Dragon Tales

Spike was in the basement of Carousel Boutique, fetching various bolts of fabric for his beloved Rarity. Sure, they were twice his height, but compared to lugging around towering stacks of books for Twilight, this was a walk in the park. He scurried upstairs and placed them on the floor with a grunt, then stood at attention, waiting for his next order.

"Thank you so very much, Spike," Rarity said, stepping away from her sewing machine to look over the bolts. "Hmm... this won't do. Spike, could you run upstairs and get my color pallets?"

He saluted. "On it!" He ran up to Rarity's room and began searching. As usual, the room was a mess, and he soon found himself simply tossing random materials out of his path. As he continued to tear the room apart, he heard small hoofsteps walk past. They returned, and an ear-piercing scream followed, and he screamed in response, turning just enough to expose his sharp teeth to the intruder. The hoofsteps ran out. He looked out the doorway, just in time to see the end of a purple tail run down the stairs. "Rarity?"

"RARITY!" a little girl shrieked, making him cover his ears. "Rarity, there's a monster in your room! What do I do!?"

"Monster?" Rarity said, clearly unhappy. "Sweetie Belle, I can't even begin to explain how rude that is! That 'monster is a baby dragon, and a sweetheart! More to the point, he's one of your new neighbors!"

"Really?"

"Yes. Now you go right back upstairs and apologize this instant!"

Spike retreated back into the room and tried to act like the entire town didn't have hear the exchange. A moment later, Sweetie Belle appeared in the doorway, staring at the floor. His heart skipped a beat. She looks just like a small Rarity!

"Um," she said, still looking at the floor. "Sorry about screaming at you. And for calling you a monster. And screaming. My name's Sweetie Belle. I'm Rarity's little sister."

"T-that's alright," he said, extending his hand and smiling. "I'm Spike, and I live in the library down the street." She looked up and shook his hand, making him blush slightly. "Nice to meet you."

He let go of her hoof, and they stood there, unsure of what to say next. Spike resumed his digging and Sweetie Belle walked up to stand next to him.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

"Color pallets."

"Oh! I know where those are!" Like it was nothing, she stuck her head in the mess, emerging with the pallets in her mouth. "These, right?"

"Yeah," he said, not bothering to hide his amazement. "How did you--"

She gave them to him. "They usually end up in the same place every time. I don't know why; one of those big sister secrets, I guess."

"I know what you mean.Twilight always ends up losing something, and I have to be the one to find it for her."

"Wait, Twilight's your sister?" She waved a hoof at him. "But... but you're a--"

He waved a claw. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But she may as well be my sister, you know?"

"Sort of."

Another awkward silence passed. Spike backed out of the room and went downstairs, holding the pallets out with a proud grin. Rarity returned the smile and took them, placing them on the counter.

Sweetie came downstairs and looked up at her sister with pleading eyes. "Rarity, can I borrow some of your hair care products? I don't need much, just some conditioner, shampoo, brushes, your hairdryer--"

"I understand," Rarity said. "And the answer is no, I'm afraid. Especially after what happened to mother's mane."

"What do you need all that stuff for, anyway?" Spike asked, somewhat afraid to find out.

"My friends and I are trying to get our cutie marks in hairdressing."

He looked at her flank, just now noticing that it was indeed blank. "So you all just try everything until something happens?"

Sweetie nodded enthusiastically, then struck a rather silly, heroic pose. "Yeah! Together, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Spike chuckled, then his expression turned serious. "Wait... aren't you the guys who made it start raining maple syrup last week?"

She blushed. "Eh-heh. Yeah..." She coughed into her hoof, then turned to leave. "I'll just have to tell the girls there's been a change of plans. Thanks anyway!" She waved goodbye, then sprinted out the door.

Spike and Rarity waved after for a moment, smiles plastered on their faces. After a moment of this, Rarity turned and looked at Spike, a grateful grin appearing on her face.

"Spike, why don't you go with her?"

He gave her an odd look. "Huh?"

"Well, you've been working so hard all day; you deserve a break. Why don't you go spend some time with Sweetie Belle and her friends? I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

He folded his arms behind his back and looked at the floor. He had to admit, he was curious. "I guess, if you're sure... you'll be okay without me, right?"

"Oh, don't you worry dear," she cooed, ruffling his spines. "I'll be just fine with what you've done today. Thank you ever so much!" She nuzzled him, making him blush and stammer before heading out the door.

Despite her head start, Spike managed to catch up with Sweetie Belle in no time. She wandered through town, looking like she had no idea where she was going. Every so often, she would stop and look around, and even stopped to ask a pony for directions. Once she had her bearings, she took off faster than expected, leaving Spike to chase after her. It was futile, as his stumpy legs wouldn't let him catch up to the filly, and he quickly lost sight of her.

"And now I'm lost," he grumbled, wandering around much like Sweetie was earlier. Fortunately, he knew the area well enough to know that he was near Sweet Apple Acres. He ran into the orchard, hoping to find Applejack or Big Mac; there was a good chance that they had seen Sweetie run through here.

He could just see the barn on the horizon when he heard giggling. Sweetie's giggling, to be exact, joined by Scootaloo's and one he didn't recognize. He followed the noise, soon coming across a large, pink tree house. He ran up onto the balcony and peeked through the window. What he saw confused him.

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and a third, yellow filly with a bow in her hair all sat on a bulls-eye in the center of the room. They didn't seem to be doing much, just staring off into space. Every few seconds, one of them would perk up, only to deflate shortly after and resume staring.

"Huh," he mumbled. "Guess we were worried for nothing." He stepped away from the window, his claws scratching the floorboards. Scootaloo looked to the window at the noise.

"Hey, Spike!" she said, causing the other two to run to the window. He waved at her.

"Spike?" Sweetie said. "I thought you were helping Rarity."

"Well, this just ain't fair," the yellow filly said, having stepped out to join him on the balcony. Just like the other two, she lacked a cutie mark. She wore a phony pout, one that was almost completely ruined by the friendly grin breaking through. "How do ya meet both of my friends without meeting me? I've even had brunch with you!"

"I thought you guys already knew each other," Scootaloo said.

"I just met him today," Sweetie said.

"Well, I guess it's my turn," the filly said. "I'm Applebloom. My folks run the orchard."

"So that must mean you're Applejack's sister, huh?" Spike asked.

She nodded, then her expression became serious, and she began poking and prodding him. "So what are you, anyhow? Never seen a lizard like you before, especially one that talks. Are you from the Everfree?"

He buried his face in his claws, and Scootaloo laughed.

He glared at her. "It's not funny! You'd think somepony in this town would know what a dragon is!"

Applebloom put a hoof on his shoulder. "Gee, I'm sorry, Spike. I didn't mean any harm."

"It's fine. Anyway, what were you guys up to?"

"Well," Sweetie said, "we were trying to come up with something to do, since Rarity won't let us use her stuff." She turned to Scootaloo, who had returned to the bulls-eye. "Anything yet?"

"Hmm..." Scootaloo rubbed her chin. She perked up and hurried back to the window. "I just got an idea! Spike, you know that zip-line you helped me build?"

Spike furrowed his brow. "Yeah...?"

"Well, me and the girls tried it out, but it didn't go as well as when you and I tried it. Can you show us what went wrong?"

For some reason, he felt the urge to run as fast as he could. Ignoring that, he said, "Sure thing. Where is it?"

With Scootaloo leading them, they quickly arrived at the failed project. Spike scrambled up the tree to take a look at the remains of the contraption. Everything seemed to be in order, even the landing platform on the other side of the orchard.

"Wait a second," Applebloom said. "When did you two build all this? And without any of us knowing?"

"Well, Spike just taught me how to put it all together," Scootaloo said. "We first tried it in the Whitetail Woods, and I brought it over here to show you guys."

"Did the cord catch fire when you two did it?" Sweetie asked.

"The cord did what!?" Spike said, sending a curious glance towards Scootaloo. "You did use a pulley, right?" She didn't look at him. "Right?"

"I forgot, okay? I got excited!" She looked up at him with a taunting glare. "Don't act like you weren't!"

"Yeah, but I didn't set the cord on fire did I?" He climbed down, cord in hand. "Well, the damage isn't too bad. Really, all we need are new harnesses and a cord." Looking at Scootaloo, he added, "And a pulley."

She stuck her tongue out at him before walking off towards town. "Alright, I guess I'll get the oh-so-important pulley. What about you?"

"I can get the cord," Sweetie said.

"Me and Applebloom can get the safety gear," Spike said.

They all nodded and went to do their jobs. Applebloom lead Spike to the barn, where Granny Smith was napping on the porch. She gave the requisite "shush" motion, and they tiptoed past her and went into the tool shed, where Big Macintosh was taking inventory, his back turned to the door.

Applebloom poked him in the side. "Hey, Big Mac, can we use the safety gear to go zip-lining?" He gave her an odd look. "I know we've done it before, but now Spike's gonna help us. It'll work this time, for sure!"

Big Mac looked down at Spike, who gave him a thumbs up in return.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them," he said.

After a long silence, he nodded and gave them the helmets and harnesses. After a quick thanks, they ran back to the clubhouse to leave their items.

Sitting down to rest, Spike looked over at Applebloom, who was pacing the clubhouse, pausing only to look out the window. He stared for a bit before asking, "What's the hurry? Why are you so anxious?"

"Just waitin' for Scootaloo and Sweetie to get back so we can have lunch." She sighed and leaned against the wall, still searching for her friends. "They better hurry. I'm starved!"

All this talk of lunch made Spike realize just how hungry he was. It made sense; he had been helping Rarity since seven o' clock, and it was well past noon by now. As he was about to offer to make something, the other two fillies came trotting in, items in their mouths. Leaving them with the other materials, they turned to Applebloom, excitement on their faces.

"So what's next?" Scootaloo asked.

Applebloom raised a hoof. "Wait for it..."

A few seconds later, Applejack walked in, carrying a tray of drinks and numerous apple-based pastries on her back. Spike completely forgot about that when he noticed what she was wearing. Her trademark hat was gone, replaced with an red scarf. Even more shocking was the frilly white apron she wore, which was still stained with filling. The crusaders didn't seem to notice or care, but Spike was just barely able to hold in his laughter, shuddering even as he took his treat.

Everypony gave him an odd look.

"You alright, Spike?" Applejack asked. He nodded and quickly shoved an apple fritter into his mouth. He couldn't stop shaking though, and Applejack quickly put the pieces together. She snickered. "That's right, you've never seen me dress like this, have you?"

He laughed nervously. "Well... no, actually. What's the occasion?"

"She always wears this when she brings us lunch," Applebloom said. "What's the big deal?"

"Yeah," Applejack said, "I've seen you wearing a pretty little apron around the library, haven't I? A bright pink, frilly one with a little heart on it?"

Spike stammered, unable to respond. It didn't really matter what he said anyway, since any argument would've been drowned out by the crusader's raucous laughter. He settled for looking at the floor, his face turning red with anger and embarrassment. I thought she wouldn't mention that! That's the only reason I wear it around them at all!

Laughing, she patted his head. "Aw, don't feel bad, sugarcube. Granny Smith always says 'to each his own'. If that's what you wanna do, then have at it."

He smiled a little bit and kept eating. The crusaders joined him, with Applejack taking a snack for herself before taking her leave. Eventually, they finished eating and began to take the equipment outside.

"So," Scootaloo said, wearing all the helmets on her head in some sort of balancing act, "do you really wear an apron around the house, Spike?"

He sighed. "Yes, I do."

"Why?"

They reached the tree and set the equipment down at the base. Spike and Scootaloo went to work setting everything up, while Applebloom tossed the supplies up to them.

"It helps keep me clean when I cook. Scoots, are you sure you need a helmet?"

She frowned and passed the the cord to him. "Not funny. Anyway, why don't you get a different one? One that ponies won't laugh at?"

He took it and started tying it to a sturdy-looking branch. "It was a gift from Cadance." He passed the other end to her. "Hey, Scootaloo, can you go tie this to the tree near the platform?" She saluted and leaped down, buzzing away until she was an orange speck.

"Who's Cadance? Your old babysitter?" Sweetie asked.

He shook his head. "Not mine, Twilight's. The apron was a going away gift. I saw it in a window the day before we left, and she bought it for me the morning after." They stared. "It looked comfy, alright?"

"You know what?" Applebloom said. "You never answered my question. Where are you from?"

"I used to live in Canterlot. We just moved here a little while ago." He reached down for the harnesses. Neither one moved, instead staring up at him with wide eyes. "Uh, guys?"

Applebloom came to her senses first, blinking a bit before handing him the harness. "Sorry. You just don't look like a Canterlot-type... dragon."

"You mean one of those really stuffy, arrogant types?" He gathered the harnesses in a pile and hopped down to wait for Scootaloo.

"Well, yeah. Granny's been there, and she said that besides the princess, everypony was really stuck up. Is that true?"

"Mostly. It's the ones that aren't that you want to look out for; they're usually worth knowing."

"So which one would my sister be?" Sweetie said. "One of the nice ones?"

He nodded vigorously. "Definitely! She'd love Canterlot, and I'd love to take my friends there too."

"So you'll be taking us, right?" Scootaloo asked. They all looked at her. "What? I move quick. So, will you? We are your friends, right?"

He smiled warmly, and they smiled back. "Sure thing. One day, I'll take you all. Promise!"

"Great!" Scootaloo said, jumping up onto the platform. "Now that that's taken care of, let's get this started!"

Nodding, they all joined her and began putting on their helmets. After a quick check to make sure the pulley system was secure, they hooked the harnesses to the cord and strapped themselves in, Applebloom first, then Sweetie, then Spike, and Scootaloo at the back to push off.

"Everypony ready?" Scootaloo said, bracing her hooves against the tree. Without waiting for a response, she pushed off, sending them all rocketing across the orchard. Spike struggled to keep his eyes open in the face of the roaring winds, if only to see the sight of the trees and grass around him, their speed reducing it all to a whirlwind of green. They went faster and faster, until he could barely breathe through all the air forcing itself into his lungs. Between this and the Crusaders' screaming, he could barely focus enough to wonder just how far Scootaloo had tied the other end.

He didn't have to worry about that for long. The pulley smacked against a thick branch, bringing them to an abrupt halt and sending them flying past the platform and into the tree immediately behind it. Groaning, they all struggled to free themselves from the tree's grip. The adrenaline quickly wore off, however, leaving them to dangle uselessly from its branches.

Applebloom spat out a mouthful of leaves. "Is everyone okay?"

Sweetie tried to shake the twigs out of her tail, with little success. "I'm fine. Scootaloo? Spike?"

"I'm good," Scootaloo said as she tried to get free of the sap that stuck her to the tree's trunk. "Sticky, but good."

Spike wasn't so lucky. He found his head stuck in a knothole, bringing him face to face with a family of squirrels. Fortunately, they were more than happy to push him out, sending him to the ground. Shaking his head, he managed to give a shaky thumbs up.

Applebloom nodded. "Great! More importantly" --she turned this way and that trying to get a good look at her flank-- "did I get my cutie mark? Did any of us?" The girls checked themselves and each other, but nothing had changed. "Shoot!" With a little more squirming, she managed to free herself. Sweetie followed, and they all worked to pull Scootaloo free.

"So that was a bust," she said, licking the last bits of sap off. "But I have a new idea!" Her friends flocked to her, eyes wide. She cleared her throat, then screamed at the top of her lungs, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BEEKEEPERS!" They all jumped up and hoof-bumped each other, adding an extra-loud "YAY!"

Spike watched them with a small grin. It was all he could do, considering the loud ringing in his ears. Despite that, and the slight aching of his skull, this was fun. A little scary, sure, but that was the best part. The girls seemed fun, too. At the very least, they were fun to be around, not to mention eager to try new things. He wasn't so sure about their cutie mark situation, though.

A hoof nudged him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Applebloom offering her hoof. Had she been speaking? What did she need? She tried repeating herself, but no matter what she said, it was all drowned out by the ringing. Luckily, he could read lips. She was asking if he wanted to come beekeeping with them.

"So what do you say, Spike?" she said.

He nodded.

She smiled and pulled him to his feet. "Great! Let's get going!"