, you were ignoring me as you ran around the place,” said the dragon. “Two, I was still sleeping and you didn’t notice me coming into the lobby when all the noise you made woke me up. Three, it was kind of funny to see you run around the library.”

“Well aren’t we the comedian?” muttered Twilight in a sarcastic tone. “But anyway, do you want to come with me and the others to the lake? We’re going ice skating today.”

“No thank you Twilight, I’d rather not go near that lake during winter ever again,” he said as he crossed his arms.

Twilight looked at her assistant with a concerned look. “Spike, are you still upset about what happened during Winter Wrap Up?” she asked. “I know you were pretty upset about it, but everypony has forgotten about it by now.”

“Tell that to Rainbow Dash then,” he spat. “She keeps on treating it like some sort of joke and bringing it up.”

“I’ll talk to her about it then and tell her to cut it out. You can stay here in the library if you want while I’m out. I promise I won’t be gone for too long since the weather is going to get bad in the afternoon.”

“Okay then, I guess I’ll clean up the library while you’re out, even though you made most of the mess.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to Spike,” said Twilight. “This mess is really my fault since I was looking for my hat and throwing everything around.”

“Nah it’s okay,” said Spike. “It’ll give me something to do while you’re out anyway.”

“If you insist Spike, but try not to wear yourself out, okay?” She went over and gave her assistant a brief hug before letting go. “I’ll bring home some hot cocoa as a treat for both of us.”

“Alright then, see you later Twilight,” said the dragon as he waved.

He watched the lilac unicorn wave back and turned to see the mess his friend caused. There were books scattered about from some of Twilight’s reading sessions. The closet was open some coats and hats lying on the floor. With a small sigh, Spike began to pick up the mess made throughout the library. Nearly an hour later, Spike finished arranging the books back in order and put the clothes away in the closet. He looked around and smiled to himself from the work he just did. Just as he was about to head upstairs to rest a little, Spike saw a blue blanket near a chair that was meant to be on Twilight’s bed and decided to place it back on there.

He walked up the steps, entered the room, and placed the blanket on Twilight’s large bed. Spike tucked the blanket in the bed, but as he did he felt something hard at the top of the bed between the mattress and the bed frame. He looked between them to see, to his confusion, a green colored book. Curious, Spike pulled the book out and looked at the title of the book, My Dragon was written in cursive writing and nothing else. He looked at the rest of the book and saw no other real features to it aside from it being in really good condition.

“That’s strange, I’ve never seen this book in the library,” wondered Spike. “There’s no author, no publication place, there’s nothing at all aside from some weird title. Why’s it even in Twilight’s bed in the first place?” He opened the cover of the book and raised an eyebrow. “There’s not even a library book slip to show if anypony has checked this book out. Maybe it’s a book that got lost or something by somepony and Twilight was reading it.”

Spike looked out the bedroom window and saw nopony, except for the mailmare, Derpy, flying aimlessly as she tried to deliver the mail in the blustery and cold weather. “Well . . . I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at this,” he said. “Twilight won’t be home for a while and I can probably show this book to her and ask why she had it.” He sat down on Twilight’s bed and opened the book to the first page.

I have decided to take an extraordinary step and do something nopony has done before. I, Twilight Sparkle, have decided to study and understand what dragons do in their lifespan. Ever since the events of the Great Dragon Migration, I’ve felt it’s time to understand dragons more in order for all of ponykind to know them better. I’ve run into a couple of dragons in my life, but I’ve always had one around me that I can count on, my assistant Spike. I’m not telling him about this because I may make him feel uncomfortable with me following and studying what he does. I know he’ll be a bit angry at this when I tell him, but he’ll thank me later when ponykind gets to know dragons better as a result of this book.

Spike’s eyes widened as he reread the line. “Well that’s just great,” he said in an annoyed tone. “I’m now another part of her studies once again. Well she better not list the time she turned me into a girl to see what a female dragon looked like.” Spike shivered at the thought of that day. “I still can’t believe she did that to me.” He looked back down at the book and turned to the next page.

Dragons have often been seen as greedy and rambunctious creatures who are a threat to all of ponykind. They often have huge piles of treasure in caves and live in them for what seems to be the rest of their lives. I’ve tried asking them why they do such a thing, but all contact with them have resulted in me nearly being burned. There’s no evidence to show what they do with the treasure, or if it’s meant to be used to pay taxes to the Dragon Empire. This may forever be kept a secret since the dragons often nap and protect their hoard. That, and they often aren’t in the mood to talk.

While dragons may seem like savages to many ponies, I believe they can turn out to be much better when they’re raised right. For example, my dragon, Spike, was raised by me and I taught him right from wrong. Although we’ve had some arguments and some fights, he turned out to be a perfect example of how a dragon can turn out to be friendly. He interacts well with other ponies and doesn’t act greedy like other dragons. He’s easily one of the nicest dragons you’ll ever meet, even if he is a bit sarcastic.

Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence there Twilight, thought Spike as he rolled his eyes.

Although Spike turned out to be better than most teenage and adult dragons, there are some characteristics that can never be changed. Like other dragons, he does sleep a lot, usually up to 10 hours a day. He also does get a little snappy when it comes to being awakened from his slumber, but he doesn’t attack others when that happens unlike other dragons. He does also tend to show signs of greed like in another event that occurred a year ago in this town. But aside from that, he’s a really good dragon all around.

Spike brought his palm to his face and slapped it against it. This seriously can’t be happening, he thought to himself. I’m not only being made out to be some sort of experiment, but she’s now practically embarrassing me with this book she’s writing. I need to see what else she wrote in this book about me. If she brings up anything else embarrassing, I’ll make her write that out then.

As Spike flipped each page, he read more about Twilight’s “reports” on dragons. She wrote in the book about how dragons were cold blooded and used Spike as a prime example for when he nearly froze to death during Winter Wrap Up. Then there was an example that showed dragons could get easily jealous and how Spike was once again used with the incident involving Owlowiscious and how he reacted. The dragon soon found, to his horror and anger, a report about female dragons and some of their basic anatomy. The only thing that didn’t make Spike want to burn the book was Twilight had the decency to not mention his name.

Spike threw the book against the bed in a fit of rage. “I can’t believe this!” he shouted with smoke billowing out of his nostrils. “She’s pretty much bringing up every embarrassing and humiliating moment in my life! When she gets home, I’m going to let her . . .” Spike stopped talking as his eyes drifted back down to the book and saw something else written on the next page. With a sigh, he picked the book up and rolled his eyes. “Well . . . I might as well see what else she’s bringing up in this book. But if she even brings up even one last embarrassing thing, I’m burning this book.”

He turned the page and as he read the chapter’s name, he raised an eyebrow. “Dragons and Romantic Relationships?” wondered Spike. “Oh man, if Twilight is bringing up my crush on Rarity, she’s never going to see this book again.” He looked back down at the book and began to read the “report”.

There’s probably nothing more mysterious to a dragon then the romantic relationships they may have with other female dragons. During my field studies on dragons, I’ve noticed a serious lack of any female dragons amongst any of the male ones. Thanks to the willingness and cooperation of another male dragon, I’ve learned several things about their romantic relationships. It seems every year, there’s this ritual called The Great Hatching. According to the dragon, whose name will remain anonymous, it’s a get together of all male dragons who have gained passage to be adults and mate with other female dragons. The ritual is said to last up to two days in order to make sure all the female dragons are ready to lay eggs and bring some new dragons into the world. The right of passage that males need to go through in order to participate in this ritual is unknown and the dragon I spoke with wasn’t willing to talk about it.

Once the ritual is over, the female dragons stay dormant as they lay their eggs, hatch them, and then raise them until they are fit to live on their own. The female dragons that are born though are often forced to become the next generation of breeders and continue the cycle. Male dragons though live out their lives in clans or gathering and hoarding treasure. The ritual shows that romantic relationships for dragons are nonexistent and was even considered taboo. Why it is, I never knew because the dragon I spoke with didn’t know the details. He did tell me that because of the lack of females, some male dragons often have to resort to mating with other male dragons to relieve their sexual buildup.

Spike gulped a little as he read that last sentence. “I’m going to have to remind myself to thank Princess Celestia for letting me stay amongst other ponies.” He then noticed the next page was written as well. “Is there more to this whole relationship thing?” He began to read what the book said.

It’s unknown whether or not dragons can have any romantic relationships with other ponies. There’s been a few attempts to see if it would be possible, but so far no such feat has been achieved. It’s not even determined if dragons can mate with other ponies and reproduce foals of their own. It’s often theorized that dragons who mate with other ponies will result in a kirin dragon, or other words, a mixture of a dragon and pony. Whether this is true or not still remains to be unknown.

Spike flipped the page and saw only one a blank one. He flipped through more pages, but all of them were blank. “I guess that’s all in this book,” said Spike. “I’m going to have to talk to Twilight about some of the things she wrote in here. It’s one thing to help ponies understand us dragons, but to secretly use me as part of an experiment and some studying is another thing.” The dragon shut the book, but as he did, he saw something written on the last couple of pages of the book.

Curious, Spike looked at the book and noticed something he didn’t see before. There seemed to be something wedged in between a set of pages near the end of the book. Spike opened the book to where the wedge was and came across a majestic purple and emerald green colored bookmark. The dragon removed it and looked at the page that was on it. FOR MY EYES ONLY were the only words written on the page. Spike looked around to make sure nopony was around and then looked back at the book. He took a deep breath and flipped the page over.

Things have now changed for me and for this book. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been starting to feel something stir inside me. At first I had no clue what it was, but over a course of time, I began to realize what it was. What I’m writing in this book now can’t be allowed to go public and will now be used to write down my personal feelings for a certain individual I’ve been around for practically all my life. From here on now, this book will be about my feelings to my number one assistant and wonderful friend, Spike.

Spike’s jaw dropped and released his grip on the book. He tried to get some words out, but he couldn’t get them out. His mind started to race with so many questions as he tried to figure out what Twilight wrote down. He quickly picked up the book again to see what Twilight was seeing in him.

For the longest time, Spike has been a very faithful assistant and friend to me. When I first hatched him, he never showed any hesitation to help me when I needed it most. But in all the years I’ve come to know him, I’ve seen how far he’s gone to not only help me, but all my friends in Ponyville. From the smallest of tasks like helping pick apples to even pulling some strings to get Hoity Toity to come to Rarity’s fashion show, Spike has shown how much he’s willing to help out others. When it comes to me though, it seems he always tries his hardest to make sure I don’t do anything too irrational.

Whenever something goes wrong, it’s Spike who’s there for me when I need somepony, or in this case somedragon, to help me. When the incident about my letter to Princess Celestia drove me to insanity, it was Spike who ultimately saved me and the rest of Ponyville with him calling the princess. If started to flip out or go over the edge, it was him who always brought me back down to Earth. Him, who went above and beyond to help me when I needed it the most. He even went as far as saving the Crystal Empire and said that he would always be there for me if I didn’t pass the test Princess Celestia gave me. He vowed to always be by my side and was ready to lend me a claw to reach out to me. I knew from what he said that there was something very special to him, but I fear it may be too late.

I know what I’ve done to Spike and all the things I’ve done to him in the past. I nearly let him drown during Winter Wrap Up. I left him out of so many things with my friends like the Cloudsdale Young Flyers Competition and even my own birthday in Canterlot. I still can’t believe I forgot about telling him about that change of plans. Even when Owlowiscious came into the picture, I was really horrible to him and his feelings. I know I already apologized to him about not realizing his feelings, but I nearly got him killed because of that and made him feel so neglected when I showed more appreciation to Owlowiscious then to Spike.

In all honesty, I’ve been the worst friend ever to him for everything I’ve done to him and I wish I could take it all back. I know now if I produce these so called studies that Spike would never forgive me for using him as an example throughout the book. I just want nothing more than to know how much he really means to me now and how sorry I am for all the terrible things I’ve put him through. I’ve been using him for so long and I never once showed any concern for his feelings up until now. I hate what I’ve done and I never want to make Spike feel alone and forgotten ever again.

I want him to know how much he really means to me, but I’m almost scared to say something. I’ve seen how much he’s head over heels for my friend Rarity. She’s pretty much got me beat in every category of how to win over a guy. She’s got looks, sophistication, and a charm that could light up all of Equestria. I’m just some bookworm who's spent most of her life in books and I’ve been so neglectful to Spike, it’s pretty much impossible to win him over now. Sometimes I want to say something to him, but I may accidentally make him feel uncomfortable around me and he may remember all the things I’ve done to him. Instead, all I can really do is just look at him and think of everything he’s done to help me.

Spike was at a loss of words from what he just read. He read the same lines over and over again in some small hope that this was all a joke. The more he looked back at the lines again, the more he came to realize that this wasn’t any kind of prank. He couldn’t believe that Twilight, the bookworm who always showed more love for books than anything else, was actually writing all of this down and managed to hide her feelings for so long. He then noticed something that looked like a poem written on the next page and looked at it.

I stare at him all day, everyday from beyond my books. How much he has grown over the years since he was hatched... He's becoming older, maturing into a stand fine gentledrake, manners and elegance that he was naturally blessed with. Oh how I envy him. Everyday these strange feelings I have for him blossom like a budding flower, and I pray to the goddess that he picks me. I know I'm not the prettiest flower in the garden, but I love him, and I just wish I could be his...

Some may argue that he’s like my surrogate son, or like a big sister to him and find it creepy for me to love him. The way I see it though, Spike has always been there for me when I needed somedragon to comfort me and always goes out of his way to do his best. I love him for everything he’s done to support me and never giving up on me when things looked bad. Yes, he can be a bit klutzy and immature from time to time, but I’ve seen how he’s grown and how much he’s changed over the years. He’s very special to me and a fine gentledrake whose noble attitude and faithfulness knows no bounds.

I don’t know if Spike will ever find this book, but if he has found this book, then I want him to know how much he means to me. All I can say to you now Spike is that I’m so, so sorry for everything I did to you and how horrible I’ve been to you. All this time I’ve embarrassed you and made you feel left out of everything and I never did anything about it. But I want you to understand how much you really mean to me now and how much I regret my actions against you. But know that no matter what happens, or even if you never return my feelings for you, you’ll always be more than an assistant and friend, you’ll be my dragon.

Spike let the book slip out of his grasp again and tried to comprehend what Twilight wrote. More questions popped into his head as he thought about how much he really meant to his longtime friend. She not only held back feelings for him, but she expressed remorse for what she did to him. He thought about how he felt about Twilight and how much he meant to her. He had to admit that she wasn’t bad looking at all. She did look cute, especially when she was wearing those small, rounded reading glasses for her nightly reading sessions. Her body figure also didn’t look too bad, in fact it was-

The dragon slapped himself in the face to stop his mind. No, you can’t think like that at all, he thought to himself. Twilight is practically my mother figure after all and I can’t dwell on stuff like that. It’s nearly as messed up as Twilight having feelings for Shining Armor. I never knew my actions could actually get her to see me as a potential love interest. Besides, Rarity is pretty much who I’ve wanted to be with this whole time.

Spike lowered his head as a thought crossed his mind. What am I going to do? I can’t just confront Twilight about this book, or she’ll probably get upset. But if she tells me about her feelings so suddenly, I don’t want to break her heart either. And what about if Rarity does want to be with me? Would Twilight hate me for abandoning her and never saying anything to me? There’s too many bad scenarios here for me. I either choose Rarity, or Twilight. But what can I do now?

Something suddenly clicked inside of Spike’s head. That’s it! Rarity will know what to do on this whole thing. I need to go talk to her about this right now. Maybe I can try to-

“SPIKE! I’m home now!” shouted the voice of Twilight.

The dragon felt his heart stop as he heard her voice. He quickly slammed the book shut and shoved it back between the bed frame and mattress. “Um . . . be right down Twilight!” he shouted. “I’m just getting dressed is all.”

“It’s okay Spike, I’ve seen you in your underwear before,” the lilac unicorn said. “You’ve got nothing to hide from me.”

Spike could’ve sworn he heard a tinge of excitement in her voice just now. “No! . . . I mean, no Twilight! I’ll be down there faster than you can say Princess Celestia.”

He quickly pulled out of his dresser a thick green sweater, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of green mittens, and a heavy purple jacket. He quickly threw off his sleep clothes and changed into his new clothes so fast, it would make Rainbow’s jaw drop. He went over to open the door, but it was suddenly opened by Twilight, who was carrying two large cups of hot cocoa and had a smile on her face. She was no longer wearing her snow gear, but now was wearing a magenta sweater and red khakis.

“Well Spike, I’ve said Princess Celestia about five times and you never came down,” she said. “I brought you some hot chocolate for doing such a great job cleaning the library. Now that the snow is picking up, we can stay in the library for the rest of the day and talk to each other.”

Talk to each other!? the dragon thought to himself. No! We can’t talk now! Who knows what she’ll try to do?

“Um . . . I would really love to Twilight, but I’ve got to go see Rarity,” he said with a forced smile.

“Why do you need to go see her today?” asked Twilight. “She told me she had no clients to deal with and she’s closed up shop until the snow abates.”

“Um . . . it’s my . . . jacket,” he stuttered. “I have a big hole in it and I need her to fix it up.” He grabbed a large pair of black boots and put them on.

“Spike, whatever the problem is, I’m sure you can wait a little bit for this storm to clear out.”

The dragon suddenly ran out and opened the door to the library, allowing the snow to blow inside. “Sorry Twilight! This really can’t wait for too long! I’ll have that hot cocoa later! See you in a little bit!”

As Spike ran out into town, he was blinded by the wind and heavy downpour of snow. He persevered though and slowly started making his way to Carousel Boutique. Rarity, I hope you can help me, he thought to himself. You’re the only one who can help me answer a question that now plagues my mind now. What to do with Twilight and her feelings for me?

Back in the Ponyville Library, Twilight used her magic to shut the door and sighed to herself. “Well . . . I guess it’s just me again,” she said to herself with sadness in her voice. She went back upstairs to grab her hot cocoa. “Maybe while he’s away I can figure out what to say to him. But what can I really say to him? Especially when . . .”

Twilight’s voice tapered off as she noticed something on the floor near her bed. She placed her hot cocoa down on a table as she went over to look at the object. She looked down and saw something that made her eyes widen and send shivers down her spine. The lilac unicorn bent over and picked up the purple and green bookmark and realized the reason for her assistant’s strange behavior.

“No . . . no . . .” she said in a broken voice.

She dug into the bed and brought out the book and immediately flipped to the end of the book. Her worst fears were confirmed as she looked in the specific page and now realized the truth. She brought the book close to her and let a few tears trickle down her face and onto the floor. As she stood there with the book, only one thing rang out in Twilight’s mind now.

Spike . . . please don’t leave me.

Author's Note:

Thanks once again to FlimFlamBros. for proofreading this story. On another note, school has started for me now. So expect the story to take a while to finish due to work and other projects. This story will be short though, at the most it will have three chapters. So bear with me as I go through school for the semester.