The Dragon in Twilight

-7-

The sun had long set by now, and the moon was already well on its way to taking its position high in the sky. The Everfree forest is even more dangerous during the night then it is they day, so instead of heading back to home, Twilight and Spike decide to stay the night in the small cave they had ended up in. They already checked it out, no spiders, no bears, and no other sorts of dangers lurked inside the cave. It only went into the mountain thirty feet after all, and it was only taller than Twilight by an addition of half her height, so most large creatures wouldn't even think to use it as a home.

The events of less than an hour ago had driven Spike to seek more accurate answers, and wished to see himself where in the book the relationship between the dragon and the pony grew, and just how the hate against dragons that he read tied into all of this. Twilight, though hesitant to show Spike a novel that has such intimate scenes, ultimately agreed as she sat down beside the young dragon and read the book alongside him while providing illumination with her horn. She was nervous about Spike perhaps running into an intimate scene, and had already managed to convince him to skip the first one when Rubin was still a stallion. But as they read on, Spike became more and more stubborn when it came to skipping content. He wanted to read everything, including the few parts with gore and violence.

Fires had broken out all over the small village of Canterville as the rogue dragon raged through without any resistance. It breathed fire at anything, carts, stands, homes, ponies, it didn't matter to it. All it seemed to desire was the total annihilation of the pony settlement for its own entertainment. Screams and cries for help echoed through the night air as the illumination from the fires gave a dreadful red glow to everything in the area.

Rosalina was caught between a mixture of terror and disbelief. She heard the rumors, but she never thought them to be true before... could his Rubin truly be a dragon, the same one that is destroying her beloved home town? She couldn't think straight at the time, and found such a truth almost impossible to believe, yet it was all right there in front of her...

“Wait...” Spike said, interrupting the story. “I thought you said-”

“Just keep reading, Spike... you'll see,” Twilight replied with a soft smile.

Spike sighed slightly, feeling a bit unnerved by what he was reading, but decided to continue with Twilight's reassurance.

Rosalina tripped suddenly, her back left hoof getting caught by an exposed tree root. She stumbled to the ground hard as a jolt of pain shot up her front right leg. She feared that it might be sprained. As she cringed over her hurt leg, a crashing sound erupted behind her. She turned over only to look at death in the face; the dragon destroying the city was there, no less than twenty feet away from her. Her pupils dilated as her heart seemed to try to pound out of her chest. Was this creature really her Rubin? Was this what he was really like inside...?

...No, this... this wasn't him. Those eyes, the color of its scales, that... that wasn't her Rubin. Rubin had eyes of brilliant gold that shined in the darkness, not a dark crimson. And Rubin's scales were green and yellow, not brown and charcoal. This certainly wasn't him, so she suspected it immediately to be a real, natural dragon, but as it drew closer, she saw a grin appear on its face.

“Ah, what do I have here?” It said with its tongue slithering out of its mouth as it approached Rosalina. “I see I have found myself quite an unexpected treat...”

“W-wha...” Rosalina tried to form her words, fear still scrambling her mind as she tried to form a rebuttal. “Who... who are you? How do you know my name you scoundrel!?”

“Scoundrel? Oh ho ho...” it chucked as it brought itself almost directly on top of her, its long neck craning its head down in front of hers. “So you think I'm a scoundrel, do you?”

“I...” Rosalina gulped, her body shivering uncontrollably. “Y-yes...”

“Am I just a scoundrel, or a monster too?”

“...Mhm,” she nodded.

“What about a beast? A fiend, a death-dealing abomination, or a scourge that should be whiped out from the face of this planet!?” The dragon suddenly found itself screaming at her. “Am I all of that too, Rosalina!?”

Rosalina did a double take... how did this dragon know her? She stared again into its eyes, not able to look away, when suddenly... that flicker. She could see it in its eyes, that flicker of malice, of the desire to do malicious deeds, she only saw that flicker in one other being...

“...Markus Malcom...” Rosalina said after a long pause.

“Oooohh...” Spike said with a sudden realization. “I think I know where this is going...”

“Starting to understand now, Spike?”

“I think so...”

“Hehehe...” he replied, pulling his head back away from hers. “So you figured it out that quick, have you?”

“Why, Markus? For what reason do you have to destroy this village!?” Rosalina asked as she felt tears form up in her eyes. “Why would you come down and attack my home and my friends...?”

“Fool,” Markus sneered as he turned his body to the side. “I'm only doing you a favor now, before he does it later...”

“He...? No, how can-”

“Rubin, yes, him...” Markus looked at the burning buildings around him, and then back at Rosalina. “He's going to destroy you, you know. He's going to attack your emotions first, and then your physical body... you will die, because of him.”

“D-don't say that, Rubin would never-”

“Never talks about his past or where he's been, has he?” Markus interrupted. “He's done it so many times before, it's as if he just can't help himself.” He paused to look at the surprised face of Rosalina, and then gave off a hardy laugh before continuing. “Did you really think he would be your knight in shining armor!? I'm doing this now to show you his ways... the dragons' ways. We are all like this, in the end, which means Rubin too, is like this...”

Markus turned away from her fully as his wings flared out, flapping a few times in preparation to take flight. He looked back once more to examine a completely crying and broken down Rosalina on the ground, a smirk showing on his face as he watches her for a few moments.

“One day you too will learn to hate dragons, just as all ponies do... Goodbye, Rosalina.” And with that, he gave a powerful flap of his wings, and off he went into the night sky.

“So wait, why would Rubin do something like that?” Spike asked as he flipped the page to the start of the next chapter. “I thought that-”

“He wouldn't, Spike,” Twilight interrupted. “Markus is the primary antagonist, the real bad guy in the story. He's the one that wants to make the dragons seem bad to everypony so that they, and Rubin, will all be hated.”

“But why?” Spike asked. “What good is it to make dragons so hated?”

“You find that out later on, actually,” Twilight said as she thought back to when she read about Rubin's and Markus' pasts. “But for now, just know it has something to do with what happened to Rubin and him a long time ago... a grudge sort of thing. Okay?”

“Okay...” Spike sighed as he continued on to the next chapter. Though he did not like all the hate towards dragons, he was at least starting to feel more comfortable with the information that was given to him. There was a reason this book had anti-dragon scenes, and it was because of the main villain... now he really wanted to know how it would all play out.

Over half an hour later and Twilight was starting to think about getting some sleep. She has already stopped reading along with Spike for a while, but he still seemed very infatuated with the book. With his nonstop reading at a surprisingly fast pace, Twilight has taken her time to mainly blank out and think about a few things.

Her thoughts sometimes travel to her home, and how she hoped Owlowiscous has everything under control while he's away, even though there's really not much to maintain there in the first place. Then she thinks about her friends, and silently wonders if they are still out searching. She'd been so worried about Spike that she somehow spaced that they had followed her in to the forest to help her, and that made her feel bad... she made a mental note to forgive them for their troubles when they get back, and hoped that they didn't find themselves in any sort of bad situation.

But then her thoughts would travel to Spike, and how he was taking in the story. Would he really understand what exactly was going on, or would he still feel uncomfortable, or even angry that Twilight would read a book with stuff like that in it? At the same time, with what he told her earlier today, could his thoughts perhaps swing towards the side of acceptance? Or perhaps even...

Twilight looked over to Spike and the book to see what part he was on, but suddenly noticed a bright blush on his face. Twilight's ears perked up, and immediately she began scanning through the words on the page he was reading. Oh no... she gasped to herself. He's on the love scene between dragonified Rubin and Rosalina! It's the same one from last night! Twilight thought about interrupting Spike to keep his eyes off such content, but it was too late, he was already deep into the intimacy scene and there was no turning back. Oh no, he's never going to forget this, it's going to scar him for life...

Or...

Another thought popped into Twilight's mind. This one came bearing much resemblance to the same one she had just before Spike stormed out of the library earlier that afternoon. She could use this... it was her perfect chance. She thought about it already, and she still so desperately wanted to 'experiment' with things – putting it scientifically – with Spike so that she could really tell if they both shared similar feelings, or perhaps... even more.

Twilight leaned her head just besides Spike's, her gaze set upon the book but her focus on her peripheral vision to allow her to watch his movements. Slowly, she brought a hoof over him, settling it down against his stomach. The touch jolted him out of his deep immersion as his body jumped ever so slightly. His eyes darted to look at Twilight's hoof, then at her, and then at her hoof again, the blush still burning strong on his cheeks.

“Twi...?” He asked hesitantly, his breathing starting to get heavy.

“Are you enjoying it?” Twilight asked as she tried to seem focused on the page still.

“H-huh?” Spike almost did a double take as she watched her read along with him, even going as far as turning a page in the book once she had gotten to the end of the page, which he had already reached.

“The book, are you...” Twilight took a quick, yet deep breath as she started to feel her own cheeks flush red. “...Enjoying it, Spike?”

Twilight allowed herself a loot at the young dragon, who in turn looked back at her. They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments before Spike looked away, trying to press his focus back on the book. He was extremely nervous, his heart racing as thoughts began running through his mind. What happened in the story... was Twilight trying to edge him into something? More specifically, was it that something!?

“Uh, I...” he stammered, trying to stay composed. “I, I do, actually... I do like it, a lot.”

Twilight smiled at hearing this, and she then began rubbing her hoof gently on Spike's stomach in small circles. Spike didn't move his head, but his eyes peered down at the hoof that caressed him.

“That's good...” Twilight whispered to him as she leaned closer. “I enjoyed this book a lot myself you know, it was a very... enlightening experience.”

Spike's breathing got heavier at this, realizing the seductive tone in Twilight's voice. His eyes darted over to look at her, and he could see the seductive smile on her face, her eyes half-lidded while her head tilted slightly. A shiver ran up his spine as he felt her hoof stop rubbing in circles, and begin rubbing in more of an up and down motion, drawing dangerously close to his lower abdominal area.

“En... enlightening?” He asked, the words on the page becoming harder and harder to focus on as Twilight continued to lean closer.

“That's right Spike...” She whispered again, her hoof sliding gradually lower down his body. “It made me realize some things, some things about us in particular... some things we should perhaps try to... experiment with...”

She leaned in closer as her breath intensified more as well. Spike could feel her breath getting stronger, its warmth spreading through his scales as he passively found himself starting to get more energized. He was a reptile, a cold-blooded creature, and with Twilight's body up against his with her hoof and breath providing even further additions to his temperature gain, it was only natural that he would become more active as a result.

“E-.... Ex, Experi-ment...?” He was stuttering, his mind unable to focus properly as his senses came to him. “What.. whadya mean?” He gulped, realizing he asked a question he knew already knew the answer to.

“Experiment, with you and me... I mean, well, it's all in the book,” Twilight began as she took a quick glance at the novel, with Spike following suit. “The mare and the dragon, getting so close they can feel each other's breaths...” Twilight gave another hot breath that flushed heat through Spike's body. “Feel each other's embrace...” she leaned into him even more, her neck and chest pressing against his side as her other hoof slid around his back. “And experience each other's passion...” with that, Twilight's hoof slid all the way down Spike's body and between his legs as she pressed against two particular scales.

Spike gasped softly, closing his eyes as he felt his dragonhood come out and quickly begin enlarging. Spike leaned back a bit as well, his upper body supported by Twilight's other hoof as he gave out a long sigh, feeling Twilight's hoof press against his member. He couldn't believe it, he was with Twilight, and she was about to start servicing him... and for some reason, it felt so right to him, like it was something he'd wanted for a long time. He couldn't explain it, but the fact that he lived with her all his life, the fact that she's always been there, always supported and comforted him, it just... he felt comfortable with her, comfortable enough to allow her to share her love with him, and his love to hers.

Twilight looked down as she stroked Spike's member, taking in everything about it. It was still growing, she could see it throbbing slightly as her hoof stroked up and down its length. She leaned closer to it, wanting to know more about it.

The look; It was pink and rigid along the sides, its tip somewhat pointed. The feel; it was soft on the outside, but as she pressed down it quickly became firm as she felt it become fully erect. The smell; she leaned down, taking a big whiff of Spike's member. It was a musky stench, and it stunk of his hormones that only aroused her further.

And finally, the taste... Twilight licked at her lips, giving the shaft one last look-over before closed her eyes and pushed her head down, taking half of it in all at once.

“Nyah!” Spike gasped out as his eyes suddenly shot open.

He felt his shaft pulsing as Twilight's tongue began swirling around it, leaving no spot untouched as she worked her lips against it. He wiggled his hips slightly from the sensation, unable to control some of the movements his body was making. It felt so good, so very good, he couldn't even begin to describe what it felt like, even as Twilight lowered her head further, taking the entire length into her mouth.

Twilight continued to work her tongue on Spike, enjoying the taste of his throbbing member. She could still smell his musk, and it continued to arouse her even further. She pulled up her head slowly, getting about half way up, and then down again. The action coaxed a moan out from Spike, once that made her grin a bit even with her mouth already wrapped tightly around him. She pulled up again, and pushed down, and up, and down again, over and over. His bulging cock continued to slide in and out of her mouth, sending waves of pleasure through Spike's body.

Spike could only moan out loudly as his muscles began to spasm. He reached over and grabbed onto Twilight's head with one hand, gripping it firmly while his hips bucked up to meet her at each descent. His moans increased as his legs began twitching from the jolts being sent through his nerves. He continued moaning out, sometimes whispering out Twilight's name as she continued to suck on him.

After a while Twilight pulled off, saliva trailing from her lips as she looked wide-eyed at his fully erect member. She licked her lips again, her pussy growing moist from the desire to feel him inside of her as deep as he could go. But before she made her move she looked up at Spike as she was still leaned over him, seeing his heavy panting as he laid back against her leg.

“Spike?” She asked calmly.

“Huh? Wah?” Spike leaned up a bit, trying to regain full sense of things

“Are you... alright?” Twilight leaned up a bit , her face coming over to his.

“Y-yeah, I was just... I...” Spike took a deep sigh as he shook his head just a bit. “I never felt something like that before... it was amazing Twilight.”

“Do you... want to experiment more?” She asked, leaning over him with the intent of progressing further.

Spike wanted to say something, but he couldn't. He just stared at her as she stared back, their gazes locked together. After that brief pause Spike suddenly lunged his head forwards, putting a claw softly against Twilight's cheek as he pressed their lips together. Twilight was surprised at first, but quickly returned the kiss, their lips massaging together as they both closed their eyes. Their tongues pushed out and against each other's, their kiss turning more passionate while their bodies got up and pressed closer together. In another moment Twilight was on her back with Spike on top of her, the two still making out furiously as his legs clamped against her sides. He tried humping her, but his size didn't allow his member to go low enough.

Twilight broke the kiss, pushing his body down a bit with her front hooves to encourage him to go forth with his desire. Spike quickly caught on, climbing down the short distance it took to get himself between her haunches and firmly clamped onto her again. Twilight looked down at him as he looked back, the tip of his cock already pressed against her moist lips. She gave him a quick nod, her hips swaying lightly in anticipation. Spike proceeded hesitantly, first pushing in his tip and getting a feel of Twilight's wetness. Twilight moaned softly, and then pushed her hips to him after he paused, pushing him in slightly further.

Spike prodded himself against her for a few moments, getting himself in a sort of preparatory rhythm before he tightened his grip and thrust his hips forward, gasping out along with Twilight as he slid in deep. Spike's body seemed to begin moving on its own just then, his hips pushing back and forth over and over as he continued to tighten his grip. Twilight's head flung back, her body writhing as she felt the intense waves of pleasure course through her. Spike picked up the pace, jerking his hips in over and over as each thrust slapped his body against Twilight's.

Twilight's moans picked up as her back hooves wrapped around Spike, holding him as close up against her as he could while he continued driving in. Spike's cock went in as deep as it could, the ridges on the side adding even more pleasure that Twilight would have dreamed. Her mouth hung open with her eyes half-lidded as she drooled slightly, overwhelmed by the intense sensation. With so much rocking through her so fast, she already had her climax beginning to build up.

Spike was trying to stay as concentrated as he could as he still pushed in more, not letting up for even a moment. He panted hard, and though he didn't moan as loud as Twilight he still gave off his own grunts and short gasps as their heat overtook them. He had never experienced such passion in his life, and he was also nearing his climax, feeling the pressure building up low between his legs.

And then, after a few more hardy thrusts, Spike couldn't hold himself in. He gasped out loud as he held his member inside of Twilight with his last thrust, his hot juices pouring out of him and filling her up completely. Twilight, as soon as she felt Spike's climax, released her own as she moaned out as loud as she could, practically to a scream. Her juices mixed with his and caused her to overflow, the mixture gushing out of her. Their bodies trembled together as their climaxes held on for a few more moments, and then began to subside, draining the energy from their bodies.

Exhaustion quickly gripped the two as they tried to catch their breaths. Twilight laid back with her limbs spread out while Spike laid forward, his head resting on her belly with his member slowly retracting out of her. They were both hot, messy, and depleted of energy, but still they kept themselves awake, even for a bit longer. Twilight fed magic through her horn, lifting Spike up gently to sit on her stomach to allow his face to come up to hers. Spike looked at Twilight, and she gave him a soft, sweet smile. Spike smiled back, but then yawned slightly as he felt his eyes get heavy.

Twilight knew he was tired, as she was also tired as well. She kissed Spike on the lips before gently turning onto her side, wrapping her tail around him as he curled up against her. There the two lay, their bodies resting as they minds were about to follow suit. But before Twilight felt herself slip out of consciousness, she felt spike move his head up. She looked down to seem him looking at her, one of his arms reaching out to wrap around her waist as best it could.

“Twilight,” he said softly. “I love you...”

“I love you too, Spike...”

The morning light fed into the cave as it just so happened to be facing towards the rising sun. The light was quick to creep in and shine over the two that slept near the back, tingling their bodies slightly with the additional warmth. The air was cool with a light wind, and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. In the distance a few birds could be heard chirping as the sound of morning nature began to spread its music across the forest.

The sunlight spread its rays into the cave, and began bearing down on Twilight's face. Slowly she awoke from her sleep, and batted her eyes a few times as her senses came to. She was still in the cave, with Spike, after the wonderful events of last night. She looked down at her assistant and smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek before she carefully got up off the ground. She stretched out her limbs for a little bit, getting the stiffness out of her joints while aiding her wake-up process. Once comfortable, she slowly trotted out to the entrance of the cave.

The scenery was beautiful. The sun was just over the horizon, and their cave was a bit elevated over the majority of the forest, giving her a view of the foliage-covered valley before her. She never really noticed just how beautiful such a wild place could be sometimes, but it seems that you just need to get past the darkness of under the canopy to see the brilliant light to show off its beauty...

Twilight's train of thought cut off as she heard a noise from inside the cave. Turning around, she saw Spike leaning up while in the middle of a big yawn. Twilight smiled and turned to go back into the cave with him.

“Good morning, Spike,” Twilight greeted as she leaned down and gave him a nuzzle.

“Oh, good morning Twilight,” Spike replied with a smile as he nuzzled her back, a slight blush on his face.

“How did you sleep?”

“Great!” he said as he jumped onto his feet, seeming full of energy. “I don't think I've ever slept so great before. How about you?”

“I slept very well myself,” Twilight smiled back as she leaned a little closer to him. “Thanks to you sleeping with me...”

“Heh, yeah, hehe...” Spike blushed more, rubbing the back of his neck with his claw. “By the way, I really enjoyed, um... last night...”

Twilight could see Spike blushing hard, and she felt her own cheeks get warm as well as her thoughts briefly traveled to last night. The love, the passion... she wanted to repeat it again, but she didn't think it would be best to push Spike into that again so soon.

“I did too, Spike...” Twilight giggled a bit. “And ya know, you are really adorable when you blush like that.”

“H-hey!” Twilight's comment only made Spike's face turn even redder as he turned to try to hide himself.

“Oh don't worry about it,” Twilight hoofed at him playfully before turning towards the entrance of the cave. “By the way, I think we should get back to Ponyville now... I know everypony must be worried sick by now.”

“Oh yeah, right...” Spike lowered his head, feeling guilty as he realized that his running away would certainly cause distress amongst his friends. “Twilight, I'm sorry for running away like that... it wasn't right of me, I just assumed the wrong things and,” Spike sighed, trying to hold back a few tears that started to work their way up from the back of his eyes.

Twilight lightly kissed Spike's cheek before nuzzling him again. He looked at her as she gave him a comforting smile, the kind of smile that told him everything would be forgiven, and that it was going to be alright. Spike smiled back, and gave her a big hug. He broke away after a few seconds and began walking towards the entrance of the cave, the spectacular sight of the landscape before them coming into view. He looked out in aw at the scene just as Twilight had. It was gorgeous, and the only thing he seemed to find more beautiful at the moment was the mare that had just began nuzzling up his side and up to his cheek again.

Spike smiled and closed his eyes, sliding an arm around Twilight's neck and hugging her tight as he nuzzled back. Nuzzling soon turned to a few playful licks, and that turned into light kissing, which then evolved into making out passionately. The two pressed themselves against each other again, their breathing getting heavier as their heat began to rise. It had just been last night since they did it, but both Spike and Twilight were ready to get at it again...

But just then, they both heard something.

A strong whooshing sound came from overhead, and both Twilight and Spike looked up to see what it was. They couldn't see anything, but the sound of flapping wings became audible. Something was flying around near them, something big. And before they knew it, it was upon them.

From above descended a large orange dragon, its wings fully expanded as it landed on the ground with its back legs. Judging from its posture, it seemed to be a dragon that prefers an bipedal stance rather than being on all fours. The dragon was twice the height of the tunnel, its wing spread was incredible, and its tail holstered a few thin protruding spikes. Smoke could be seen lightly seeping from its nostrils as it glared down at the pair at the entrance of the cave.

Twilight and Spike stayed frozen where they stood, their eyes wide as dinner plates as they could only stare at the sudden intruder. While Twilight's thoughts were filled with fear and uncertainty, Spike's were filled with a reminder of last night. This was a dragon... just the thing he was searching for last night. And now, he had gotten his wish, one had appeared! But... did he want it now? Did he want to go back to the dragons after the events last night, now that he knows he was wrong to get mad at Twilight, and that she really loves him?

“Well well well, what do we have here?” The dragon said with a grin on his face. “A dragon and a pony... getting intimate? My my, what has the world come to these days?”

“Who-who are you?” Twilight spoke up as she placed a hoof defensively in front of Spike.

“Me?” His grin grew wider. “I'm just a lonely dragon passing through... that isn't a problem, is it?”

“Uh, well no,” Twilight stammered a bit, wanting urgently to leave. “Well, actually, me and my assistant here were just about to get going back home so if you wouldn't mind we'd like to get going now okay thanks, haha,” Twilight chuckled nervously as she attempted to play off the encounter.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't that easy. The dragon smashed its fist down in front of her, blocking where she had just began to trot towards with Spike.

“I'm afraid I can't allow that...” it said in a low voice.

“What?” Twilight felt her heart skip a beet, sensing trouble. “Why not?”

“I think it's obvious what's gone on here...” the dragon craned its neck down and looked first at Twilight, and then at Spike. “This pony has you brainwashed, young one... it appears as though she's just using you as her own personal toy.”

“U-using me...!?” Spike asked hesitantly.

“Yes...” it said through its teeth as he leaned his head back a bit. “You're so young, and this pony here is of adult age, obviously. And by that, I can only assume that she's been raising you for quite a while... perhaps even taking you in as some sort of guardian. She did say you were her assistant, did she not?”

“I, I did.. yes,” Twilight replied, her voice shaky.

“Well then I'm right,” his grin turned to a frown as he crossed his arms. “You, little pony, are just using him as a tool it seems, like your own little pleasure toy-”

“What!?” Twilight blurted out, her mouth agape for a few seconds. “I-no, no no no, that's , that's completely incorrect! I would never-”

“Oh really?” The dragon interrupted this time. “So then you weren't just about to take advantage of him like he was your own little sex slave?”

Spike gasped just a little, that last word getting to him. Slave... no, he was over this, he wasn't her slave, not at all. Spike fought back those words with the knowledge and assurance that Twilight truly did love him. He wouldn't accept such slander from anyone else, even if it was another dragon. In a few moments, all the lingering ideas of him leaving Twilight for dragons had vanished completely. There was no way he would leave her for some jerk like this!

Twilight on the other hand quickly became furious on the inside. She had just gotten through helping Spike get rid of that notion last night, and here this thing comes, trying to befoul his thoughts once again. She had taken on bigger things than him before, so she wasn't afraid to do so again if it pissed her off enough. She wouldn't stand having that dragon try to split the two apart at all.

And in an instant, Twilight had a sort of epiphany. Here they were, dragon and pony... Rubin and Rosalina... against a dragon that seemed to threaten their very relationship... Malcom.... but this time, she wouldn't let the evil dragon get between the two lovers. This time, she knew what to do, and what was right.

“No, no I was not, actually...” Twilight seethed through gritting teeth. “Now, if you don't mind, we would like to get back home now... we had a long night and-”

“HAH!” it suddenly blurted out a hardy laugh after Twilight's last words. “A long night, yes, and I bet you thoroughly enjoyed the rutting, didn't you little pony?”

“HEY!” Spike yelled as he too became enraged. “You leave Twilight alone! Now let us through, or else!”

“And what are you going to do?” The dragon grinned again as it leaned down to him, pointing a finger right in front of Spike's face. “You're just a little hatch-ling, you probably can't even breath fire yet, ahahahaha!”

Oh yeah!? Spike thought to himself as he growled low. I'll show you how much fire I can breath!

With the finger still in front of him, Spike leaped at it, taking the entire thing into his mouth and biting down hard. At the same time he summoned flame from his throat, burning the sensitive flesh that his gem-busting teeth were able to expose from under its scales. Spike pulled away just as quickly as he bit onto it, managing to break away just before the larger dragon pulled his finger back and yelped out in pain. It took a few seconds to look at its finger, the holes in it already cauterized from Spike's fire. It immediately followed up with a very low, angry snarl as it showed off its teeth to the two.

“Bad move, squirt...” it growled as he lowered into an aggressive stance.

“Spike,” Twilight whispered as she took a step back, pushing Spike back as well with an extended hoof. “Get behind me... this looks like it's going to get ugly.”

The dragon took a deep breath, breathing a heavy wave of red fire down on the two. In an instant Twilight's horn flared up, projecting a magical barrier around the two. The fire subsided after a few seconds, as did the barrier, and Twilight stood firm as she glared at the bigger dragon.

Her opponent growled angrily at his failed attack, and instead brought his claw up and lunged it down at the two, only to have it blocked by another force field, But instead of the force field just fading away this time, Twilight pushed back, sending a burst of energy that sent the dragon crashing back against some trees.

It got up almost immediately, its wings spreading as it took flight. As it passed overhead it breathed more fire down on them, but Twilight easily countered with another barrier. Barriers for her were simple, and she had practically mastered them, so she calculated that she could hold up her barriers for longer than the dragon would be able to muster fire.

But then the dragon did something she didn't expect. It dropped straight down from the air, bringing its tail crashing down over them. Twilight barely had enough time to form another barrier as it came down. She grunted as the strength of the impact took a toll on her energy. Twilight retaliated by grabbing onto the tail, using more magic to pick up the dragon and swing him into the mountainside, hard.

The dragon yelled out in pain as a few trees broke from his back flying into them. He got up again, even further enraged as he breathed fire from his nostrils. He charged again to take another swing at them, but was beat back by a barrage of magic projectiles that Twilight had shot at it. Every point of impact sent an intense jolt of pain through its body, making the dragon yell out even more as it was hit in three places, its chest, its left shoulder, and its right hip. The impact areas smoked a little as the magical residue began to fade away.

Now he wasn't going to hold back. He got back up and burst fire from his mouth, sending three return fireballs back at the two. Twilight summoned another shield, and deflected each. But as her barrier disappeared she saw the dragon lunging out to both of them, swinging its arm down to strike. She was barely able to form a force strong enough to push them both back enough to where its claws wouldn't catch them. Spike and her stumbled backwards from the sudden force as the dragon cursed under its breath for missing. It brought up its arm to strike again, but as it swung it again felt the resistance from Twilight's magic.

This needed to end, and Twilight knew it. With Spike still safe beside her, she gripped her magic onto its arm, squeezing onto it from the outside. She held on still, holding it place as she gradually applied more pressure. The dragon, unable to move from its spot due to its immobilized arm, quickly realized the pony's intentions. He yelled out in surprise as he grabbed his arm, trying to tug it free, but to no avail. He felt the grip tighten even more, his scales starting to wrinkle and his bones beginning to ache. That little unicorn was going to try to break his arm!

The orange dragon thrashed about wildly, both in pain and in a frantic attempt to get free, but all was futile. His bones ached more, and he began to feel his arm cracking. He cried out even more, the sound echoing throughout the expanse of the forest. He tried breathing fire at Twilight, but at each attempt she would simply summon a barrier to deflect it. It seemed hopeless to get free, and in only a few more seconds, a sickening crack was heard as the dragon's arm bent a full ninety degrees.

The pain was excruciating, and out of reaction, the whole dragon's body jolted drastically. His tail suddenly swung around straight to Twilight who, caught off guard by the sudden move, only had the time to put up a weak barrier before impact. It knocked against the barrier, breaking through it partially as pushed Spike and Twilight a good five feet before they landed on the ground in a small daze.

The orange dragon grasped his arm, pain jabbing through it like a million knives tickling his nerves. He didn't care about the two whelps anymore, he had wasted enough on them, and this arm was going to take months to heal. Deciding he had enough, he turned away without a second glance, and flapped his wings to take flight, swiftly leaving the area while still emanating low howls of pain.

Spike groaned a bit as he got up, rubbing the side of his head. He looked up and saw the assaulting dragon from before flying away, grasping its arm tight. Spike smiled and jumped to his feet as he pumped out his fist in victory.

“Twilight, you did it!” he cheered as he gave a few happy jumps. “You really showed that dragon not to mess with you!” Spike waited for a reply, but nothing came. “Twilight?” He asked he turned around, and then froze as he saw Twilight on the ground.

She laid on her side and gasped for air as her hooves clenched onto a spot on her side. Spike looked closer, and to his horror he saw a steady flow of blood flowing from Twilight's waist, along with some blood beginning to drip down from the corner of her lips. In an instant, Spike figured out what had happened. The tail that the dragon swung out of impulse had broken through Twilight's barrier. She had enough to protect herself, but instead, she must have used all that she could conjure to... to protect him instead, and she paid the price...

Spike rushed to his side, practically diving to his knees as he come upon Twilight. Tears quickly surfaced to his eyes as he surveyed the damage, realizing just how badly hurt she was.

“T-twilight, no, oh no, this...” Spike didn't know what to do. He held his claws over her, but didn't dare touch, tears streaming freely from his face. “Twilight, talk to me, Twilight please! Just, just hang in there!”

“Spike...” Twilight whispered weakly as her eyes shifted to look at him. “Spike...”

“Twilight!?” He leaned close to her head, his whimpers beating his lungs against his chest.

“Spike, I... I-” Twilight coughed up a blotch of blood that splattered against the ground. “I lo-... lo-...”

“Please, don't give up, I need you Twilight, I need you!” tears fell from his face onto Twilight's cheek as he stayed close to her.

“I... l-love, you...” she took another gasp of air before she suddenly exhaled deeply, her eyes closing slowly...

...and she ceased to move any further.

Spike's eyes darted around frantically. This couldn't be happening... not to him, not to her! He shook twilight's body, but she didn't respond. Spike feared the worst, he knew he had to do something, he had to help her, but what could he do? His head darted left to right frantically, trying to find something, to use, something to help, even though he knew there would be nothing. But then, an idea...

Spike shot up to his feet and ran over to the nearest randomly laying stick, picked it up, and engulfed it with his fire. He went to another stick, and sent that away as well. He pulled off more sticks from trees, from bushes, even bits of grass, anything! He had to get Princess Celestia here, he had to get help. Twilight was dying, if not already... no, he pushed that thought out. It only made his tears flow harder, and his progress slower as it only pounded his heart against his chest more, making it ache. He didn't stop sending random pieces of the forest to the princess, for he knew if he didn't it would only lower the chances of her coming in time.

He allowed himself a quick glance over to Twilight, seeing her body unmoved. His heart skipped a beat, as he feared he perhaps wasn't quick enough. He didn't save her... he wasn't able to protect her just like Rubin had in the story. He dropped to his knees unable to progress any further. He failed her, when she had given up so much not to fail him. It was his fault... everything that had happened from the beginning was his fault. He had only himself to blame, and as a pressure began to build up in his chest, he wished that it was him that had fallen under death's veil, and not Twilight...

...And just then, a letter with a locator spell appeared from a fiery burp, and moments later, a white flash filled his vision...

Celestia had arrived... but was it already too late?

Author Note: So what else would I do just before I leave for a while other than create a cliffhanger?
Create a BIGGER cliffhanger, of course! Lol. I love ya'll, and i hope to see ya again soon!

Will say hi from germany!