> The Street Dragon and the Cotton Candy Baker > by DARKPHANTOM13 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Enter the Dragon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I looked out of the window as I watched the scenery zoom past in the morning light. All the while I listen to my music to keep me busy. I have since in this moving truck since yesterday afternoon and safe to say it has been pretty dull. With the only things I have been able to do not counting the pit stops and food runs is sleeping and listening to my music. Plus the guy driving isn't exactly helping me fight the boredom. It isn't like he is a bad guy or anything, he is just plain weird. When I tried to start a conversation he starts going on and on about jelly, different flavors, how it's made, and its history. Safe to say I tuned him out after the third sentence. I noticed my reflection on the truck window. My green hair is still as messy and spikey as always. My unique eyes, as some call it, are as green as my hair and somewhat resembled the snake eyes. Which become more so when I'm angry. Apparently it's a genetic trait that appears in certain people and families along with my somewhat large canine teeth. I'm somewhat tanned from how I often spent his time outside. I was wearing my usual green shirt that was hidden under my purple and black short sleeved hooded jacket, a pair of gray jeans, and my green and black sneakers. The small slash scar on my left cheek is a new addition to my look. In a way it represents one of the reasons why I'm in this moving truck in the first place. *Ring Ring* My phone ringed in my pocket. I take off my headphones, take my phone, and check the caller ID to see that it was my dad. Another reason why I've been cooped up in this truck for so long. I flip open phone and put it to my ear. I said, "Hey dad." "Hey Spike." My dad replied. "How are you doing? Are you close to Ponyville?" "I'm okay, bored out of my mind, but okay. As for if we’re almost there, I don't know. Give me a sec." I take the phone out my ear and asked the driver, "Hey, how much longer till we get there?" "Another hour or so." He answered. "Thanks." I put the phone back to my ear. "We're about an hour away." "Good. Sorry I can't be there to drop you off myself." My dad apologized. "Don't worry dad. I know you have an important meeting you have to get to at work." I replied. "Thanks son. I'm sure you'll have a great time at Ponyville." My dad said, trying to be optimistic. "I still don't see why I have to go live with mom and Twilight in the first place." "You're going to be living with them because I want you to stay safe." "Dad, I can take care of myself." "Yeah, that is how you ended up in the hospital." "That wasn't my fault. Those guys cornered me. What was I supposed to do just stand there and take it?" I defended myself. Bullying has always been a problem for me. There is always someone who is trying to either pick a fight or mess with me. It was about a few months after my adoptive parents’ divorce that I decided to fight back but, I always made sure I fought smart. I never throw the first punch and I always made sure there are witnesses that couldn't stand the guy picking on me when I'm at school. Though the bullies soon started to pick fights with me on the streets. While they managed to rough me up I made sure I got a few swings in and give them either a bruise or a shiner. A kid that was a couple years older than me found me on the ground in an alleyway and helped me out. His name was Diston Q. Anarchy but he preferred his street name Discord. I told him about my problems and he helped me by teaching me how to fight. That was when I was introduced to the world of street fighting, much to my older brother, Shining, displeasure. Over time I got stronger, faster, and more skilled. I could even take down multiple people older than me by myself. At one point I became famous among the street fighters in Manhattan and got the nickname, the 'Street Dragon'. "I know you can but can you blame me? Around twenty guys ganged up and attacked my son. Any right minded parent would be worried out of their minds." My dad countered. A lot of the older bullies didn't like the fact that I beat them up or made fools of them when they tried to pick on me. It got the point where they pretty much decided to attack me all at once with a few of them either carrying bats or knifes. I might be a great fighter but I wasn't invincible. A few bruised or cracked ribs, dislocated left arm, sprained left hand and right ankle, a small concussion, a broken arm and nose, and a bunch of bruises, scrapes, and cuts with a few of those cuts leaving a scar like the one on my cheek. Though that didn't mean I went down without a fight. I might have ended up in the hospital but I made sure to take every single person that attacked me along for the ride. It was only a few days ago that I was fully healed and got the last of the bandages and stuff off. "Who knows what they'll try next since you sent them all to the hospital. You may be able to protect yourself but you can't stop bullets." Okay he had a point there. I guess I should be thankful that nobody was packing heat when they jumped me. "I know that you don't want to leave your friends and that this feels like running away but I just want to keep you safe." "Okay dad. I see your point. I can still talk and chat with my friends through my phone and computer. It would be nice to see mom and Twilight again." That is probably one of the few good things about moving to Ponyville. I haven't seen in her or mom since the divorce. My sister and I use to exchange letters and stuff but we sort of lose touch with each other. I just hope she managed to make some friends. While I don't have a large number of friends myself I was a lot more social than Twilight was when I last saw her. "That's the spirit. Listen, I got to go. Text me when you get there and unpack your stuff at Velvet's house." "Sure dad. Later." "Bye Spike." And with that he ended his call as I closed and put away my phone. I put my headphones back on and listen to my music. After a while we past a large sign that said 'Welcome to Ponyville.' 'I hope you're ready Ponyville,' I thought to myself. 'because the Street Dragon is coming to town.' > New Home > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I took in the sights of the town I'll be living in for who knows how long as the truck makes its way to my new home. I'm kind of surprised; with a name like Ponyville you would it would be one of those smaller country towns. While it's not exactly a city it's definitely not a small underdeveloped place. It had a little of with one or two large farms and a pretty decent mall and movie theater. At least I won't feel completely out of place here since I'm use to the big city life. We soon found ourselves at my mom's and sister's home. It's a nice yet simple two story house with a separate garage next to the built in one. The jam guy, which I'm going to call him for the moment since I don't know his name, pulls up to the driveway and come to a complete stop. I quickly jump out of the moving van for the chance to move my body again. The front door opened as a familiar middle aged woman walked out of the house. She was a beautiful woman about average height with a white blouse, a purple skirt that went to her ankles, and with some sensible shoes. Velvet Sparkle didn't change that much since the last time I saw her. She smiled as she made her way to me and gave me a hug. While I had grown I still only came up a little bit above her shoulders. "Hello Spike, it's good to see you again. How was your trip?" "It's good to see you too mom. As for the trip, it was pretty boring." I replied. I looked behind her, hoping to see a certain purple haired bookworm. "Where is Twilight?" "She's at school right now. She'll be back in a few hours." "Speaking of which when do I go to school?" "You are going to the same as Twilight the day after tomorrow." "At least it gives me another day to settle in and learn my way around. Thanks for letting me use that garage for my ride, tools, and stuff." "No problem honey. It was mostly just gathering dust in there anyway. I’m kind of surprised that you took up an interest in that sort of thing." "Yeah, back when I was ten, my friend showed me how to fix my skateboard. I took a liking to it and before I knew it, I was a big gearhead. Even got a part-time job at a small auto shop. Dad was glad I finally had a hobby that didn't involve hitting things or staring at a screen." "You had a job? I'm sorry you had to quit." "Don't worry about it. The old man who ran it was sad to see me go but he understood. Beside I can still keep in touch with him through e-mails and stuff. It shouldn't be too hard to find another job and I'll have a great reference if I need it." "That's good to hear. Now let’s get you moved in. If we hurry we should be done by the time Twilight gets back from school." "Good idea." As we made our way to the back of the van I asked, "By the way did Twilight managed make any friends?" When we were little Twilight hardly interacted with anyone that wasn't family. She normally preferred books over people. "Believe it or not she managed to make five different friends. Thanks to those girls they made her more of a people person and outgoing. They can be a tad...odd at times though." That was a load off my mind. Though I wondered what she meant by odd. "That's good to know. I hope I get to meet them soon." It turns out that the jelly guy had already opened the back and started unhooking some of the stuff that was anchored down. "Thanks for getting started without us umm...sorry, I didn't catch your name." I said awkwardly as I rubbed the back of my hair out of habit. "No problem," He replied as he gave me a quick smile than went back to what he was doing. "And my name is Welch, Welch Jam." Welch? As in the jelly brand? "Of course it is." I muttered to myself as I rolled up my selves and went to work helping him. Can't let the guy do all the work since it's my stuff. ---------------------------------------------------------- It was lunch time at Ponyville High School. Everybody was eating, talking, hanging out with friends, or a combination of the three like myself. Though I haven't been talking all that much, I was too excited. I'm finally going to see Spike after so long. For once I couldn't wait for school to end. "Hey Twilight, earth to Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was a junior and the athlete of the group with the build to match. She was on the track and girls basketball team. With her blue jersey, shirts, shorts, and white and blue sneakers it was easy to tell that she was a jock. What really made her stand out was her rainbow streak hair. "Sorry about that Rainbow," I replied with a happy smile on my face. I took a quick bite of my sandwich. "What has you in such a good mood darling?" Rarity asked as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. She was a senior like me and was a person of high class. With a stylish with blouse, dark purple skirt, knee high boots, and stylized hair it was easy to tell she was someone knew a thing or two about fashion. With her looks and sleek figure she had most of the males of the school head over heels with her. "It's because my little brother, Spike, is going to move in with mom and I." I answered, practically shaking with excitement. "Oh yeah! I can't wait to meet him. I'll give him the best 'Welcome to Ponyville' part ever!" Pinkie cheered. She was in the same year as Rainbow Dash. Her happy go lucky attitude and being on a constant sugar rush could put a smile on anyone's face. With her white and pink shirt, light pink jeans, and pink and white shoes it was easy to tell what her favorite color is. Due to all the sweets she eats she was plump but by no means fat. Most of the sugar going to her chest and hips with only a little on her stomach. "Say Twilight, how old is the younging and what year is he going to be?" Applejack asked. She was the last senior of our group. She was the tallest and had a muscular build to her due to life working on the farm with her family. She was a hard worker in everything she did and was honest. With her brown cargo shirt, work jeans, cowboy boots, and her signature hat gave her the look of a cowgirl. "He's 15 and I think he's a sophomore." I answered. I wasn't soon sure about that last since I hadn't talked to him in a long while. "I can't wait to meet him, if you don't mind that is." Fluttershy said quietly. She was in the same year as Rainbow and Pinkie. While she had the looks and personality to melt even the coldest of hearts she was extremely shy. However she has gotten better since we all started to hanging out. A lot of her time spent in town animal shelter. Her amazing figure was hidden under her green turtleneck sweater, long brown skirt, and sensible shoes. "Oh sure. How about you girls come over after school to meet him?" I asked. Everyone either nodded or voiced their agreements. "You guys are going to love him. When he was little he was the sweetest, caring, and gentlest boy ever." --------------------------------- Meanwhile "ACHOO!" Spike sneezed as he managed to keep himself from losing his grip on the box he was caring. "That was a pretty big sneeze dude. Are you getting sick?" Welch asked. "Naw, I'm fine. I think is someone is talking about me. Spike answered, wondering how is talking about him. "If you say so. Anyway, where do you want the punching bag and stand to go?" "Just put it in the garage." "Okay and you should think about buying a new bag. This one is beat to hell." "Of course its beat to hell, it's a punching bag." > Reunion > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike's P.O.V. I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I put down the last box in my room. The room was a pretty good size that was connected to the bathroom and located on the second floor. With my futon that serves as both my bed and couch, I put it near the window, close to the bed stand with my iHome on it. My desk was put up against the wall, near my bed with my computer already plugged in and with a couple of pictures, and a few books beside it. On the opposite side, is my small bookcase where I will put my magazines, DVDs and videogames later. Next to that is my dresser, between my small walked in closet. Near the door to my room is my T.V. stand with a somewhat large T.V. on top with a Playstation 3 and a DVD/VHS player on the lower part of the stand. Right now, my room is still pretty bare while a lot of my boxes with clothes, games, and other stuff laid on the floor. "Okay, that is everything in the truck," Welch said, standing in the door way of my new room. "Do you need help with anything else?" "No thanks," I said. "We got everything covered." "In that case, I'll be going now. Thank you for choosing Pegasus Moving Company," The guy made his way down the stairs and towards the front door. "No problem dude and thanks for the help," I yelled for the stairs. With a wave, the jelly enthusiast left the house and rode away in his truck. I turned my attention back to my new room that was filled of boxes. With a quick crack of my hands, I started to unpack the boxes and put my things away. After about an hour, I was able to get all of my clothes, sheets, and blankets out and put away. Checking the time, I decided to make myself some lunch. I went downstairs and into the kitchen. They had a pretty nice kitchen, with a lot of appliances, a nice fridge, cabinets filled with good food and even a spice rack to go along with it. I can see myself making a lot of good food with this stuff. For now, I decided to go for something simple and made myself a PB and J sandwich with some chips and milk. I sat down on the stool and put my plate the counter, I ate my lunch as I watched the small TV they had in the corner of the kitchen. As I took a bite of my sandwich, Mom came up to me and said, "Honey, I got to go do some errands. Are you going to be okay by yourself?" She said the last part in a worried tone. "Don't worry Mom," I said. I can understand that she was worried about me but I'm not a little kid anymore. If I can knock out someone older and bigger than I can take care of the house by myself. "I'll be fine. It won't be the first time I'm by myself." "If you say so," Mom said, she was probably still worried about me, but is willing to take my word for it. "I'll be gone for a few hours. Make sure the door is locked and that you don't open for anybody. Twilight and her friends will come home in an hour or so. Do you want anything while I'm gone?" "Naw, I'm good. See you later." "Bye honey," And with that she left as I went back to eating my lunch. The only sounds in the house was coming from the TV. In all honesty, I have no problem with being by myself. Dad often had to work a lot and when Shinning left for the military, I was often by myself at dad's place. It gives me a lot of time to do my own thing and if I felt lonely, I would just go out and do something or hang out with my friends. Once, I had to take care of dad's place by myself close to a month because he had to go on an extended business trip. He had a friend check up on me a couple of times each week but for the most part it was just me. Though I didn't have any problems, I knew how to cook, clean, do laundry, and a bunch of other stuff. Plus, with the money dad left me plus the cash from my part time job, I didn't have to worry about groceries. I know how to take care of myself. After I was done with my lunch and watched the dishes, I went back to my room. I saw that I still had a lot of boxes to be unpacked. I plugged in my iPod to my iHome and put it on shuffle. As the music started to play, I went to work on unpacking the rest of my stuff. --------------------------------------------- Twilight's P.O.V. I waited in anticipation as my friends and I made our way to my house. Applejack was kind enough to give Pinkie and I a lift in her truck while Fluttershy was riding with Rarity in her car and Rainbow was riding her motorcycle. When I checked that my after school was over, I found a text from my Mom saying that she will be out doing errands for a few hours. I hope Spike is okay, when he was little he couldn't stand to be alone. We soon came and parked in front of my home. I unlocked it and opened my door to be greeted to a song that I didn't know echoing loudly through out the house. (I don't own the music or this video.) "Aw yeah, this song is sick!" Rainbow said as she slightly bobbed her head. "I thought you didn't like this kind of music, Twi." "I don't," I replied as I frowned at some of the cursing in the song. "It must be Spike." I made a mental note to talk to Spike about it. "Spike!? It's me, Twilight, my friends and I are home!" I yelled over the music. "Hey, Twilight!" A masculine voice yelled out from upstairs. "I'm upstairs, in my room!" The six of us took our shoes off and went up the stairs and followed the music. When we got to the room, I looked around, impressed by how much was done in such a short time. I noticed one or two boxes weren't opened yet and the ones that were, were being stacked in a corner of the room. I also noticed Spike was on his hands and knees under his desk. "Spike?" I called out to him. "One sec Twi," He said from under the desk. "I'm almost finish hooking up my computer. Annnnd...Done!" He crawled out from under his desk, though he accidentally hit his head. He whispered to himself, "Ow, fuck!" "Spike! Language!" I yelled, though I'm pretty sure that I heard Rainbow and Pinkie giggle under their breaths. "Yeah, yeah, my bad." He said, though he wasn't really sorry. He stood up as he rubbed his head. He went to turn off his music and finally faced us. "Well," He said as he spread out his arms. "Aren't you going to give your brother a hug?" I didn't need to be told twice as I gave him a big hug. To my surprise not only was he about my height, but I could feel some muscles. "Oh my gosh I missed you so much," I took a step back to get a good look at him. I noticed that there was a small scratch on his cheek. "How did you get that?" "Don't worry about it, it's just a scratch." He said. "If you say so. Wow, you've gotten pretty big." "And you've gotten a lot less pale. Finally decided to go out and get some sunlight, huh?" He said with a cheeky grin. "Hey, I wasn't that bad." I pouted. "No, you were worst." Spike said with a cheeky grin. He looked behind me to see my friends. "I take it that these are your friends?" "Yes, these are my best friends," I said with a huge smile. I turned towards my friends and gestured to my brother. "Girls, this is my little brother, Spike." "Yo," He said as he gave a two finger salute. "Nice to meet ya partner, I'm Applejack," she introduced herself. She gave Spike her trademark handshake though he seemed completely fine. "Same here." Spike said, matching the cowgirl's handshake. "I'm Rainbow Dash," R.D. said with her usual prideful grin and attitude. "The most awesome person in town." "Before I came along anyway." Spike replied with a cocky grin of his own. Rainbow gave him a somewhat annoyed look at him, but it just made his grin even bigger. "My name is Rarity," The fashionista introduce herself next. "It is nice to make your acquaintance." "Likewise," Spike than turn his attention to Fluttershy who was sort of hiding behind Applejack. "And who are you?" "My name is Fluttershy." the shy girl said in her usual quiet voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Did you say your name is Fluttershy?" Spike said, probably to make sure he heard her correctly. Fluttershy nodded her head in conformation. "Well it's very nice to meet you, Fluttershy." He said gently, already picking up on her gentle nature. He than looked around and asked, "Hey wasn't there one more person here?" As if to answer his question, Pinkie appeared out of nowhere like she always does, much to our confusion, and tried to give Spike a huge hug. Keyword being tried. Before she could wrap her arms around him he somehow slipped out and ducked under of them and stood back up next to her. All of us stared at him at shock and amazement, even Pinkie, while he stared at Pinkie with slight amazement and confusion. Rainbow Dash was the first one to snap out of it and asked, "Okay, how did you do that?!" That snapped Spike out of thoughts and asked, "What do you mean?" "I mean, how did you manage to avoid Pinkie's hug? Nobody has ever done that!" Dash said while moving her arms fast to express her point. "Oh, that's because I have a friend back in New York that would always appear out of nowhere, half the time to scare me or prank me. After years of dealing with him I've developed something of a sixth sense for that sort of thing and jumped out of the way on instinct." He explained. He turns towards Pinkie and asked. "How the heck did you do that anyway?" With a happy, but clueless look on her face Pinkie just says, "I don't know." Spike blankly stares at her for a bit, either trying to tell whether or not she was lying or at how random she is. After a minute or two he just sighs to himself while rubbing his temples with his hand. Spike muttered to himself, "Easy Spike, remember what you've learn. You can't question madness, you can only avoid it or roll with it." He put his hand and asked Pinkie, "And you are?" "I'm Pinkie!" She said in her usual energy. "Hey, do you like cake? What am I saying? Everyone likes cake! What is your favorite flavor of cake? What about flavor of ice cream? Why do you look so different from Twilight even though you're her brother? Do you like ice cream cake? Of course you do! Everyone loves cake and ice cream, so you must love ice cream cake super duper much! Do you like parties?" The baker said so fast and in one breath that the girls and I couldn't catch most of it. Spike just blinks once before saying, much to our shock, "In that order, yes, just about any flavor, the same for ice cream, I'm adopted, yes, and yes." "Good because I'm going to throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville,' party!" Pinkie yells as she throws confetti into the air. "I appreciate the thought, but you don't have to go though all that trouble-" "It's no trouble at all, I always throw a party for each new friend I make!" She said as she gave Spike a big hug, this time letting the girl do it. Though he probably will think twice about it from the popping sounds coming from him. "O-okay, if you say so, I'm not one to pass up free food," Spike managed to grunt out, though I noticed that he had a light, very small blush on his cheeks. "So, got any plans Spike?" Dash asked after Pinkie finally lets him go to get some air in his lungs. "Besides unpacking, I got nothing." Spike replied with a shrug. "Then how about we show you around town?" Rainbow turned toward us and asked, "What do you guys think?" The rest of the girls and I voiced our agreement and turned to Spike for his answer. With a shrug he said, "I'm almost done packing, so what the heck." "Great, so lets get a move on ya'll." Applejack said. "So, Spike, are ya riding with me or with Rarity?" "Don't worry about me, I got my own ride." "Are you sure darling? I'm pretty sure you won't be able to pedal fast enough to keep up." Rarity said, voicing her concerns. "Who said my ride was a bicycle? Besides, my ride is faster than it looks." Spike said that last part with an evil grin on his face. For some reason I didn't like the look on his face. > The Bike and the Mall > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Third-Person P.O.V. Everyone was in the separate garage. The once almost empty room now had a large metal bench, a large tool box, and in a corner was a neat pile of different car and motorcycle parts. In another corner held a beat up punching bag with a metal stand. Against a wall was another vehicle that was covered in a tarp. Though, what caught the group's attention was the large green bike in the middle of the room. The girls looked at the vehicle with a mixture of awe and shock. Rainbow was practically drooling over, in her own words, awesomeness of it. All while Spike had the same evil grin on his face while rubbing his hands together like a cartoon villain. “I spent around two years slowly putting this masterpiece together,” Spike said with overflowing pride in his voice. “I had to dig up a lot of parts, save up a ton of money, asked a lot of friends for help, and call in a lot of favors. The epic combination of a Ninja and a Chopper. Ladies, I give you the NCH Emerald Dragon!” (Think this but replace the red with green and with side storage cases.) The six ladies continued to stare at the thing in stung silence. Rainbow was the first one to snap out of trance. Being a fellow motorcycle rider herself she was firing off one question after another about the bike. Everything from how it handles to how much horse power it has and Spike was more than happy to answer every single question. Twilight was the second person to snap out of her trance. “You're not going on this thing,” She said as she turned to look at Spike. “Thanks, I know it's awes-wait what?!” Spike said after what his step-sister actually said sunk in. “Of course I'm going to ride it. Didn't you just hear what I went through to make it?” “I did and this thing can't be safe,” Twilight insisted. “It's completely safe. Not only had I looked it over and tested it myself but I had three certified people do the same. Besides it's registered and I have both a car and motorcycle license,” Spike said as he took out his wallet and showed Twilight his license. Twilight looked at his brother before letting out a sigh. “Fine, but please be careful.” “Careful is my middle name,” Spike said. “Really? My middle name is Diana!” Pinkie commented out of nowhere. "But it would be awesome if I had a middle name like Chocolate or Cotten Candy." Everyone stared at her while she continued to drone on about different middle names involving food before either shaking their heads or rolling their eyes, except Spike, who let out of quiet chuckle at the teen's antics. “Then, lets roll!” The girls nodded while they went to their respective rides. Spike meanwhile went to his room to grab his iPod, the key to his bike, and his new leather jacket. It was a farewell gift from his friends in New York. Unlike most, it had a hood and on the back was a black dragon's skull surrounded in a green flame. In Gothic writing was the words 'Street' and 'Dragon' above and below the symbol respectively. With his jacket on and everything he needed on hand, he raced back the garage and put on a black, full bike helmet with a reflective screen and green flames. Once he opened the garage door, he rolled his bike out and closed it behind him. With that done, he got on his bike and turned it on. The motorcycle roared to life, much like a dragon. Once the girls saw that Spike was ready, the drivers drove off with Spike tailing behind them. As they drive to the mall, Spike took notice of some of the shops, restaurants, and places. Also the fact that Pinkie was sticking her head out of the window of AJ's truck with the cowgirl telling her to get back into the vehicle. After a couple of minutes and they were in the mall that Spike saw while he was in the moving truck. Twilight was telling Spike and her friends about when it was made, the types of stores, how it was built, and et cetera. The girls just let their minds wander while Spike drowned out his step-sister by listening to his iPod. When a store caught his eye, Spike stopped in front of it while the girls went on their way without noticing a thing. The sign said Spencer's, but it looked a lot like a Hot Topic if you toned down the Gothic a bit and half the stuff the store sold was things someone in college might have a lot of fun with. He turned his gaze back to the group of girls continuing to walk away. Spike shrugged his shoulders, “Eh, I'll find them later,” and with that, Spike went inside the store to have a look around. Back with the Girls “…And that is everything you need to know about the Ponyville Mall,” Twilight said in a teacher like tone. “And everything we didn't need to or care to know,” Rainbow said with smirk and an eye roll. “Any questions Spike?” Twilight asked, ignoring her friend's comment. She waited for a response but didn't get any. She turned around to ask again, but saw that Spike was gone. “Oh no, Spike is gone! Did any see where he went?” “Sorry, darling, but I was distracted,” Rarity said. “I kinda zoned out, my bad,” Rainbow replied as she rubbed the back of her head. “I don't know, Twilight, I'm sorry,” Fluttershy said while trying to hide her face behind her hair. “Same here, sugarcube,” Applejack answered. “Pinkie?” Twilight asked the party girl, hoping that she knew where her little brother went. “Huh, did you say something Twilight? I wasn't paying attention,” Pinkie asked. Her answer sent what little hope the smart teen had crashing down. “Hey, where did Spike go?” “We have to find him. He could have gotten lost, maybe he was kidnapped, or worse!” It was at that point that Twilight was officially in panic mode. “Don't worry, sugarcube, he'll be fine. He probably just wandered off or something,” Applejack said to calm her friend down. Twilight took a deep, calming breath before she said, “You're right. Let's all split up and try to find him.” “Don't worry, Twilight, Detective Pinkie is on the case,” Pinkie said as she put on a Sherlock Holmes hat and pulled a magnifying glass out of nowhere. “If someone finds him, call everyone else. Let's meet up in the food court in two hours,” Twilight said to her friends. “Okay,” everyone agreed at once. With that out of the way, the group separated to search different parts of the mall for their wayward companion. Rarity was looking around near the store where Spike went into. “Now if I were Spike, where would I-” she was about to ask herself before something caught her eye. “Oh my God! That top is gorgeous! And it's on sale!” She raced into a nearby clothing store, leaving a large cloud of dust in her wake. As she got lost in the sea of fashionable clothes and sales, Spike walked out of the store that was across from the one she was in. He had a rolled up poster in his hand. On his jacket was a couple of buttons that had different designs or sayings such as Deadpool's symbol or one saying ‘Warning: Zombies Ahead’ “I got to remember this store when I have more money, they have some pretty cool T-shirts.” The green haired teen said. He looked around before he went off in a random direction. “Lets see what kind of stores they have here. Might as well see which places are hiring while I'm at it.” Fluttershy “Oh dear, where could he be?” Fluttershy asked herself. She had been looking around her part of the mall, looking inside all the nearby stores but hadn't seen the green eyed boy anywhere. She would have asked some of the people around her if they had seen him but she couldn't work up the courage to talk to complete strangers. While she was trying to figure out what to do she heard a small sob nearby. She looked to the left and saw a small sad girl with tears in her eyes. Her kind nature kicked instantly as she ran to the girl. She keeled down to the child so she could look her in the eye. In a calm and soft tone she asked, “What's wrong?” “I was with m-my mommy, but I don't know where she is now,” the little girl said as she wiped her eyes with her small hands. Feeling sorry for the girl she gently grabbed her hand and reassuringly said, “Then let's see if we can't find her, okay?” The little girl nodded her head as the two went to the place the child last saw her mother. Nearby an angry Spike stomped out of a store nearby. “Excuse me sir, but are you sure-” someone from inside the store tried to ask, but was cut off by Spike. “FOR THE LAST TIME, I DON'T WANT A FREAKING TIME SHARE!” Spike yelled back. He continued to stomp his way through the mall while mumbling to himself. “That's ten minutes of my life I'm not getting back.” While he was thinking where to go next he accidentally bumped into someone. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. "As you should be peasant," someone replied in a stuck up tone. Spike turned around to see who he bumped into. It turned out to be a teenage boy around Twilight's age and was a little taller than Spike. He had blonde slicked back hair and was wearing a white tuxedo with white dress shoes. He looked down at the jacket wearing teen with a ‘superior than thee,’ look on his face. Nearby, an old gentleman that Spike assumed to be the teen's butler, was holding a few boxes in his arms. ‘Aw, great. My first day here and I run into the local rich prick.’ He groaned inside his head. “Peasant? What century did you crawl out from?” Spike shot back. After years of fighting against bullies, Spike developed a very sharp tongue and an instinct to retaliate any insult that came his way. “Amusing,” the rich teen said in a sarcastic voice. “Though, I will have to be compensated for my now dirty suit,” Spike gave him the ‘Are you serious or are you that brain dead?’ look. “I believe that thirty dollars will be enough for the dry cleaning.” “Yeah, over your dead body,” Spike replied without missing a beat. The look of shock that appeared on the rich teen's face told Spike that he wasn't use to someone saying ‘no’ to him. “It's ‘over my dead body,’ commoner,” the snobby teen corrected through gritted teeth. “Then we're in agreement,” Spike said with a smirk. It took a minute for the blonde to realize what the shorter teen meant by that statement, but when he realized that he was tricked, a frown appeared on his face. “Don't you know who I am?” The teen asked with restrained anger. “Nope, I just moved into town this morning,” Spike answered. “Then I'll shall educate you, my name is Blueblood Solaris-Moon. Member of the Solaris-Moon House, the richest and most influencial family in the entire area. You'll do well to remember me next time.” “You don't say? Though, I'm having a really tough time finding a damn care to give. I'll try to remember you, at least until something more interesting comes along like paint drying or a fly buzzing by,” Spike grinned at the look on Blueblood's face due to the fact that someone dismissed him so casually. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I got find someplace more important than here to be,” and with that Spike walked around the flabbergasted Blueblood and snickering butler. His grin grew when he could hear the fading sounds of Blueblood throwing a tantrum. “Well, that was easy. The rich snobs back in New York were a lot harder to deal with than that guy. Though, I'll probably be seeing him later. The one thing all of those guys have in common is that they love to have rematches.” Twilight Twilight has been searching for her little brother for a while now, but hasn't seen any sign of him. She had asked some people who had said that they saw a green hair teen in a leather jacket and pointed her to where they saw him. When Twilight followed their directions she found the person they saw. Too bad that the teen wasn't Spike, just an out of town punk rocker with green hair dye going to work. At this point she was close to having a melt down. ‘Oh, no, what I am going to do?!’ she yelled in her mind. ‘What kind of sister loses her little brother? He could be lost, scared, hurt or worse!’ At that moment, on the other side of the mall… A few minutes earlier, a skinny, twenty year old crook, was planning to steal from some poor soul near one of the mall's exits. It was the perfect plan in his mind. Surprise attack some poor sap, take whatever they have of value, and book it towards the exit. By all accounts, it was a decent plan and it could have worked. The problem was that he decided to pick a green haired teen in a leather jacket as his target. It didn't go as he planned. “Did you think you can try to sucker punch, mug me, and get away with it?!” Spike yelled as he pounded his new punching bag into the floor. “Think again, fuckard!!!” “I'm sorry, I won't do it again! Mercy!” the would be mugger yelled through the pain. “Don't worry, you're about to take a nice nap,” the teenage biker said as he grabbed the crook. “Once I'm done taking out the trash!” he then slammed the crook head first into a nearby trashcan. He picked up his shopping bag that had his few purchases and calmly walked away. People watched the teen go silently after seeing what he did to the crook. “Now, where is that Gamestop? I got to renew my subscription and change my mailing address…” Back with Twilight… “No, I can't just give up! Spike is counting on me and I will find him, this I swear!” as she yelled into the crowd of people around her that gave her a wide path to keep out of arm's reach of the ‘crazy girl’. She suddenly ran off to continue her search. Pinkie… If one thing was to be said about Pinkie, it was that once she set her mind to something, how easy or hard that is for her tends to be varied, she puts her all and then some to it. Sadly when someone as hyper as Pinkie puts her all into something, you have to be prepared for the madness that is guaranteed to follow. That was what the people at the mall could best describe it as Pinkie searched for her best friend's little brother. The party girl was looking all over the place for the green haired teen. She searched the inside stores, toy bins, trash cans, baby strollers, and even the fountains. The teen literally searched every nook and cranny. Pinkie gave a few people a fright when she started to appear out of random places like an oven and even a soda machine. For some reason, there was Scooby Doo sluthing music playing in the background. After a while, the mall cops finally arrived on the scene, though they were acting more like warriors about to face their long time foe. “Pinkamena Diane Pie,” Paul Bart, the head of security, said as the teen's head popped out of a trash can. “Once again you have disturbed the sanity of this mall. However, today is the day your reign of terror ends. Any last words before we finally catch you and bring you to the mall justice?” “Yeah, could you give me a minute?” Pinkie asked. She jumped out of the trash can she was in and pulled out a boombox out of nowhere that was playing the background music everyone was hearing. She stopped the song and had it start playing the Bennyhill theme. “Okay, now I'm ready,” she said with a smile before she booked out of there as fast as she could. To their credit, it only took about ten seconds for the mall cops to realize what happened before they sprung to action. “Get her!” Paul yelled as he and his comrades went to capture their long time enemy. What happened next could only be described as a chase scene straight out of a cartoon with Pinkie using every evasion trick in the cartoon handbook to stay one step ahead of her pursuers. How she was able to pull them off in the first place shall remain a mystery to everyone, including Pinkie herself. And up on one of the higher floors of the mall was Spike, laughing while eating a bag of popcorn as he watched the ensuing chaos below him. “Man, this is why I love crazy people and trouble makers!” he said to no one in particular as Pinkie pulled the old fake display figure in the window display trick. “They are so much fun to watch!” Spike continued to watch, laugh, and eat popcorn as the unintended comedy unfolded. Sadly, all good things must come to an end at one point after Pinkie managed to give the mall cops the slip. Seeing the show was over, Spike threw away his empty popcorn bag to continue looking around the mall. Applejack and Rainbow Dash… “Hey, AJ,” Rainbow Dash called out to her friend. “Any luck in finding Spike?” “Nope,” the cowgirl said as she shook her head. “This is turnin' out to be harder than finding a needle in a haystack!” “I know, it shouldn't be this hard to find a guy in green hair and a custom leather jacket,” Rainbow said with a grunt. “Do ya think the other girls are having better luck than us?” the farmer asked. “I doubt Pinkie since I saw her being chased by the mall cops… again,” Dash replied. “Damn it,” AJ cursed. “Anyway, let's get back to -” “Hey, you two!” someone yelled to the two teens, unintenally cutting off Applejack. The two turn their heads to see a man in an old style, red and white carnival vender suit. Next to him was a bell strength tester, a large hammer, and a shelf that had various prizes inside. “You two look like a couple of strong, young women. Would you like to see just how strong you are? If you ring a bell you can get any prize from the self, it is just a dollar for each try.” “Thank ya kindly for the offer but we-” Applejack tried to say but was cut off again, this time by Dash. “Your on!” the athletic teen yelled as she paid the man and grabbed the hammer. “Rainbow!” Applejack reprimanded. “Chill out, cowgirl! This would only take a second.” She raised the hammer above her head and swung it down on her target with all her might. The metal bar rocketed up it's path until it was just two levels shy of the bell. “Oooohh, better luck next time young lady,” the vender said with sympathy. “Sorry, Rainbow, but you just don't have the arm muscle for this,” Applejack said with a grin. “I like to see if you can do better,” Rainbow challeged as she handed the hammer to the cowgirl. AJ felt her competitive side kicking in so she decided to take the challenge. “Fine,” she paid the man and swung as hard as she could. The bar was just a length of a hair away from ringing the bell before gravity took a hold of it. She handed the hammer to the vender before saying, “All right, now that I proven once again I'm stronger than ya, let's get back to looking for Spike.” “Okay,” Rainbow Dash grumbled as the two seperated to continue their search. It was around five minutes later that the person of their search casually walked up to the vender. “You there, would you like to test your strength for just a dollar and a chance to win a prize?” The vender asked. “Why not?” Spike paid the man and took a swing. This time the bar hits the bell for all its worth. “We have a winner! What prize do you want young man?” “I'll take that skateboard,” he asked for the vender while thinking to himself, ‘I've been meaning to get one since my old one broke when I used it as a shield and a weapon when those punks jumped me.’ “Here you go, young man,” the vendor said while handing him the skateboard. “Thanks,” with a new board on hand Spike continued his journey through the mall. At the Food Court… “I can't believe that even after an hour of searching we couldn't Spike!” Twilight said with shame, fustration, and worry before slamming face-first on the table she and her friends were using. “I'm sorry darling, but I was caught up in the magic of sales,” Rarity said with multiple bags in her hands. “I was helping a little girl find her mother,” Fluttershy whispered from behind her hair. “And I was trying to get Paul and the fuzz off my tail,” Pinkie said as if she was from a 70's cop show. “Both me and AJ tried, but we just couldn't find him,” Rainbow said with Applejack nodding her head in agreement. Twilight sighed before asking, “Where could he be?” “Try looking next to you,” A familar voice said. Everyone looked over to see Spike sitting at a vacant table next to their's while drinking a smoothie in one hand with his shopping bag and skateboard in the other. “Sup,” he casually greeted. “Spike!” Twilight yelled before giving the biker a bone crushing hug. “You're okay, I was so worried about you!” “Well, that is up for debate since you're trying to crush my ribs,” Spike grunted out. Taking the hint Twilight lets go of her brother in favor of trying to shake some sense into him. “Where did you go?! I was so worried about you, I thought you got hurt or worse!” “Sorry, but I went in a store to look around and from there I decided to check this place out by myself. Besides I can take care of myself and look, not a scratch on me,” Spike said trying to soothe his sister. ‘Probably should keep the fact that someone tried to mug me to myself.’ “That may be true but you still shouldn't run off like that without telling me!” “Fine, if it will make you feel better, I'll give you my cell number in case something like this happens. I never leave home without it.” “Oh, oh, oh! How about we ALL exchange numbers?” Pinkie said with excitement. “Why not? Something tells me that we're going to see a lot of each other anyway,” after everyone gave Spike their numbers and Spike gave his the teen noticed a tired and sweating mall cop jogging their way. “Heads up, Pinkie, mall cop at 2 o' clock.” Pinkie hid under the table before a tired and out of breath Paul Bark came up to the girls asking, “Alright, where is she?” “Who are you talking about officer?” Rarity said while giving Paul her best innocent look. “Don't play innocent with me missy. I know you five are friends with that pink haired menace, now where is she?” The mall cop grumbled. “Excuse me sir,” Spike getting Paul's attention. “Are you looking for that pink hair girl you guys were chasing earlier?” “Yes, have you seen her young man?” "Either her or a girl with a huge wad of cotton candy. Either way, I'm pretty sure she went that way,” Spike said while pointing in a random direction. “Thank you, citizen,” Paul said to Spike before jogging off. The green haired biker waited until he was out of sight before saying, “All clear, Pinkie.” She popped out from under the table and said, “Thanks for the save, Spike.” “No problem. So what do you guys want to do now?” “I don't know about ya'll but I'm bushed from all that running,” Applejack said. “I say we all head back to Twilight's and Spike's place and crash there.” Everyone agreed with the farmgirl and made their way to the exit. “By the way, Spike, where did ya get that there skateboard?” “Yeah, last I checked this mall doesn't have a skateboard shop,” Rainbow commented. The green haired biker just shrugged and said, “I won it in a strength bell test,” his answer caused the cowgirl and the athlete to stop in their tracks. “What?” “How did you beat it? Not even AJ could ring that bell!?” Dash yelled while waving her arms as if to prove a point. “It's not just about how hard you swing, it's also about how you swing,” Spike said with a smirk and left it at that. > Ice Cream and New Friends > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Third Person P.O.V. The front door of the Sparkle household opened as seven teenagers made their way inside. Most slumped their way to the couch or floor of the living room due to either physical or mental exhaustion. Spike and Pinkie were the exceptions as the former didn't run around the entire mall looking for someone and the latter always has a large amount of hyped up energy. Spike knew the girls were tired from trying to find him, but he normally wasn't one to let a chance to tease someone slip pass him. "Man, you girls have to get out more. Going to the mall shouldn't wipe you out this bad," Spike said with a cheeky grin. As he expected, he got a set of five glares from the girls. Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie joined in on the teasing. "Maybe you guys should join a gym?" she said with a giggle. Spike shook his head at the mock suggestion. "Nah, those places are a scam." "What do you mean," Pinkie asked as she tilted her head to one side. "I know this guy in our high school, Butch Biceps, that practically lives there and he's huge! Well, not actually lives there, at least I don't think so, though it would explain how he got so big. If that is the case-" The cotton candy haired girl would have continued if Spike didn't decide to cut her off. "How big are we talking about? Boxer, pro wrestler, or Olympic bodybuilder big?" "I think the last one." "Damn, and he is in high school? Was he held back more than once or is he taking any steroids or something?" "No and no. He's actually pretty smart and he's anti-drugs. He prefers either working out at the gym or some rural recipes that promote good health and muscle building. Rumor has it that his family has a secret recipe for cookies that are actually good for your cholesterol." "Wait, really? Huh, I got to remember to meet this guy, see if that true and if he's willing to share the recipe. Anyway people can still get in shape without joining a gym. Nothing like some old fashion jogging or heavy lifting to lose some weight and gain some muscle." "But don't you need weights or other equipment for that?" "Not necessarily Pinkie..." From there the two went back and forth, Pinkie constantly jumping from one topic to the next. The rest of the girls were surprised how well Spike was keeping up with the hyperactive girl. Though that didn't mean that Spike didn't get blindsided by Pinkie's randomness from time to time. "Looks like those two are getting along," Rainbow Dash points out with a grin. "Yes, it would appear so," Rarity agrees with a cunning smile forming on her face and a glint in her eye. "I know that look of yours Rarity. What are ya scheming this time?" Applejack asks with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not, how you say, scheming or anything of the sort." Rarity denies before turning towards Twilight. "Twilight, what kind of a person is Spike?" The book loving teen tapped her chin in thought before saying, "Well, if he is anything like when we were kids, he's hardworking, quick witted, and helpful. However, he's also usually blunt, really sarcastic, a bit greedy, and a workaholic sometimes." "And a bit of a troll from the looks of things," Rainbow added. "That's a new thing, but he has managed to keep me grounded more times than I can count when I go... overboard." "Hmm, it looks like we have a match," Rarity said as she rubbed her hands together like a cartoon villain. "Rarity, you shouldn't try to force people to be together, if you don't mind me saying so," Fluttershy said, before whispering her signature phrase. "Forcing people together almost never works dear." Rarity declared, causing the four girls to sign in relief. "That is why I plan to nudge them together, at the very least, to get them to see whether or not they are compatible." Everyone couldn't help but facepalm at the statement. "I know that at this point it would be impossible to stop you so I'm not going to even try," Twilight said before glaring at Rarity with a fury that only a protective older sister can wield. "but if Spike ends up with a broken heart, you will be sorry." "D-Duly noted, Twilight," Rarity stuttered. Twilight nodded before she and the rest of the girls turned their attentions back to Pinkie and Spike's conversation, which at some point had turned into a small argument. "How can you not like Strawberry Shortcake ice cream bars?!" The pink haired teen asked loudly, as if Spike just said there was no such thing as gravity. "They're the best ice cream in the whole, wide world." "Hey, I didn't say I didn't like them," The street fighter corrected. He had raised his eyebrow at the enthusiasm the pink haired girl was about ice cream, but took it in stride. "As a matter of fact I'm a big fan of the stuff. However, in my opinion, it is only second best compared to caramel ice cream." "...They make caramel ice cream?" Pinkie asked with a revered whisper. "Of course they do," The young teen answered before the slightly taller teen before him grabbed him by the shoulders. "Who makes the best caramel ice cream and where can I get some?" "Well I would recommend my current favorite brand for that flavor, which is Haagen-Dazs. You can probably find some at Wal-Mart; that's where I always get mine." Before the male could even blink, he was forced to finally feel the full fury of an excited Pinkie Pie's signature death hug. With strength that Spike didn't think she was capable of, she lifted him about an inch off the ground and easily hopped in place, even with his added weight. The position also caused her cheek to somewhat rubbed against his as she jumped with excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she yelled with glee. It was only due to the Street Dragon's pride that kept him from showing any sign of pain on his face from the bone crushing hug. Too bad the same couldn't be said about the small blush on his face. He let out a small sigh of relief when he thought nobody noticed. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case. Rarity had managed to see the whole thing, but pretended otherwise. That blush just made her even more determined to see those two get together. "No prob, now can you let me go?" Spike pleaded, a little short of breath. Once the sugar high girl let go of her new friend, the green haired teen quickly regained his composure. It was then that his and Twilight's mother enter their home. "I'm home!" Twilight Velvet announced as she closed and locked the door behind her. She received a round of greetings from everyone in the house. "I see that you've met Twilight and her friends, Spike." "Yeah. At the very least, they won't make things dull around here. And they've done wonders for Twilight," Spike said with his usual cheeky grin. "I know. There isn't a day that I am not thankful that Twilight met them," the older woman replied, completely serious. "MOM!!!" The former loner whined while her friends snickered at her expense. "Lighten up honey, I was just teasing you," Velvet consoled before asking the other girls, "Are you five staying for dinner?" "No thanks. We all will be heading home in a little bit," Applejack answered. "Okay then. I'll be upstairs if you need anything," Velvet said as she left the room. There was a moment of silence while the seven decided on what they should do next. The one who broke it was the expert of the group. "Sooo..." Pinkie started as she pulled out a 3DS out of her hair. "Anyone up for a Pokémon battle?" Her friends response was a group of groans. "No way! We're tired of getting our butts handed to us by you," Rainbow complained, the other girls nodding their heads in agreement. "I'll play you," Spike said with a shrug. "Really?" The young baker asked with sparkles in her eyes. The other girls were silently telling Spike not to do it. "Why not, it's been a while since I've had a battle. Let me just get my 3DS," The green haired teen quickly ran up to his room. "He's going to lose," Twilight said with a sad shake of his head. "Big time," Rainbow agreed. ---30 minutes later--- "How the heck did my shiny Dragonite lose to a freaking floating sundae!?" the street fighter yelled in disbelief. "That Fire Blast should have been an instant kill!" "You almost had me, but once again my Coney has prevailed once again," Pinkie praised her prized Pokémon. "I demand a rematch!" Spike declared. "Sorry Spike, but they have to get going." Twilight said as her friends were getting up to leave. "But I'm more than happy to battle again tomorrow," The pink haired girl told the younger teen. "You're on, I hope your ready to lose!" Spike yelled with a challenging grin of his face. Everyone said their goodbyes as five of the Main Six left their friends' house. It was when their mom made her way down the stairs. "Did your friends leave Twilight?" "Yes, just now." "Okay then, I'll get started on dinner." The mother said as she walked to the kitchen. "Mind if I help? I'm a pretty good cook," Spike offered. "Sure thing honey. It's nice to have a helping hand in the kitchen." His mother answered as she gathered what they needed. "Speaking of which, has Twilight gotten any better at that department?" he asked. "Sort of, if it involves the microwave or the coffeemaker than she is pretty much fine. Anything more advance than that and she is hopeless." "Well, at least she has improved," Spike chuckled. "So what do you think of Ponyville so far?" Spike took a moment to think about the day and the new friends he made. A smile appeared on his face when he answered, "I think it's going to be an interesting place to live."