Chapters )Between Spikes and Thorns(
)Between Spikes and Thorns (
written by TheGrownSpike
Chapter 1: Changes
The dark clouds in the sky slowly approaching and making the threat of the second day of constant rain covered up the Sun once more, making the dark cave even darker than what it already was. I know I should have asked Twilight for a a lantern, or maybe even a light spell that would make this place look less gloomy than it is. Good thing that my eyes could get used to the darkness faster than others could, something about my species that I had learned as I grew up upon reading it from one of many of Twilight's heavy and dusty books.
Only a few sentences and fragments of said sentences of the hard cover book stayed in my mind, probably because I didn't really need to use them on a daily basis until a few weeks ago. I would be more specific about the time, but sadly, I seemed to have lost track of it, as a prisoner would do on a cell. Then again, I have no excuse, since I could see the Sun moving across the sky if I just walk outside, or the moon, for that matter, if only the weather allowed it. But I can't really blame the weather when I just have been lazy lately.
Before I lost every bit of light, however, I managed to find a comfortable place to lay down, curling my large tail by the side of my body, which reached my neck in lenght with ease. Looking down along it, I noticed I still needed to find a way to trim the green scales that trailed down the tail, escalating until they reached my head, which fashioned some kind of “mane” per say. I always liked trimming them, mostly because a certain mare constantly crammed my head during my teenage years full of notions about how I should always look my best to attract females back to my cave... Hu. “My cave”. Saying that still sounds weird, now that I think about it.
This place needs some sprucing up, maybe I'll be able to move a few rocks here and there, and if I could blast a bit of the wall right there by the formation of stalactites I would have more light in this place. Good thing this cave isn't too deep, at least for me.
This position was being painful, so I turned around to now lay on my back, which ended being more painful than before! Blasted pebbles were not only annoying, they jabbed in the back as well! The thick purple scales managed to protect my body, but it still felt uncomfortable. No problem though, if I use my tail as a broom, I think I'll be able to get rid of most of them.
My annoyed grunts would have to wait, though, since I noticed something approaching the entrance of the cave. By now, the rain was already pouring down and clashing against the rocky floor, resonating along the walls of the empty cave; well, empty plus one dragon. While the rain would make it even harder to distinguish something in the dark, what brought my attention to it was a glowing light that the shadow brought with it. I decided to get up on all fours, since standing on my rear legs was somewhat impossible because of the low ceiling; have you ever hit with your head on a rock ceiling? It hurts a lot, as you might have guessed.
-”I thought that maybe you could use some company, is all. Here, I brought some gems for you. Courtesy of Rarity.” The purple mare smiled, uncovering a basket she carried with her and revealing several rubies that glistened thanks to the light provided by her horn.
-”Oh, sorry, I've been meaning to decorate it a bit. I was just thinking in maybe adding another opening to make more light come in.” I replied, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she had to see that cave as bare as it was.
-”I guess that could work. So... how are you holding up?” Twilight didn't sigh. But her eyes sure seem to reflect how badly she wanted to.
-”The cave isn't that bad, I got used to it. I'm just glad it's this close to Ponyville, at least. But I still think it was a bad idea for you to come here by your own. What if you got attacked on your way here?” She walked closer, nudging my side gently with a heartwarming... dare I say, motherly smile. It had brought me comfort ever since I was little and began living with Twilight by my side. It was the kind of smile that would make me stop crying when I was little, and it probably would still work if I cried.
-”You worry too much. When I left the library it wasn't raining, but the weather team insisted that Ponyville needed some more water, and it's not like I could ask them to stop while I was on my way. A little rain never hurt anyone. Oh, I also brought you this!” She put her right hoof down to the basket's bottom, taking from there a round shaped, pink candle, decorated with a wavy, rainbow color pattern by the middle of it.
-”I'm going to guess it's from Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, right?” I chuckled, since it wasn't very hard to tell it from the colors.
-”Kinda. I had the idea of the candle, but they decided what colors to use. Pinkie was a bit insistent that we should use a confetti pattern, while Rainbow Dash wanted the candle to look cooler. We decided to use a mixture of them in the end, I hope it doesn't look too silly.” It was far from it. If anything, it brought some joy to the cave, some color. And I was sure it would smell wonderfully as well. Twilight walked over to a rock with a flat surface and put the candle there, making sure it was centered on top of it.
-”Do you want to do the honors?”
-”Sure, I would be glad to! Thanks for the present, Twi.” I wanted my next words to be “I miss you and the others so much”, but that would destroy the mood that her cheerful present brought to me. After inhaling, I blew up the dark green flames, careful that it was only the amount of fire required to light it and not enough to make it melt. Once the candle was lit, an aroma only compared to strawberries and peaches filled the cavern air and made me close my eyes and inhale it with glee, another smile growing in my face.
-”Wow, that smells really good. Why the scented candle though? I mean, I like it, but it kinda seems like an odd present, ya know.” Twilight giggled and arched a brow at me, the mare forced to lean her head back to look me in the eyes.
-”Spike, you have terrible breath after you spit fire.” That was something that made me blush really hard from embarrassment, but I had to wonder if my cheeks would turn crimson like it could happen to other ponies. I could probably think of something to tell her, sure, but it proved futile since... it was true. The smell of sulfur didn't even made other dragons flinch, but it certainly did to others.
-”Hehe, don't worry about it, I understand it is a perfectly normal thing for dragons to do, and don't take it wrong, this present isn't meant to offend you. I just thought it would look nice.”
-”Oh, haha, very funny. I can't help it, you know?” My tongue stuck out at her in a playful manner, making her stick out hers as well, with both of us now laughing at how silly we both looked at that moment. The laughter ended with her nudging over the basket with rubies next to me.
-”You're not hungry?”
-”I'll eat them later, thanks. Say hi to the others for me when you return, will ya?”
-”Oh! Speaking about the others, I also brought good news!” Twilight said joyfully, in a way that it seemed like her memory needed a push to deliver this good news.
)Between Spikes and Thorns(
)Between Spikes and Thorns(
written by TheGrownSpike
Chapter 2: Pink Party Pony
-”Woah, wait, what do you mean with “Pinkie's getting married”? I thought she said more than a million times that she didn't want a ring around her hoof to tie her down!” I asked after snapping out of my temporary state of shock. It's not like I wasn't happy for her, far from it, it just seemed awkward that a free spirit such as Pinkie agreed to something like that. Back when I was still allowed to live in the library, when I was still only big enough to reach the tallest shelves of the bookcases, I loved when Pinkie came to visit.
The pink party pony, the celebrity of celebrations, the mistress of casual meetings, so many nicknames she earned as she got older, her bright attitude was kept. If anything changed was the occasional change of how her mane was styled. From time to time, instead of her “poofy”-looking mane, which I liked to compare to cotton candy, her mane would be combed over to lay neatly by the sides of her ears, like how it used to happen when Pinkie felt really, really sad. The difference was that she smiled as brightly as ever when she had her mane like that; he liked it that way.
I still remember when she came to Twilight to tell everything, and I mean EVERYTHING: how she was going to become the best baker in all Equestria, about how Gummy began growing larger and larger and she couldn't release him in the swamp because he meant so much to her, how every stallion was an insensitive jerk that didn't care about her feelings when she was dumped, how every mare was an insensitive jerk because they didn't care about her feelings when she was dumped again, and so on... I could never figure out why she started hanging out with Twilight so much around that time, as far as I know, she still hanged out with the rest of the group, just not as often as she did with Twi. But like I said before, I enjoyed her company, and the routine was almost always the same: Pinkie arrived, Twilight would be usually sitting at the table in the center of the library and then nod at me so that I would go to a small kitchen at the back, recently made too, and go make some tea.
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-”Can you believe it, Twilight?!” the pink party pony waved her front hooves around, pulling her mane down as if she was stretching it and biting down on her lower lip. Twilight sat in front of her sighing and rubbing her head with her eyes closed, as if she needed some alone time with herself to understand what was happening to Pinkie.
-”So, wait, you've been dating him for, what, a week now?” Pinkie quickly reacted by taking a large, round shaped clock from her still poofy mane, making it swing in front of Twilight's muzzle.
-”Six days, seventeen hours, twenty three minutes and four hundred and fifty five seconds!” Twilight moved the clock away with her right hoof, arching a brow at Pinkie, who was now leaning on the table with a rather adorable pouty face. It really looked like she was hurt with whatever he had done to her.
-”Pinkie, there's only sixty seconds in a minute...”
-”That's not the point! How could he forget about Gummy's birthday?!” Pinkie planted her face on the table with a big sigh.
-”How can he forget such an important date?” Twilight reached forward to rub Pinkie's mane gently with her right hoof, smiling down at her, even though she couldn't see it.
-”Pinkie, you know you can remember birthdays and other important dates much better than anyone else. Just because he can't remember it doesn't mean you should be so upset... Give him some more time to get used to be around with you this often.” Pinkie's eyes then popped out among her mane, covered in tears. I could question how one could move her head under her mane like that, but, we're talking about Pinkie here.
-”Twilight, why does it hurt so much to love someone...?” The pink pony whimpered, making Twilight sigh once again and pulled her up from the table and onto the side, giving her a big hug and using that tone. You know the tone I'm talking about. It's the tone that a mother uses to comfort her son or daughter, the voice that makes it all better and scare away any worries. I loved it when she used that tone.
-”That's the kind of love that's really special. And you know he's a special one, we all know it. We've known him for a long time now, after all. Everypony I know loves him.”
-”Make that everyONE, Twi.” I chuckled as I made my way into the room, carrying a metal tray with two cups of tea already filled half way with some daisy tea, and laying it down on the table. My paws straightened the pink apron I still wore, only that now it had been adjusted for my size. Pinkie gasped and sat down by the side of the table again, looking at the tea and inhaling its scent.
-”Hmmm, Spike, that smells so good! I didn't knew you had talent for kitchen stuff!” her smile broadened across her cheeks. I still haven't met anyone who could smile as widely as that girl.
-”Oh, c'mon, hehe... It's just tea, it's nothing complicated. You're making me blush... but carry on.”
-”Spiiiiiiike...” Twilight trailed off, looking at me with that brow arched and smiling at the same time, as I blushed from embarrassment. Not my fault that I liked to get compliments.
-”It's alright Twilight, Spiky just likes to be told how good he is! You're growing into a big handsome dragon, you know? Oh yeah, what about your back?”
-”Still hurts like a stepping on a thorn.” That was the time when I had really bad back pains, which made me grunt from time to time as I tried to find something to make it hurt less, but with no avail.
-”It doesn’t hurt as much as yesterday, I think I'm getting better, actually.” No use for worrying others about my problems.
-”It's not like I can do anything about it, sadly.” Twilight used her horn to levitate the book about dragon curiosities, which was always in the same spot: third row, right next to the latest story of Daring Do and "Don't Do what Danny Dragon Does", a children's book that taught them how to not run around with scissors or annoy parasprites. A quite nice illustrated book with pictures of a dragon doing bad stuff and ponies then pointing at him and saying “Danny don't!”. Couldn't be more specific than that. She brought the book closer to her on the table, right next to the tea, and flipped through the pages until she stopped at the chapter she wanted, showing it to Pinkie.
-”That's Spike's wings growing, that's why he has two two lumps on his back, see?” she grabbed me and turned me around for Pinkie to look at what she was mentioning. Luckily I was able to not stumble and fall.
-”Hey, careful! I almost tripped, Twi.”
-”Oooohhh, wow, that's gonna be sooo important, Spike! I can't believe how fast you're growing up! Pretty soon you're gonna get a girlfriend, and then you're gonna get a wedding and then kids and then cake andasupermassiveultrapartythatI'mgonnamakebutdon'tworrybecauseit'sgonnabeultraawesomenandI'mgonnamakesurethatit'llhaveeverythingadragonlikesand-” And Pinkie began the motorboat mouth. I still have no idea how she can do that, those lips opened and closed so fast that they almost seemed like a blur to me. This was the time when we would just let her speak and nod at whatever she said, trying to not make our smiles too awkward.
-”...And that's how Rainbow Dash won the race!” I think our ears did a little cheer when she stopped talking. Oh, how silence could be so golden!
-”I don't think Rainbow Dash is gonna race for quite some time, Pinkie. No doctor would ever let her do that. Even flying around should be taken to a minimum.” Twilight managed to speak when Pinkie seemed to try regaining her breath back. Trying to get back on topic was pretty much useless when Pinkie began ranting like this, so we all just agreed on changing the topic to whatever she stopped at. So now we would have to talk about Rainbow Dash... Oh joy...
-”Oh yeah, she's pretty upset about it. Well, that's what happen when you-”
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“-Spike? Hellooooo?” Twilight waved a hoof up high, as if trying to reach my face. I shook my head and looked down at her.
-”Oh! S-Sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff. “
-”Oh Spike, even as a big dragon you're still the same as I remembered.” she giggled and hugged my leg, making me smile once again and reach my right paw down to rub it along her back. How could such a short pony -at least short compared to me- bring so much warmth to my heart? The scented candle's flame swooned according to the direction of the wind that blew from time to time, making the rain change direction as it fell from the sky.
-”Hey, have you... been alright by yourself?” Twilight asked as she held against my leg. The second time she asked me this, only with a slight variation on the way she made the question before.
-”I wish I could be here everyday, but I'm still needed in Ponyville.” My wings unfolded, stretching as far as they could inside the cave and then wrapped around the purple mare that seemed to cling against me as hard as she could, as if she was afraid I would vanish at any moment.
-”I'm going ok, don't worry. I got used to live in here, like I said, I just need to make it more... homely. Actually, I think I'm gonna use the gems Rarity gave me to start making my hoarding pile.”
-”Oh, I've read about that. It's like a symbol of power and masculinity, isn't it? Sorry, I couldn't help in reading a lot of dragon lore before I came to visit. It's... weird how much time we've spent together and how little I learned about your species.”
-”Hehe, if it makes you feel any better, I'm still leaning it as I go along! So who's coming to the wedding?” I asked, trying to make Twilight feel a bit more cheerful again. I didn't want to cry at that point, it would ruin the purpose of her happy visit.
-”So far, pretty much everyone we know. Rainbow is the one that's having some trouble.” Twilight giggled with a hoof in front of her, moving to sit on her haunches by my side now. The wings covered my view of her, so I folded them behind my back.
-”Hmm? Why is that? Didn't she get the invitations or something?”
-”No, no, she did, and so did Soarin'. It's the other one they have to worry about.” I needed some time to think about what she meant, and when I did, I let out a big laugh at the same time she laughed.
-”That kid of theirs is being troublesome as always, hu?”
-”Yeah, try putting a fancy tux on that little colt and he might buck your teeth out.”
-”Like mother, like son...” Twilight simply nodded in agreement.
)Between Spikes and Thorns(
)Between Spikes and Thorns(
Chapter 3: The kiss
“-This storm seems to be getting worse... ” I shivered at the really loud sound that struck at a distance. At least I didn't saw the disturbing flash of light that lightning always did before the powerful thunder bolt made the very earth itself tremble when it came down from the sky, as if a mighty alicorn wanted vengeance on something or someone.
“-Storm? Well, it's raining, sure, but I don't see any signs of it getting wor-” Twilight's words were interrupted by a bright flash that brightened up the whole cave, making her eek and give a little jump in the air. The conversation about the wedding seemed to have halted temporarily for now.
“-Woah! I guess you were right, it seems like a storm is closing in fast. The thunder shouldn't take long to strike. You're not scared, are you?” The purple mare asked me in a half mocking, yet playful tone, as I tried to put on the bravest face I could for her, denying it with my head. Her reply was just her throwing a ruby from the basket she carried before to my paws.
“-Just eating one won't do you any harm. I know that you like to eat whenever you're scared. Even if you get as tall as a castle, you'll still be the baby dragon I always cared for on the inside, you know?” I gave a big bite on the gem, gulping it down without chewing too much on it. It looked like it was time to thank her for all she did. All the stuff she had to put up with as I grew up. And yet, for as much as I had to thank her, it seemed like no words came to my mouth at all. My mind tried searching for something, anything that would seem adequate to say, but this was one of those times when words can't say how much you're thankful for someone. It didn't meant I couldn't try, though.
“-Twi, I... I wanted you to know that...”
“-You don't need to say anything, Spike. I guess I just... miss you around from time to time, is all. The library feels really empty without you around, but Sweetie Bell still comes by from time to time to catch up on her readings.”
“-Oh, that's... that's cool, I guess. So I guess you have another bookworm to keep you company there, eh?” I tried to chuckle, but it ended up sounding a bit awkward. Twilight gave me a playful smack on the leg, knowing it was almost impossible for her to hurt me through my thick scales.
“-She still reads a lot about dragons, you know? Especially that book called Dragon Curiosities and You. It's really fascinating to see how she became so interested in literature. Then again, she did have some incentive, wouldn't you say so, Spike?” The unicorn giggled, making a small embarrassment of my part as I tried to look at the side and not blush too much at it. It was this kind of conversations that made old memories pop in...
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“-HEY, SWEETIE BELLE! ARE YOU THERE???” I shouted loudly at the Cutie Mark Crusaders tree house, crossing my small paws over my chest, frowning slightly as I waited for what it seemed like hours. Then again, I was really impatient when I was younger. The white unicorn then popped her head out of the house, putting her hoof in front of her mouth in a “shh!” motion, followed by the mentioned sound. Her hoof made a fast gesture for me to climb up the ladder, which I decided to do, wondering what was making her being so secretive about it. Once on top, she quickly rushed over to me and shook me by my shoulders.
“-Spike, I need your help! It's very, VERY important that no one else knows about this!” Belle pointed over to a big pile of stacked papers, rushing over to them and dragging me along.
“-I've been spying on Smooth Moves for months now, and I finally found out a perfect way to get him to meet me!” She giggled girlishly, though I had to arch a brow at that.
“-So... you called me here because you wanted to tell me that you found a way to get that stuck up colt to like you?” Belle seemed to get really angry at this.
“-Hey, he's not stuck up! He's such a rebel with that long, blonde mane to die for that matches his white body, those untrimmed hooves of his. One time, he even chewed bubblegum in class~” She didn't last long on the sentence before sighing with a dreamy look stamped on her face, making me roll my eyes.
“-Sweetie Belle, he keeps telling everyone how rich and handsome he is, and even insults the other colts who try to be his friends! There's a reason why he doesn't have a girlfriend, you know?”
“-Pff, that's because all the other girls are quitters! I, on the other hoof, am going to capture his heart and then make him my own!” Belle said with confidence, lifting some papers with her magic to float in front of me, which were mostly drawings of her and Smooth Moves kissing.
“-Tomorrow it's gonna be the Full Moon Cupid Night celebration. I'm going to confess my love for him at the hill top. I'll invite him over saying I have something really important to tell him, and then he'll fall in love with me once we stay by ourselves looking at the moon!”
“-You're going to invite him over to the hill top on the FMCNC day? That's the day known for when a colt and a filly share their first kiss together under the moonlight, right?”
“-Exactly! And since everypony is going to stay at the village admiring how big the full moon looks on that night, me and Smooth are going to be sharing our first kiss all by ourselves~”
“-Well, ok, I guess... Why did you wanted to tell me, though? Does Apple Bloom and Scootaloo know about this plan of yours yet?” Bell sighed, blushing a bit from embarrassment.
“-I can't tell them, because I don't want them to get jealous once they know I got a boyfriend. What if they stop being my friends because of that? And I told you because I don't want to wait for him alone up that hill all by myself.” I huffed and some smoke came out of my nostrils as I heard that.
“-If you ask me, I think it's a bit of a stupid thing to think of AB and Scoots. They're your best friends, they would never stop being your friend just because you got a boyfriend! Urgh... but fine, I'll bring you to the hill top while you wait for him.” I gave a defeated sigh, and Belle humped up to give me a big hug, thanking me multiple times for the favor I was doing her. The next day passed without any important events, and once the night settled in, I tip-toed my way outside, making sure that Twilight was asleep on her bed. Me and Belle met at the Sugarcube Corner and walked over to the hill. Ah, how I remember her in those emerald clip-on earrings she wore that night, it really made her look twice as beautiful in my eyes. We didn't talk on the way up there, though it was easy to see that Belle was feeling nervous once we reached the hill top. She walked over to a tree and sat on her haunches, her back turned to the bark.
“-Maybe he'll take a little longer to arrive.” she said, looking at me now, giggling as I gave a big yawn, exposing my growing fangs.
“-Sorry that I dragged you here at this hour.”
“-H-Hu? Oh, no, it's ok, I guess. I still don't see what you want with Smooth, though.” Belle pouted again, getting up and stomping her right hoof on the grass.
“-I told you, he's NOT a jerk! Why are you insisting on calling him that?!”
“-Because he's not a good friend, he bullies other ponies, and he most probably won't treat you well! Being in love with him is just stupid!”
“-Oh yeah? Well... What do you know about love, anyway? You're in love with my sister and you can't even see that she doesn't like you as more than just a friend! So you're the one who's stupid, you big dummy!” her angry response left me devastated, making me look down at the grass at my feet. The white unicorn quickly realized she said something really mean as she lowered her ears.
“-S-Spike, I... I didn't want to say that.”
“-N-No, it's ok. You're right. I've been thinking a lot lately, and you're right, me and Rarity are never going to be together. I don't really see what we have in common anymore, maybe growing up is doing that to me. I guess I just wanted to... ya know, feel loved.”
“-Well... you're still a dummy, you know? There are other girls that like you, and you couldn't see it because you were always making googly eyes at my sister.”
“-Other girls? Like who?” I was pretty confused with this, though it then hit me, just as Belle spoke again.
“-I... think I kinda like you, Spike. As more than just a friend.” She spoke in a half hurried tone, a blushing tone marking her cheeks.
“-To be honest, I'm not really sure that I like Smooth as much as you. I mean, I love that he's a rebel and a free spirit that plays by his own rules, but... Well, you're kinda cute too.” Now it was my time to blush, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. I didn't knew what to say. This was the first time a girl actually showed this kind of affection towards me, wanting to be more than just a friend.
“-You...you are... pretty cute too, ya know?” I managed to blurt out, still unable to look her in the eyes.
“-So you were going to settle for Smooth because... you thought I wouldn't like you? As in, like like like?”
“-I guess so... But it's ok if you... don't want to be my boyfriend! I'll understand, really!” There was an awkward silence for a while, and we sat down with out backs against the tree, with the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, our eyes looking up at the moon.
“-Wow... the moon really does look big tonight. I don't think that Smooth Moves is going to show up, though. I think we've been here for more than an hour now.” Belle shook her head.
“-I don't think I want Smooth anymore...”
“-Are you sure? Because... I don't think I can be a rebel and a free spirit like him.” I blushed with a small smile, turning my face to look at her, our eyes meeting with a different glare than they ever met before.
“-I'm sure. But only if you're sure too... I mean, I can't help you find gems like my sister can, you know?” Our muzzles slowly approached, I swear I could feel my whole body shaking, it was almost like I was hypnotized by her beauty.
“-Right now... you're the only gem I need, Belle.” That was the last thing I said before she gave the last push forward and pressed her lips against mine, both of us closing our eyes and letting the moonlight shine over two new lovers.
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“-You were thinking about her right now, weren't you?” Twilight giggled, nudging my side again, causing me to snap out of it and rub the back of my head.
“-Hey, she was my first kiss, ok? It would be really hard to forget about her just like that.” The candle that was still lit swayed lightly to the wind that blew through the cave, though it was like the wind itself made sure it wasn't harsh enough to put it out. Then, the thunder sound finally hit, echoing through the cave in all it's might, making me flinch and lower myself to lay down on my belly by instinct, as I did so many times before during my childhood. Twilight then reached her right hoof and trailed it along my back with that motherly smile that I was proud to say that it belonged to me.
“-Don't worry, Spike. I'm here for you. I always will be...” Her tone was really alluring, and it made me go to sleep, letting me have the best night of sleep I've ever had ever since I had to move to this cave. Some said she was like a big sister to me, and others said we were just friends. But to me, Twilight was my mother, and the one I owed everything I had in this life.
To be continued...
Author's note: I apologize for how long it took to make the next chapter. I'll try to make the rest of them be published faster.