The little dragon rubbed his eyes. Several beams of pure, snow white light from the moon penetrated the cave’s darkness. His eyes adjusted as a large, cavernous area came into focus. The center showcased a massive pile of treasure; gold, gemstones and jewels towered above him.
“Rarity…” Spike said in a strained tone, with a puzzled expression. The rays of light shown onto a mare, a silhouette formed of a pony with a horn and suave mane. Spike lifted his right foot but put it down. He saw the mare extend beautiful wings before she glided down to him. His eyes stared at the rocky ground beneath his feet. “Hey Twilight, is this about the book?”
“Spike, it is me…” The mare said as she brought her hoof up to the dragon’s chin and raised his head, “It is Rarity.”
Soft hooves were placed around the little dragon; a kind hug soon followed. Spike watched Rarity’s tears glisten in the light that penetrated the cave.
“Why are you—“Spike said, but he stopped short.
“I HATE YOU!” a voice echoed in the distance of the cave. It caused the dragon’s scales to shiver and his eyes to water. Despite the dragon’s deepest desires, the sound refused to cease.
Spike wiggled free of Rarity’s grasp. The mare extended her new adornments but her friend wiggled free once more.
Time eluded Spike. He darted towards the exit and into the Everfree forest. Water came forth from his eyes like a leaky water pipe with a constant drip; the more he wiped the tears away, the more they came.
Just past the entrance, near a small bush, the dragon hunkered down and curled into a ball.
“What did I do? Why does she hate me?” Spike said to himself.
“Spike! Where are you? Spike!” several voices said as they shouted out into the open night of Equestria. Their cries for a response went unheard.
“Fluttershy, you and Rainbow Dash check out Ponyville and Sugar Cube Corner. Rarity, if you can manage, I need you to head back to the library and see if Spike is there. Pinkie Pie and Applejack, I want you to check out Sweet Apple Acres. I’ll check in with Zecora in case he went deeper into the Everfree Forest.” Twilight said, the mare’s nervous tone succeeded by her expression. The mares nodded at each other, and each pony bolted for their respective destination.
Hoofsteps grew louder before they went silent. Spike remained concealed within the bush he bolted for. The cold air brushed against his claws, his tears continuing to flow from his eyes. Soon, images flashed within the dark recesses of his closed eyes; it felt like a nightmare, a horrible movie he couldn’t skip or forget. Inspiration transformed within the very soul of his heart; it turned to greed.
An image of a reflection off of Rarity’s eyes greeted Spike. He saw a suave and muscular dragon stand in front of his friend. Rarity blushed, but refused the creature’s advances. The little dragon curled up tighter as he watched his friend whisked away into the echoing caves of the Everfree forest.
A strong claw jutted forward. A pile of tall stalagmites were transformed into a mountain of gold. His left claw extended. The pile of stalactites turned into jewels and gemstones that rained down from the ceiling.
Rarity’s eyes glistened. Spike saw his devious smile in the reflection of her beautiful eyes and watched both claws extend. The mare was enveloped in green light. An alicorn stood before him, his “beautiful” princess. In her eyes however, he watched the dragon’s expression sour.
An ornate sword materialized from a large rock near the dragon while thick chains jutted from the ground. Chains acted like vines and constricted the movements of the invaders. The vision fixated on five mares that had barged into the cavern.
Twilight’s voice was quiet. She shed a tear while she spoke to Rarity. The mare in turn shed several tears of her own.
“I. Hate. You.” Rarity said as she stood firm on the ground below the dragon. Spike saw the reflection in her eyes once more as Rarity said, “I hate you!”
“What have I done? They all hate me? Even Rarity and Twilight…” Spike said. His hopes were bitterly answered as the horror show ended. He buried his head into his arms.
“Hurts, don’t it?” A voice said. Eyes and a mouth formed on the bush in front of Spike as he opened his eyes. The mouth spoke in a slow, calm tone. “I don’t think I could bare Fluttershy saying such a thing to me.”
“Discord, just… just leave me alone,” Spike said with a sniffle. “I’ve done a horrible thing.”
Discord snapped his fingers. A small platform sat on top of the large tree, and lawn chairs sat next to a table. The misshapen creature poured some coco into a cup from his antler, shaving off two small pieces that turned into marshmallows. Discord reclined in the chair while Spike buried his face into his knees.
“No funny business, I promise. Well, I promise to be semi-serious.” Discord said. Several mirrors materialized around him to show the dragon he wasn’t crossing any of his appendages. “Fluttershy asked me to assist in dealing with that book’s magic. I’m quite surprised me ‘element of magic’ was unable to remove it from your gut.”
“Why did she hate me?” Spike said. He picked up the cup on the table, took a sip, and then laid it back down before re-burying his face into his scaly knees. “I love her with all my heart. What did I do?”
Discord placed his cup on the saucer he levitated near himself. He leaned back to watch the moon continue its descent into the horizon, after he placed his dish on the table.
“…Only when true words are spoken will you finally be set free.” Discord said in Spike’s voice.
“That was the final incantation of the spell Rarity cast on herself.” Spike said while he wiped a final tear from his eye. “Why are you telling me something I already know? I didn’t cast the spell on myself. I can’t cast magic.”
“But you did,” Discord said with a straight faced expression, turning to look at Spike before he looked back. “Dragon’s have powerful magic within their bodies. The book dissolved in your stomach, and its magic radiated throughout your body. I have to say, you did something I had never expected to happen in all my years of conjuring chaotic magic. You managed to change the nature of the spell's origins. Of course, you don’t need to thank me for ‘helping’ you out or anything, though ‘I’ am the one who stopped the book for good.”
“You could have removed the magic at any time. You caused Rarity to hate me!” Spike pointed his claw at the creature near him.
“No, I couldn’t.” Discord said with his expressionless demeanor unchanged. “The magic was bound too tightly to your core; I couldn’t remove it without endangering you. There are limits to even my chaotic prowess.”
“Why didn’t you help out sooner?! Rarity hates me now.” Spike said with a sniffle. “I can’t believe I changed her. What if I harmed her? I’m a monster.”
A soft paw greeted Spike’s shoulder. He looked to see Discord’s paw missing from his side, planted on the chair. Spike stood up. The dragon walked to the edge of the platform and looked down. Below was a dirt road with trees on each side.
“I’m not very good at this ‘emotional’ stuff. It makes me want to gag . I will say this. Fluttershy gave me something quite powerful, more powerful than I could manifest with all of my chaotic magic. She gave me a friend. No matter what Fluttershy says to me, though there are times she gets mad at me, I know that in my heart she cares for me and my well being.” Discord said. He approached the dragon and stared up at him, after having shrunk himself. “Rarity cares for you. She had to be cruel. That was the one and only way to break you free of that spell. She’ll be fine. Twilight can turn her back into a unicorn. Anyways mister, I think it’s time you went to bed. That’s enough chaos out of you.”
The little dragon closed his eyes and heard Discord snap his eagle talons. His eyes to see the blanket from his bed curled around him. Twilight’s sobs traveled down the small hallway that led to the library’s bedroom.
Spike tiptoed from his bed to the hallway’s entrance, descended down the steps, and stopped a few steps before the exit and peaked around the corner.
“Twilight, it’s ok.” Rarity said. “We’ll find Spike.”
“I know, but I feel so horrible for what I did—“Twilight said. She stopped to see and feel Rarity’s wing over her shoulder.
“—what we had to do.” Rarity said while she gave her friend a hug. “You told me what I had to do, and it had to be done. That doesn’t make it right or fair to Spike. He is my dear friend, one I trust with all my heart. To think I had to crush his heart by telling him I hated him, it’s beyond wrong.”
“I would burn that book to cinders if Discord hadn’t already taken care of things.” Twilight said with a huff. “I better turn you back to normal before that dark magic hurts you. I have no idea about the ramifications of that spell on ponies.”
“O? Right, right…” Rarity said while she looked at her snow white wing. “They are rather beautiful. Ugg, the faster you get them off the better. It reminds me of what I did to poor ‘Spikey-Wikey’ and his heart.”
Green light reflected off the recesses of the library. The brief burst of light dissipated. Rarity stretched her hooves before she looked to her sides. She gave a bitter-sweet sigh.
“I’m sorry…” Spike said, his voice trailing off while he rubbed his right arm. The dragon stepped out into the center of the library. His face remained low, his eyes fixated on the ground. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, Rari—“
The little dragon felt himself cut short. Spike looked at Rarity to his left, Twilight at his right. A warm, gentle hug greeted him from both sides via his friends. He scratched his left arm with his right claw.
“Where have you been?” Both mares said in unison.
“Do you mind if I tell you in the morning? I need to think about some things.” Spike said.
Rarity placed her hoof in front of Twilight. The suave mare nodded to her friend. Both watched their friend depart up the stairs, dragging his feet more than usual.
Of to the left side of his basket, the new issue of power ponies lay untouched. Spike's heavy eyelids closed.
“Time is said to heal all wounds” he remembered from a book Twilight asked him to fetch one day. Spike turned over and curled up with his blanket covering him. A final tear rolled down his nose and hit the floor beneath his basket. It shattered on the cold floor as he said, “What happens now?”