A Small Change for Smaller Voices

To explain flavor to a being that can't taste would indeed be a feat of imagination unparalleled by even the greatest of literary minds. Such a similar task would be to explain the taste that Spike was feeling that day in the shadows of a deep violet curtain in the Carousel Boutique.

The taste was a mental one, to explain it half-ass adequately. Something that he could immediately recognize as sweet but obviously lacking any physical ingredient to constitute flavor amongst his taste buds. No, this was indeed a perceived flavor that existed soley in the mind, which ironically made his mouth rather dry than saturated with saliva. Not to mention the muscles in his arms had grown tense and now stiff as the seconds turned to minutes.

The little dragon was currently hunched over on all fours, blocked by several cardboard boxes and a rather generous curtain from wanderous eyes. One claw was gripping the carpet, almost as if it were afraid the body would leave the ground. The other made a pincer out of the sharp digits, delicately clutching a page in the magazine for a quick turn.

The magazine was roughly the size of his torso and smelled of expensive paper, obviously a subscription magazine rather than something simply picked up from a newstand. On the cover a smiling mare held immaculate white sheets over her body, the top-down view making it seem as if the viewer was peering down at her. The looping pink cursive letters across the white glossed cover read "Kiss and Tell."

Spike had found the magazine lying forgotten on the side of Rarity's love seat, said Unicorn being in the adjoining room with Twilight who sat sampling offered makeup. This was quite odd for the rather bookwormish mare, but if there was a stallion she was attempting to catch the attention of he niether knew nor cared. He found the businesses of makeovers and make-up in general to be rather boring.

So Spike told his caretaker he would swing by Sugarcube Corner for a box of chocolate iced doughnuts; Pinkie had been saving one of the morning batches of chocolate doughnuts for him every Tuesday, which were leftovers from the Earth Pony movers that pulled wagons through the night for healthy portions of bits, black coffee, and baked goods alike.

Fully intent of seeing the cheerful smile and delicious doughnuts Pinkie Pie had to share, Spike spotted a magazine lying next to the couch, as if it had slipped from its resting place on the arm. The first thing he noticed was the white cover which brilliantly reflected the sunlight spilling in from the window, the second was the mare on the front.

As he approached the magazine, he saw that the mare looked no more than Twilight's age, and had a long red mane and a slender physique. Above her resting body, pink curly letters advertised the logo and he reached his claws out to pick up the book.

A rather pleasant aroma met his nostrils, like scratch-and-sniff perfume samples, as he flipped open the pages. However Spike did not register the smell until after the effect of the picture he had seen wore off. Upon the page, 46 to be exact, a shot of a mare from the backside was shown. She was lying with her front two hooves and her chest upon the ground, and her backhooves straight putting her bottom in the air-- obviously the focal point of the picture.

Spike took it all in like a dehydrated stallion trying to down thick soup broth. The heavy lids revealed light brown eyes that peered through a tastefully dishelved mane, and the legs that held her backside up were pleasantly muscled.

But what Spike found that made his face feel warm and his throat very VERY dry was the lacy black garment the mare wore. It rested neatly between her legs, the porous material revealing her fur color and nothing else but a rather odd outline of....something Spike couldn't quite put his claw on. The lace looped its way between the mares crotch and out in between her back end, the thinning thread disappearing between the flanks....

Spike quickly closed the magazine, feeling his heart beating madly and his throat feeling something like the inside of a melted candy bar's wrapper in the mid-morning sun.

For reasons Spike did not understand in the least bit, he had immensely enjoyed seeing the lace disappearing. He especially wanted to touch the mare's tail where the article of clothing resufaced and hooked around, though he wasn't sure what such an action would accomplish. All he knew was that the black lace highlighted something he didn't know was there before, something he felt like he might want very much.

"Oh honestly dahling, its quite relaxing as you get used to it."

Spike whirled around, his stomach churning like a murderer who fell asleep at the scene of the crime. The room he was in wasn't lit by the overhead lights, the bulbs having no use when sunlight poured in just enough to not bang up one's legs upon the furniture. Quickly taking advantage if the shadows threatening to overtake the rays of sunshine, he snatched up one of the dust flaps under a nearby recliner and shoved the magazine into relative safety.

"Oh goodness me Spike, I thought you left some time ago."

Spike smiled brightly as he got up from the floor, hoping the mare had entered after the dust flap had fallen down completely. His eyes wandered from her face to the small black saddle-case held in the blue haze of her magical grip.

"Nah I figured I'd just catch a nap in here until you and Twilight were done." He leaned forward and gave an obvious stare at the black pleather case.

"Um, is Twilight getting ready for a date or something?" He asked, despite not actually being interested in the froo-froo.

"Oh no dear, just finding something that'll catch that certain somepony at the Gala!" She said with glee so sincere it was nearly palpable.

"And how is it going so far?" He said hoping to keep the conversation going, his claws now folded behind his back as he inched away from the recliner and towards the unicorn.

"Oh..." Rarity nibbled on the tip of her hoof, searching for a way to put it delicately.

"Well, we'll just see how these eyelash extensions look and I'll get back to you." Her magic grip snatched another small case, this one with deep purple fabric covering it, and dropped the pleather one carelessly on the coffee table.

"Ta-ta darling." She said quickly trotting out of the room, he swaying hips going unnoticed as the dragons eyes darted back to the recliner. The studio door didn't close completely, but instead was cracked just enough for him to get a warning if Rarity was to turn around. However the baby dragon didn't wait for such a warning to even occur, as he dove for the recliner and snatched the magazine from underneath.

"You sure he's in there? I gotta pee..." Rainbow Dash said, the storm cloud she was resting on had soaked the fur of her stomach and was making her bladder practically scream for release. Her newly aquired partner-in-crime held a hoof to her lips and shushed her sternly, one ear held to the wall to listen for vibration on the other side.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and brought a hoof up to rest her chin under, trying to ignore the cold wetness of the thundercloud. She did not wait long however, as she saw a frantic wave in her periphereal vision.

"Spike or not, here we go." She said, patting the thundercloud like it could hear her.

Spike rushed out the door, feeling the victorious heat of the sunlight meet his scales. The magazine was held to his chest lest prying eyes catch sight of the mare on the front, and he had just made it to the bottom stair when Rainbow Dash struck.

At first Spike had not been scared by the nearly blinding flash of light, only confused for about half a second. And then came the most thunderous noise he had ever heard in his short life. It was as if twelve cannons had shot off simultaneously next to his ear spines, like he had stepped down from the stairs of the Carousel Boutique and right into the heart of a battlefield.

Now in any situation where somepony believes they are under attack, shielding oneself with their front hooves would always be a good response to have if no other reflex had been trained. One could also expect a shout of surprise to follow or occur simultaneously. For Spike the Dragon, with his rather unique lineage, this wasn't such a good thing.

Without meaning to, Spike held the magazine over his face hoping he might escape from whatever the noise was with at least half of his head intact. At the same time a scream had torn itself from his lungs, and much the same as any startled dragon would naturally do, he ignited the air escaping his mouth involuntarily.

It was over before Spike could process what had happened. The magazine was yanked from his claws by the emerald flame escaping his mouth. The magazine was folded open like an umbrella caught by the wind and collapsing in the opposite direction. His last look at the magazine that day was of a mare with facial features he didn't get the chance to distinguish. All he knew was that this mare's fur was a pleasant yellow color, her mane red, and the thong panties she wore were a soft green. And then, much like the other girls in the magazine, she was gone.

Spike didn't realize he had been reaching a claw out in a pathetic attempt to snatch the magazine from the flame, and he barely noticed when Pinkie Pie came trotting up next to him stifling a laugh and failing.

"Oh Spike you should see your face right now! You screamed so hard!" She said, holding a hoof over her belly as her giggles became full-on wheezing laughs.

"Where's a camera when you need one!" Rainbow landed beside Spike, clapping a hoof down on his shoulder for support as she howled with laughter. The two went on for a few seconds, only stopping when they noticed Spike had not even cracked a smile.

"Hey come on squirt, it was just a joke. You're acting like you just saw somepony get blown-up."

"Yeah Spike, you wanna sit down?" Pinkie Pie's usual hyperactivity had left her momentarily, concern taking its place immediately.

"No," Spike started, speaking in a sorrow-full voice like the wind had just blown away the winning lottery ticket. "No, I was just--on my way to get some doughnuts."

Spike finished his sentence almost mechanically, like the words he spoke were unconscious. Rainbow raised a brow to Pinkie, who did not return the look. She instead brought a hoof to the box on her back and held it in front of Spike.

"I was actually on my way to give this to you. I thought you had forgot." Pinkie's cheerful tone left her, noting that Spike had gripped the box without looking at it. She cleared her throat and gestured with a nod and a jerk of her eyes toward Sugarcube Corner, to which Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Um. Well, we're cool right Spike?" Rainbow nudged him with the tip of her hoof, the arm she tapped noticably lax.

"Oh yeah, no biggie. Just surprised me." Spike gave a feigned smile and let his eyes shoot between Rainbow and Pinkie, who returned the look with a bit of discomfort.

"Ooooooookeedokee." Pinkie Pie drawled out, walking backwards away from the dragon. Rainbow trotted after her wordlessly, staring back at Spike before taking to the sky.

He watched Pinkie Pie turn and pick up her pace into a trot back to Sugarcube Corner. When he was sure he could no longer see her tail, he sat down in the dirt hard with the box of donuts resting forgotten in his lap.

He had just sent a magazine full of pictures of mares in lacey, exciting clothes to the Princess of Equestria.

Spike let his head drop into his claws, praying Princess Celestia wouldn't be sending him a letter addressed to Twilight. As a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach built up, one last thought popped up into his head.

For whatever reason, the thought brought about many sensations in his body, though the strongest was the smell of fresh cut grass and flowers in bloom.

He was thinking of the green color the mare in the magazine was wearing. And what such an article of clothing would look like resting between Ms. Fluttershy's legs.