Where We Belongby The Wandering DraconianChaptersPrologueEncounterNew BegginingsPrologueWhere We Belong One year. It had already been one year. Spike lay awake, staring up at the ceiling of his cave. He was lucky enough to have found one so large, and with a viable stream of water coming in. Even though he was lucky to have a place to call home so deep in the badlands, and even closer to the oceans coast, his mind was plagued with loneliness. To think that he was already twenty-seven and was still searching for his place in the world. And to think that he had left Twilight and her friends a year to date, a decision he regretted making only a month in to his departure. Twilight. A name he once associated with family, but considered now to be just short of a friend. After her coronation, both of them had moved into the newly formed castle, and she started her role as a princess of Equestria. Back then she was different; nice, fun, dedicated to her studies, and a pony who could really brighten your day. But after a few years of taking on the role, she started to change. She hid her emotions, was reclusive, and seldom spent time with her friends. Her dedication to her role as a princess began to override her true personality, and he got the short end of the stick as a result. Twilight had begun to distance herself from him so she could spend more time tending to her role as an influential figure. Rarely did she spend time with him, or treat him like the family she claimed him to be. Every time he asked her to do something with him she would shut him out with the same excuse that she used for everyone; that she was far too busy with “princess matters”. The only time she would actively talk to him was when she was asking him to do chores. Even after becoming a princess she somehow found more work from him. Part of this was due to the fact that there was a far larger library stationed inside of the castle, but sometimes it seemed as though she would purposely make more work for him to silence his requests for brother-sister time. Even though Spike had grown up considerably in the passing decade, he still was treated like a child by Twilight. He was already a good 2 heads taller than twilight, and stronger that even Big Mac, but the facts seemed to have little effect on his position. Not only was he stronger, but, in a vague sense, as smart as Twilight. He even had lost his love for Rarity after seeing numerous suitors come and go, taking it as a sign she had other plans for life. He didn’t hold it against her that she never returned his feelings, even if it did appear that she was simply using him. One time he even comforted her after a particularly bad breakup with some high ranking general in the Royal Guard. Heck, the only ponies who treated him as an adult were Applejack, Fluttershy, and Derpy Hooves. He had few things to hold against the main six in his decision, but all of these things made Spike reminisce over what had happened just a little over a year ago. ~~One Year and One Day~~ ~~Winter Wrap Up~~ Spike began his walk home from Rarity’s boutique, thinking over what had just transpired. Rarity had invited him along on a gem hunting trip, which he accepted out of compliance with their monthly tradition. Everything was just like it had been for the last two years; he would go help Rarity for the day, they would sit down and talk about life stuff, then he would be back on his way home. Only today was different. Although he had let up on pursuing Rarity, she still held a place in his heart, a place that disappeared in about five seconds when they reached the boutique. Upon walking in the door, a stallion by the name of Thunderlane stood in the entrance, a bouquet of roses ranging from white to lavender clamped firmly in his jaw. Rarity, half out of surprise and joy, quickly trotted over him, leaving Spike at the door. He watched from the open doorway as the stallion made a few comments, most of which he could not make out, then Rarity practically threw her fore-hooves at him and wrapped him in an embrace. They walked out of the main room and towards Rarity’s ‘inspiration room,' completely neglecting his presence, a somewhat surprising feat given his size. Spike continued his walk home, dragging his claws in the dirt at the knockout punch to his pride. He had seen her with stallions before, but never once seen her openly accept one in his presence. It only really hurt because he was completely forgotten in about ten seconds flat. Looking up, spike noticed the crystal castle the stood before him. “Just another day...” Spike muttered under his breath, a face that almost spoke sadness. Spike pushed open the large doors to the castle, proceeding to his chambers finally get some rest. On his way up, Twilight yelled from her study. “Spike? Spike! I need you to come here and clean up the study. I have to leave for Canterlot tomorrow for a meeting with the ambassadors from the Griffon Kingdom and I don’t have time to deal with this mess!" Spike froze on the steps and hung his head low at the sound of the command. Turning his neck, he looked past his folded wings back down the stairs towards the study. Reluctantly, Spike put off his need for sleep and descended the stairs and proceeded towards his impending chore. Upon entering the study, Spikes jaw dropped at the scene. All around the study, there were books strewn about the floor, spilled inkwells, broken quills, crumpled paper, and a bowl of something that Twilight was apparently eating. Spike stared at the mess for a good minute before Twilight appeared behind him. “I need the books returned to their proper place, the stains from the inkwells cleaned up, the quills thrown away and replaced, along with the ink, the paper put in the recycling, and the dishes cleaned. I have to go to sleep and prepare for the meeting tomorrow, but I have faith that you can finish this in no time.” Twilight started to walk away when he finally spoke up. “Twilight! It’s only 6:30! And how did you manage pull out half the books from the shelves!?” Spike walked towards one of the books and picked it up, reading the title. “How is this even relevant to anything you are studying? What does A Stallion's Pride have anything to do with your study of aquatic plant life?” Spike proceeded to walk over to bookshelf to put it away, but then noticed that something was off... “Twilight... why are all of the books in the romantic novels section splayed across the floor... and why are there books missing from the fictional adventure section?” Twilight looked down, fumbling with her words in a desperate attempt to come up with an excuse, but Spike spoke again before she could reply. “Twilight, why are you doing this? I wasn’t even going to ask you if were busy! I was helping Rarity all day digging gems and I just want to go to sleep! Can’t a drake catch a break without his sister purposely destroying her study to keep him occupied for Celestia knows why?” Twilight looked back at him, sporting an emotional mask to hide her own guilt of the situation. “Spike, can you please just clean this up? I really do have important matters to attend to the morning.” She spoke with a calm tone that was rather unwarranted in the given situation. Spike lifted his head, staring twilight in the eyes, and balled his claws into a fist. He was about ready to hit her upside the face, but lost his motivation, and spoke with a voice that could freeze fire. “Fine” Spike had set to work on the record mess almost 6 hours ago and he only had a few more books left to put away, and a stain on the ground. When he first began the monstrous task, he immediately strode over to the main desk, carefully avoiding the piles of books and ink puddles on the floor. Picking up the bowl of mysterious food, he took a quick sniff to see just what the grey paste, soup… thing… was. He soon regretted his curiosity, and reared his head back from the onslaught of foul spells emanating from the dish. He couldn't even describe how horrible it was, gaging. Never before had he seen something so bland and terrible, and was certain it was something they would feed to the prisoners in Tartus. Upon completion the assignment, Spike dragged himself up the stairs, mumbling some uncouth phrases pertaining to Twilight and her ‘royal duties’ to the solar princess. Spike silently trudged to his quarters, plopping himself down on his oversized bed. Spike rolled over onto his side, staring out the window at Luna’s night. “Things are just so different from what they used to be...” Spike muttered to himself, still staring out the window, watching stars. He had kept a lot of secrets from Twilight over the years, for personal reasons, but they never interfered with his life with her. Thinking back to a few hours ago, he was now contemplating just what he means Twilight. As sleep came to take him into the dreamscape, a few thoughts made themselves known to Spike. “There just isn’t anything here for me anymore...” Spike awoke the next morning, it being an hour past noon already. He wondered why he wasn’t woken by Twilight, but then remembered her meeting. Spike climbed downstairs and into the dining hall, then proceeded to make himself some sapphire pancakes with what was left of his gem supply. “At least some things never change.” Spike smirked, staring at his freshly made breakfast, then, after lathering on a heavy dose of syrup, proceeded to eat the meal in peaceful silence. Spike thought back to what happened the prior night, then back to his plan. He wandered over into the castle’s study quarters, then, grabbing a quill and parchment, wrote his letter. Dear Twilight, After recent years it has come to my attention that my presence has seemed to become a... burden in your eyes. With what transpired last night, and many other nights, I have decided to find my own path in life. I’m sorry that it somehow came to this, but with even my presence in Ponyville being one of novelty, I feel that there just isn’t a future for me here. Tell the others, but make sure to say that I’m sorry to Fluttershy. I know how much she loved spending time with me and her animals, even though she is still rather afraid ever since my last growth spurt, and I hold nothing against her. But remember Twilight, my decision wasn’t based on your actions alone, but many others. Other things... happened yesterday, and if you really want to know, you could probably ask Rarity. Now this isn’t goodbye, for I will be back later. I just need time to myself, and although you may find it drastic... I won’t be back, for what I plan to be, ten years. Everyone has their place in the world, and it’s high time I found mine. Your Friend, Spike. Spike read the letter over several times before tacking it to her bedroom door. He walked back down to the study, grabbed another parchment, and wrote another note, this one to Celestia. It was a simple letter, simply stating that he would stay in touch with her after he left, but that she not tell anyone of his future conditions, with the exception of Luna. Spike rolled up the letter, and blew a gout of his emerald flames, sending the letter on to its destination. He went back upstairs, gathered a few simple keepsakes, and flew off towards the Badlands. Author's Note First fiction so yea... Just give me an idea of what you think of initial plot setup. Encounter~~Present Day~~ Spike sat up, staring around his cave, looking at the blandness of the stone walls. He had moved in three months ago, so why hasn’t he made it feel more like a home? Spike levitated a few rocks, spinning them in the air to amuse himself. Magic, a wonderful thing that came with his second growth spurt, along with his wings. He had discovered it in the kitchen, while trying to reach the bowl of gems up in the kitchen cupboard. Unable to reach them, even with his growth spurt, he cursed Twilight for limiting access to his favorite snack. Still thinking about the gems, spike imagined them in his claws, ready to be crushed by his powerful jaws. Unbeknownst to him, the gems were sliding out of the cupboard, encased in a aurora of cold, emerald flames. He kept up the image in his head, but pushed it aside after a moment of self-loathing. As he started to walk away, the bowl, heavily laden with gems, fell from his magical grip, landing dead center on his head and nearly knocking him unconscious. Those gems fell from a good 5 feet, and the shear blunt force sent him reeling in pain to the floor. Standing up, he realized what he had done after a moment of pondering, and proceeded to return the gems the way they came down. Spike kept the incident under wraps, hoping that twilight wouldn’t find out about his newfound magic. Twilight. He knew what she would have done to him had she found out. Extensive tests, invasive studies, intense training... needles!! He dared not imagine what other emotionally scarring things Twilight might do to him if he revealed his secret, so he hid it from virtually everyone for his own well-being. Since Spike left Twilight, he was able to use his magic freely, and soon discovered just what his magic was. Most of it was similar to unicorn magic, with the difference being that most of it was based on the use of fire. He even found that he could use the same method of sending letters to Celestia to teleport himself to virtually anywhere, though he mostly just used it to escape sight of the other dragons at the nearby volcano and to reach his grape patch in the woods just East of his home. Along with his growth spurt the was the maturing of his own mind. Aside from being a tad more mentally inclined, it also gave his control over his emotions, and a way to control his greed induced growth at will. Still scarred from the greed growth he had experienced in his younger years, Spike found it to be a blessing that he wouldn't have to go through it again.. Spike continued to twirl the stones in the air, thinking about what he should do. Spike walked out of his sleeping area and into the main cavern. The cave was large, and had 5 other smaller caves branching off of the first. He looked at the cave entrance, light flooding in and over his emerald scales. He looked around the empty room, then, with a sudden burst of motivation, set to work on renovating the entire cave system into a type of underground home. He knew it would take a long to time to finish, but was prepared to work until the end if it meant he could live in a place that was a tad more homely. Spike walked back into his room, grabbed a few rubies to snack on, and went to work. ~~Six Months Pass~~ Early morning. A time that spike had begun to despise since summer came around. Spike sat in bed, limbs splayed across the sheets in a way that looked rather uncomfortable. He sat up, looking again at the wonders he worked on the cave. With the addition of actual doors, and an entrance to the outside world that firmly closed to keep the smaller creatures out, and the use of the stream to help with indoor plumbing, he had managed to make what once was a cave into a grand, underground home that would compete with even Celestia’s living quarters. With the mineshaft he dug out to acquire marble, precious metals, and even gemstones, Spike was able to fashion everything he could need in a home, from a bed and shower, to elegant plates and silverware to accommodate his recently finished kitchen. He had everything he could need, and was once able to trade with a traveling salespony to get some blankets for his bed and those in the spare room. Why he had a spare room his did not know, but he needed to do something with the area, and already had a room dedicated to valuables and keepsakes. At least, he bought them from him after chasing him a half mile and getting him to calm down. The color from the stallion’s coat drained when he first spotted Spike. Spike was forced to give chase just to be able to talk to the frightened mess, taking nearly ten minutes just to convince him he wasn’t going to eat him. After taking the pony back to his home, and showing him around a bit, he was able to befriend him. They shared a slightly tension-filled meal that consisted of wild grapes and a few vegetables he found growing around in the nearby forest. The pony was confused at the lack of meat on Spike’s plate until he told him out his dietary habits, and how he had tried meat before, but found it unappealing and rather repulsive, and preferred gemstones far more than fruits and vegetables. After trading a few gems for the spare blankets the pony had with him, the merchant was back on his way to Equestria from his expedition in the Badlands. Spike went into the kitchen and set about preparing breakfast, lighting the torches as he strode through the halls. A plateful worth of gems ranging from topaz to emeralds and a few grapes from that nearby vine in the forest made up his immanent meal. His stomach rumbled, telling him to hurry up with the food. Spike decided it would be best not to argue with his belly, and pulled up a seat at his dinner table. He took a bite of a ruby, savoring the flavor for as long as he could before sinking his teeth into another. Rubies and emeralds, his two favorite gems, though sapphires fought with emeralds for second place. Twilight would never give him enough gems to sate his appetite, saying that they contributed to the little amount of fat that was on his body. He always wanted to tell her that what she clearly didn’t know what she was talking about, but the last time he tried to convince her, she sealed his mouth shut for almost three hours because he was a apparently “distracting her from her studies with unsupported claims and nonsense”. Hypocrite... Spike continued to eat his meal, wondering how the girls were fairing back home. Sure, he sent Celestia a letter every few months, but she rarely referenced the mane six when she replied back. most of the times it was just her saying it was good to hear that he was doing well on his own. Maybe I should send a letter to see how they are actually holding up... He tossed the last sapphire up in the air before chomping down on it with an audible crunch. Spike took the bowl back into the kitchen and set it back up on its shelf. He really didn't have a need to clean his dishes when he only had gems on it... Crap, he had some grapes too. Spike looked back in the bowl, and found a smudge of purple near the bottom, its very presence openly mocking him. He frowned at the inconvenience, hoping that the gaze of a mighty drake might make the mark retreat into nothingness. When it didn't work, he took a quick glance around the room, as if checking for witnesses, then blew a gout of flame into the bowl. looking at the now clean dish, spike gave a small grin and patted himself on the back for thinking up a quick solution to his problem. Spike turned away from the counter and made his way towards the main room. It was only about two in the afternoon, so he had some time to go for a quick flight over the forest. spike made his way outside, the warm sun washing over his buffered scales and sharpened spines. Why Spike took to such meticulous extents to better his appearance he didn't really know. Most of the time he did it just to preoccupy himself and to see just how 'good' he could get himself to look. Each week he took about a day to just polish his scales and sharpen his spines to the point of perfection, even though it didn't really matter. No one was ever around to see him, and he practically closed himself off from other sentient creatures for the most part. Spike took a brief walk and surveyed his surroundings. Thankfully there was very little wind today, making for an easy sail to the ocean and back, and hopefully it would only take a few hours this time. Last time spike made his trip, he was caught in the middle of a thunderstorm that came out of nowhere, and it ended with him crashing into the ground not but a mile from his home. Spike lowered himself to the ground, and with a push and a flap of his wings, he took off towards the sky. He was glad to be going for the trip again, seeing as his wing had only healed a week before, and his accident had grounded him for almost a month. Spike took it upon himself to make it to the shore in only an hour, attempting to double his pace to make cover the necessary ground, but sadly, things didn't go as planned. Not but not ten minute into the flight, as he was admiring the view of the forest, Spike was blindsided, the impact forcing him towards the ground. Catching himself, Spike landed in the dense forest to take shelter. Turning his head, Spike saw his assailant; a slender drake with dark green scales and a white underbelly, and a massive pair of wings adorning his back, almost looking uncomfortable and clumsy. What he saw wasn't a friendly sight, for the other drake had a sadistic smile splayed across his maw. "About time I caught the little spy, and now you're gonna get what's coming for you for spying on us!" The confidence with which he spoke would have made many second guess their chances, but Spike merely shook his head and walked forward, eliciting a growl from the slightly older drake. "So why exactly have you interrupted my flight? I have schedule to keep and would much rather not have to deal with this today." Spike watched as the larger drake furrowed his brow and huffed, releasing a small wisps of smoke into the air. "Don't act like you don't know what you're doing. We've seen you guys watching us from the trees more than once, and when we would try to confront you, you would disappear without a trace! Sounds like everything a spy would do... Watching us to try to learn where we store our hoards so you can steal them while we are away! Well it won't work!" The drake had worked himself up over his own speech, becoming even angrier the longer he spoke. "So you don't even want to try and talk this out, especially seeing as I wasn't spying on you? Geez, I was just watching you guys, it gets boring out here some days. But still, figures, you Badland dragons are all the same... so, it's a fight you want?..." spike's eyes began to glow with emerald flames, claws in tandem with his eyes. "Board my tail! And you think you can scare me with some glowing eyes and claws? Just for that I'm goi--Ahk!!!" The drake couldn't even finish his sentence before Spike had made his move. His leg, encased in an emerald glow, was bent in ways that could give a foal nightmares for years. Spike held an un-breaking poker face as he did the deed. Having had to deal with them for so long, his usual morals and attitude towards other creatures, no matter what race, fell short for the dragons here. Approaching the suffering creature before him, Spike spoke. "And now you see the end result of your misdirected anger. You know, I grew up in place that was just filled with sunshine and rainbow colored ponies, where friendship could conquer anything that stood in your path. But that was before, and being alone for over a year and a half seems to change you when you live in a place with nothing but rocks, mountains, and moronic dragons for miles around." Now filled with terror, the drake tried to scamper away, only to be held by spikes telekinetic grip once more. "P-Please.. just l-let me leave.." He half whimpered, attempting to talk it out with the beast that now loomed over him. "Hm.. now don't those words sound ever so familiar? Oh yea, they do. I gave you the opportunity to leave, or at least talk about what was going on, but nooo... A certain drake just has to be all macho for Celestia knows why... Well, since I have your attention, take my words to heart this time. Leave. Me. Alone. It's that simple. Now go, and if any of your friends ask, tell them you flew into a mountain or some other idiotic mishap. Wouldn't want any of them ending up like you, now would we? I can't say that I would like to have to repeat this incident again, because I honestly would rather avoid fighting." Spike turned around, walking away from the drake writhing in pain, not looking back as he took off once more to finish his flight, leaving the crippled drake in the forest. Author's Note Next chapter will be the true beginning of the fic. The events that have happened are all just plot filler and stuff like that, and the dragon's attempt to confront spike is just leading up to the beginning. Plus, after it gets into the next chapter or two, it can be put into some spike shipping groups. New BegginingsSpike's flight home had been bothersome to say the least. Normally he wouldn't have done something like that so quickly, seeing as he tries to avoid violence, but knew that he had to get his point across to any others that would try to assault him. Spike arrived home just before sunset, walking with noticeable pain in his back due to his flight. Moving over into the center of the main room, spike set out to stretch his sore wings before calling it a day. Every fiber of his wings hurt from the strain he put on then during his journey. He usually took two hours longer to make it back home when he made his flight to the ocean, but he pushed himself to go far faster than usual. Food. He needed It badly. flying for several hours usually did this too him, but today was especially taxing. With his stretching complete, spike made his way down the middle hallway towards the kitchen, igniting the wall torches as he went. Spike searched his cupboard, looking for his special bowl of diamonds that he kept for after workouts. Finding what he was looking for, spike pulled the bowl from the cupboard, eyeing the gems that lay before him. He knew that after he finished up these he would need to go down and find more. Gems were far more scarce in the badlands than in Equestria, and it made finding food especially difficult. This was only compounded by the fact that he had a rather selective diet in comparison to other dragons in the area... Spike took one of the gems, biting it in half. He shuddered as an indescribably amazing flavor washed over his tongue. He would describe the gems as juicy... but after some serious debates with twilight about how to describe the taste of a gem, he decided it would be best to not think about it and just enjoy the them while he still had a few left. Popping the last gem in his open maw, spike made his way into his room and gave a content sigh as he curled up on his bed. The next morning spike awoke to a peculiar noise, sounding almost like clacking stone. He rolled out of bed, landing an all fours, and made his way down the hall, following the noise. Upon nearing his kitchen, the noise became clearer, sounding as though dishware was clinking together. When he poked his head around the corner, spike couldn't believe what he saw. A white and light blue dragoness, inspecting the various plates and kitchenware. Her white scales complimented her light blue underbelly, he unbridled beauty surpassing that of Rarity a hundred fold. She seemed to be admiring the craftsmanship of the many items in the room, occasionally mumbling to herself. Spike sat in the open hallway, openly staring at her... until she turned after about a minute, and the sight of a beautiful dragoness was replaced with a marble bowl. Spike reeled back from the sudden bowl to the face, clutching his slightly swollen snout. "What was that for!?" spike said, his face a little sore from the impact. It hurt more than what he made of it, seeing as it the bowl was solid stone, but wasn't about to show that much weakness to the stranger standing in his kitchen. "Why won't you guys stop following me?? Haven't you ever seen a dragoness before? Everywhere I go it's the same!" she spat, venom seeping from every crack in her voice. Spike sat still, confused by the dragoness's words. "What? I haven't been following you. And just who are you to talk like that after breaking into my home, snooping through my kitchen, and breaking my favorite gem bowl over my face!?" he retorted, watching as the dragoness's expression changed from one of hate to one between confusion and guilt. "I-I'm sorry, I just thought that you were one of them... they were chasing me for almost half an hour outside... and then that's when I found this place..." she looked down as she gestured towards the open space. "Wait, wait... who was following you...?" Spike said, with a hint of worry lacing his words. "The dragons from the nearby mountain. they spotted me as I was flying overhead, and chased me over towards the forest. After diving down under the treetops, I managed to lose them." Spike visibly relaxed upon hearing her finish. "Thank Celestia, I thought for a minute there that you lead them straight here... oh that would have been bad." spike clutched his head, unsettled by the thought of them finding where he lived. "So... Mrs... um.. Could I get your name? I don't quite know how to address you. "O-oh, my name is Azura. I actually had a question... That reference, I've never heard it before. Where exactly did you learn it?" Spike mentally slapped himself for using a reference she wouldn't understand, along with giving away the fact he wasn't actually from the Badlands. Spike shook the matter off and gave a warm smile. "Well, my name is Spike, and before I answer that question," he gave a small smirk, "I would like to know where you are from first." Azura tensed at the request, and slowly answered the question. "I-I'm not really from around here either. Heh heh... yea.." she nervously rubbed the back of her neck as she finished. Spike cocked a sideways grin, "Avoiding the question are we? And as for your answer, it's blatantly obvious that you are from no where around here." spike craned his neck forward, eyeing the suspicious dragoness before him. "So I ask again, where are you from? And try not to be so vague in your answer this time..." Azura stood stock still. She had no doubt that he wasn't from the Badlands, but wasn't sure where else he could be from. "N-No... you're right.. I'm not from anywhere near here. I live in the Draconian Republic, about a five day flight Southeast of here..." She bit her tongue, remembering her direct orders. "so yea.. that's where I am from. Now then, how about you? You don't seem to fit in around here either, seeing as you actually have a nice home?" Now it was spikes turn to be shocked by what he heard. He already had over a million questions to ask here about her homeland, and now opted to question her. "You mean that there is an entire Republic... with other dragons in it?" Spike leaned forward, hopefully awaiting her answer. "Well, yes." she answered lamely, "and I'll tell you more about it after you tell me a little bit more about yourself." she finished, smiling slyly. Spike was confused by the mixed signals he was receiving from her, and was about to question, but chose to tell her his past, as per request. "You probably are going to laugh at me when I tell you where I grew up..." he started, fiddling with his claws as he spoke and occasionally looking back up at her. "There's this place called Equestria, full of... well... ponies. It's a really great place. Nice ponies, a few friends in a small town called Ponyville... and um..." Azura noticed that he was becoming more uncomfortable the more he spoke, but mustered the courage to ask, hoping not to strike a bad memory. "So... why did you leave? Your home at least. And what are you talking about when you say ponies?" her last question was laced with doubt. "Your not lying to me are you...?" Spike was taken aback by her last sentence, and shifted his attention from his claws to the dragoness's face. "N-No! I'm not lying to you! This place called Equestria, it's rather far away from here. It's filled with, well, multi-colored ponies. And as for why I left... well..." Spike could feel his composure breaking as the topic he tried to ignore for the past year and a half reared its head once more. "w-well, my adoptive sister... she, well, changed... Literally and figuratively." Azura nodded, though still extremely confused, and walked towards the middle of the kitchen and laid on the ground, curling her tail around to the front of her form, resting her head on her arms. Looking back up, she motioned for him to do the same... Spike was hesitant at first, seeing as he was about to get a free mental therapy session from the dragoness he had known for literally five minutes, but gave into the offer. Lying down next to her, he nervously averted his gaze from the beautiful creature two feet in front of his face. "Could you tell me what happened? I realize that it must have pretty bad, seeing as you left." Azura looked at him, noticing that he was practically chocking on his words. "S-she.. changed after she became a princess. The pony who had hatched me started out as nice and sincere, and I was given to her when she passed her entrance exams, the final test being to hatch a dragon egg. I became her assistant, but she treated me as a little brother up until she became a princess." He looked down at the ground, tears welling in his eyes as he remembered what had happened. "When she became a princess, she started to treat me different. When I would ask her to spend time with me, or just do something... she would rub me off. At first it was just her saying she was too busy with princess stuff, but then she started to push me away in a different way." Spike was about to continue, but was stopped when Azura spoke up, clearly angry about something. "So you were just given away as a pet!? I thought you said where you grew up was great! What I've heard so far screams the opposite of good to me. It's no wonder why you left..." Azura looked away, still scowling while she contemplated what she heard. "N-No! It wasn't bad at first. She taught me a lot as I grew up! It was only after she became a princess that it became bad. And as I was saying before, she began to find other things to keep me away from her... She started to find more for me to do, especially after my growth spurt a few years back. I would be out helping ponies in town, and whenever I came back to the castle early, she would have some kind of huge mess for me to clean up!" Spike sat up a bit, spreading his arms to emphasize his point. "And the messes she made weren't just like a messy room, or dusting a bunch of things. She made messes that took hours to clean." Azura visibly winced at the statement, sympathizing with the creature in front of her. "So she made you work for hours just so you couldn't talk to her?" She asked, a small frown of sympathy adorning her maw. "Y-yea... and she did the same thing the day before I left. Had some meeting with the Griffon Kingdom the next day and didn't want to be disturbed. Trashed the study, books spread left and right from random sections of the shelves... but it was obvious it was on purpose. Books from irrelevant categories were lying about, and each one was neatly closed, to prevent damage." Spike sighed, remembering unchanging traits of the lavender mare. "Faithful student of Celestia, bearer of the element of magic, and would kill herself before harming a book for any reason. But yea, she trashed the study and tasked me to cleaning it up, which a little over six hours." Azura looked up at spike, meeting his forlorn gaze. "Well, I think you made the right choice in leaving, but why did you come out here?" she asked, confused by his past decisions. "Well... she wasn't the only reason I left." Spike was suddenly extremely uncomfortable with what he was about to tell her. "The other reason I left was... well... love." His voice became so quiet in the small room that even Azura couldn't hear him. "What? I didn't quite catch that last part, you know... the important part." Spike couldn't take it anymore, almost yelling at her. "Love! Ok!? The other grand reason is because nopony loved me! I was an outcast and a novelty of sorts. I wasn't even given the time of day by anypony, not even by my sister! What mare in their right mind would date a dragon? I almost wish that I had realized it sooner! Would have at least saved me self-loathing for my lack of having a special someone, after twenty-six years... I mean, I chased this one mare for like years, and the best I ever got was peck on the check for being a 'gentledrake' and helping her around her store." spike looked down, having only one thing left to say. "almost twenty years of chasing her... and she never had the heart to just put me down..." Spike slumped onto the ground and rolled over on his side, facing away from Azura. He felt broken from his own confession, not even wanting the dragoness's company anymore, preferring to wallow in lonely sadness for a time. Though he was about to do just that, something happened that changed his mind. Azura stood up and slinked closer to the purple drake before her. lying back down next to him, she wrapped her arms around his form, pulling herself against the green spikes adorning his back. Pushing them aside a little bit, she pressed herself tight against his back, earning a confused look from the drake. Giggling softly, she craned her neck forward until she could rest her head over his neck. "Spike, I have to ask, how would you feel about coming to the Republics... with me?" Spike was still. An indescribable joy welling within chest after hearing her speak, and after realizing what else she was implying. "Y-you want me come with you back to the republics? I-I... ok." Spikes voice started out as one of joy, but then fell a bit when he realized he would have to leave everything behind. He contemplated the situation for a moment, then spoke. "And... thank you. For everything. I don't think I can describe it with words, or anything else for that matter." Azura smiled, happy to have spike be so accepting of the situation. She had only known the drake for about half an hour, but had grown found of his words the more he spoke. Then a thought came to her. With a sly smirk adorning her maw, she shifted a bit to get more comfortable. Then, gently lifting spike's, head, looked over his face before closing her eyes. Spike didn't know what was happening at first, but soon figured it out. With a forceful lunge, Azura pressed her lips against his, pulling his head deeper into the kiss. Spike froze. not only was this his first actual kiss, but from the first dragoness he's ever seen no less. After only a moment, he melted into it, fully accepting her advances. He felt as though he finally had purpose, being held by the creature before him. After a few seconds of this, Azura attempted to step it up, forcing her serpentine tongue into his mouth, mixing salvia as they battled for dominance. Not wanting to be outdone on his first kiss, spike pressed for dominance. Pressing his tongue into her mouth, spike made headway with his advances as she backed off. Azura was in bliss. Never before had she been kissed with such passion. Unable to restrain herself, a few elicit moans escaped her breath as he took control. This continued until they had to come up for air, parting their lips to gaze at one another. Spike blushed, having experienced his first kiss of many. After a moment silence, spike spoke. "So when do we leave? I mean, I still have some stuff to pack along. You know, things of sentimental value." When spike said this he was specifically referring to one of his most treasured memories and possessions. A picture him, twilight, and her friends; taken a month prior to Twilight's ascension. Azura looked back at him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before answering. "Tomorrow, spike. I think we still have some 'unfinished business' to attend to..." she finished, shooting a sly smirk spike's way. Spike returned the gesture full force. "Right. Tomorrow." Their throes of passion could be heard throughout the home and out into the wilds that night. Ponyville Carousel Boutique Rarity lay on her bed, sniffling softly in her shame from the nights events. How could he do that? and during dinner too? Do I really come off as desperate for such things? Rarity continued to go over what had happened that night. The stallion had been a perfect gentlecolt when they met, so where did she go wrong? Clearly it wasn't her fault given what he asked. The nerve of him, asking during the middle of the dinner if their date would include various 'night activities' after when they returned home. Rarity couldn't get it out of head, the feeling of constant dread. As she laid in the middle of the bed, mascara from the night's outing smearing down her face from her reddened eyes, she felt a sudden, emptiness. Sitting up she looked out the window towards the South. Unable to shake the feeling, slowly trotted to her dresser, each step being muffled by the carpet beneath. Pulling open the topmost drawer, she searched for the keepsake she hadn't seen in over a year. After a moment of rummaging, she found it. A heart shaped fire ruby, held by a 'claw' crafted gold necklace. She picked it up, staring at it's crimson center. It almost seemed dull, the ruby not catching the light of the room like it once had. She carried it back over to her bed, and held it close to her chest in an attempt to fill the newfound emptiness within. Though it did little to ease the pain, she held it close as she drifted off into the dreamscape, memories of old dancing back and forth in her mind. She laid on her side and muttered one last thing before she drifted off. I will wait for you... Author's Note Please just remember to tell me if you see any errors that need fixing. And poor Rarity... oh well.
PrologueWhere We Belong One year. It had already been one year. Spike lay awake, staring up at the ceiling of his cave. He was lucky enough to have found one so large, and with a viable stream of water coming in. Even though he was lucky to have a place to call home so deep in the badlands, and even closer to the oceans coast, his mind was plagued with loneliness. To think that he was already twenty-seven and was still searching for his place in the world. And to think that he had left Twilight and her friends a year to date, a decision he regretted making only a month in to his departure. Twilight. A name he once associated with family, but considered now to be just short of a friend. After her coronation, both of them had moved into the newly formed castle, and she started her role as a princess of Equestria. Back then she was different; nice, fun, dedicated to her studies, and a pony who could really brighten your day. But after a few years of taking on the role, she started to change. She hid her emotions, was reclusive, and seldom spent time with her friends. Her dedication to her role as a princess began to override her true personality, and he got the short end of the stick as a result. Twilight had begun to distance herself from him so she could spend more time tending to her role as an influential figure. Rarely did she spend time with him, or treat him like the family she claimed him to be. Every time he asked her to do something with him she would shut him out with the same excuse that she used for everyone; that she was far too busy with “princess matters”. The only time she would actively talk to him was when she was asking him to do chores. Even after becoming a princess she somehow found more work from him. Part of this was due to the fact that there was a far larger library stationed inside of the castle, but sometimes it seemed as though she would purposely make more work for him to silence his requests for brother-sister time. Even though Spike had grown up considerably in the passing decade, he still was treated like a child by Twilight. He was already a good 2 heads taller than twilight, and stronger that even Big Mac, but the facts seemed to have little effect on his position. Not only was he stronger, but, in a vague sense, as smart as Twilight. He even had lost his love for Rarity after seeing numerous suitors come and go, taking it as a sign she had other plans for life. He didn’t hold it against her that she never returned his feelings, even if it did appear that she was simply using him. One time he even comforted her after a particularly bad breakup with some high ranking general in the Royal Guard. Heck, the only ponies who treated him as an adult were Applejack, Fluttershy, and Derpy Hooves. He had few things to hold against the main six in his decision, but all of these things made Spike reminisce over what had happened just a little over a year ago. ~~One Year and One Day~~ ~~Winter Wrap Up~~ Spike began his walk home from Rarity’s boutique, thinking over what had just transpired. Rarity had invited him along on a gem hunting trip, which he accepted out of compliance with their monthly tradition. Everything was just like it had been for the last two years; he would go help Rarity for the day, they would sit down and talk about life stuff, then he would be back on his way home. Only today was different. Although he had let up on pursuing Rarity, she still held a place in his heart, a place that disappeared in about five seconds when they reached the boutique. Upon walking in the door, a stallion by the name of Thunderlane stood in the entrance, a bouquet of roses ranging from white to lavender clamped firmly in his jaw. Rarity, half out of surprise and joy, quickly trotted over him, leaving Spike at the door. He watched from the open doorway as the stallion made a few comments, most of which he could not make out, then Rarity practically threw her fore-hooves at him and wrapped him in an embrace. They walked out of the main room and towards Rarity’s ‘inspiration room,' completely neglecting his presence, a somewhat surprising feat given his size. Spike continued his walk home, dragging his claws in the dirt at the knockout punch to his pride. He had seen her with stallions before, but never once seen her openly accept one in his presence. It only really hurt because he was completely forgotten in about ten seconds flat. Looking up, spike noticed the crystal castle the stood before him. “Just another day...” Spike muttered under his breath, a face that almost spoke sadness. Spike pushed open the large doors to the castle, proceeding to his chambers finally get some rest. On his way up, Twilight yelled from her study. “Spike? Spike! I need you to come here and clean up the study. I have to leave for Canterlot tomorrow for a meeting with the ambassadors from the Griffon Kingdom and I don’t have time to deal with this mess!" Spike froze on the steps and hung his head low at the sound of the command. Turning his neck, he looked past his folded wings back down the stairs towards the study. Reluctantly, Spike put off his need for sleep and descended the stairs and proceeded towards his impending chore. Upon entering the study, Spikes jaw dropped at the scene. All around the study, there were books strewn about the floor, spilled inkwells, broken quills, crumpled paper, and a bowl of something that Twilight was apparently eating. Spike stared at the mess for a good minute before Twilight appeared behind him. “I need the books returned to their proper place, the stains from the inkwells cleaned up, the quills thrown away and replaced, along with the ink, the paper put in the recycling, and the dishes cleaned. I have to go to sleep and prepare for the meeting tomorrow, but I have faith that you can finish this in no time.” Twilight started to walk away when he finally spoke up. “Twilight! It’s only 6:30! And how did you manage pull out half the books from the shelves!?” Spike walked towards one of the books and picked it up, reading the title. “How is this even relevant to anything you are studying? What does A Stallion's Pride have anything to do with your study of aquatic plant life?” Spike proceeded to walk over to bookshelf to put it away, but then noticed that something was off... “Twilight... why are all of the books in the romantic novels section splayed across the floor... and why are there books missing from the fictional adventure section?” Twilight looked down, fumbling with her words in a desperate attempt to come up with an excuse, but Spike spoke again before she could reply. “Twilight, why are you doing this? I wasn’t even going to ask you if were busy! I was helping Rarity all day digging gems and I just want to go to sleep! Can’t a drake catch a break without his sister purposely destroying her study to keep him occupied for Celestia knows why?” Twilight looked back at him, sporting an emotional mask to hide her own guilt of the situation. “Spike, can you please just clean this up? I really do have important matters to attend to the morning.” She spoke with a calm tone that was rather unwarranted in the given situation. Spike lifted his head, staring twilight in the eyes, and balled his claws into a fist. He was about ready to hit her upside the face, but lost his motivation, and spoke with a voice that could freeze fire. “Fine” Spike had set to work on the record mess almost 6 hours ago and he only had a few more books left to put away, and a stain on the ground. When he first began the monstrous task, he immediately strode over to the main desk, carefully avoiding the piles of books and ink puddles on the floor. Picking up the bowl of mysterious food, he took a quick sniff to see just what the grey paste, soup… thing… was. He soon regretted his curiosity, and reared his head back from the onslaught of foul spells emanating from the dish. He couldn't even describe how horrible it was, gaging. Never before had he seen something so bland and terrible, and was certain it was something they would feed to the prisoners in Tartus. Upon completion the assignment, Spike dragged himself up the stairs, mumbling some uncouth phrases pertaining to Twilight and her ‘royal duties’ to the solar princess. Spike silently trudged to his quarters, plopping himself down on his oversized bed. Spike rolled over onto his side, staring out the window at Luna’s night. “Things are just so different from what they used to be...” Spike muttered to himself, still staring out the window, watching stars. He had kept a lot of secrets from Twilight over the years, for personal reasons, but they never interfered with his life with her. Thinking back to a few hours ago, he was now contemplating just what he means Twilight. As sleep came to take him into the dreamscape, a few thoughts made themselves known to Spike. “There just isn’t anything here for me anymore...” Spike awoke the next morning, it being an hour past noon already. He wondered why he wasn’t woken by Twilight, but then remembered her meeting. Spike climbed downstairs and into the dining hall, then proceeded to make himself some sapphire pancakes with what was left of his gem supply. “At least some things never change.” Spike smirked, staring at his freshly made breakfast, then, after lathering on a heavy dose of syrup, proceeded to eat the meal in peaceful silence. Spike thought back to what happened the prior night, then back to his plan. He wandered over into the castle’s study quarters, then, grabbing a quill and parchment, wrote his letter. Dear Twilight, After recent years it has come to my attention that my presence has seemed to become a... burden in your eyes. With what transpired last night, and many other nights, I have decided to find my own path in life. I’m sorry that it somehow came to this, but with even my presence in Ponyville being one of novelty, I feel that there just isn’t a future for me here. Tell the others, but make sure to say that I’m sorry to Fluttershy. I know how much she loved spending time with me and her animals, even though she is still rather afraid ever since my last growth spurt, and I hold nothing against her. But remember Twilight, my decision wasn’t based on your actions alone, but many others. Other things... happened yesterday, and if you really want to know, you could probably ask Rarity. Now this isn’t goodbye, for I will be back later. I just need time to myself, and although you may find it drastic... I won’t be back, for what I plan to be, ten years. Everyone has their place in the world, and it’s high time I found mine. Your Friend, Spike. Spike read the letter over several times before tacking it to her bedroom door. He walked back down to the study, grabbed another parchment, and wrote another note, this one to Celestia. It was a simple letter, simply stating that he would stay in touch with her after he left, but that she not tell anyone of his future conditions, with the exception of Luna. Spike rolled up the letter, and blew a gout of his emerald flames, sending the letter on to its destination. He went back upstairs, gathered a few simple keepsakes, and flew off towards the Badlands. Author's Note First fiction so yea... Just give me an idea of what you think of initial plot setup.
Encounter~~Present Day~~ Spike sat up, staring around his cave, looking at the blandness of the stone walls. He had moved in three months ago, so why hasn’t he made it feel more like a home? Spike levitated a few rocks, spinning them in the air to amuse himself. Magic, a wonderful thing that came with his second growth spurt, along with his wings. He had discovered it in the kitchen, while trying to reach the bowl of gems up in the kitchen cupboard. Unable to reach them, even with his growth spurt, he cursed Twilight for limiting access to his favorite snack. Still thinking about the gems, spike imagined them in his claws, ready to be crushed by his powerful jaws. Unbeknownst to him, the gems were sliding out of the cupboard, encased in a aurora of cold, emerald flames. He kept up the image in his head, but pushed it aside after a moment of self-loathing. As he started to walk away, the bowl, heavily laden with gems, fell from his magical grip, landing dead center on his head and nearly knocking him unconscious. Those gems fell from a good 5 feet, and the shear blunt force sent him reeling in pain to the floor. Standing up, he realized what he had done after a moment of pondering, and proceeded to return the gems the way they came down. Spike kept the incident under wraps, hoping that twilight wouldn’t find out about his newfound magic. Twilight. He knew what she would have done to him had she found out. Extensive tests, invasive studies, intense training... needles!! He dared not imagine what other emotionally scarring things Twilight might do to him if he revealed his secret, so he hid it from virtually everyone for his own well-being. Since Spike left Twilight, he was able to use his magic freely, and soon discovered just what his magic was. Most of it was similar to unicorn magic, with the difference being that most of it was based on the use of fire. He even found that he could use the same method of sending letters to Celestia to teleport himself to virtually anywhere, though he mostly just used it to escape sight of the other dragons at the nearby volcano and to reach his grape patch in the woods just East of his home. Along with his growth spurt the was the maturing of his own mind. Aside from being a tad more mentally inclined, it also gave his control over his emotions, and a way to control his greed induced growth at will. Still scarred from the greed growth he had experienced in his younger years, Spike found it to be a blessing that he wouldn't have to go through it again.. Spike continued to twirl the stones in the air, thinking about what he should do. Spike walked out of his sleeping area and into the main cavern. The cave was large, and had 5 other smaller caves branching off of the first. He looked at the cave entrance, light flooding in and over his emerald scales. He looked around the empty room, then, with a sudden burst of motivation, set to work on renovating the entire cave system into a type of underground home. He knew it would take a long to time to finish, but was prepared to work until the end if it meant he could live in a place that was a tad more homely. Spike walked back into his room, grabbed a few rubies to snack on, and went to work. ~~Six Months Pass~~ Early morning. A time that spike had begun to despise since summer came around. Spike sat in bed, limbs splayed across the sheets in a way that looked rather uncomfortable. He sat up, looking again at the wonders he worked on the cave. With the addition of actual doors, and an entrance to the outside world that firmly closed to keep the smaller creatures out, and the use of the stream to help with indoor plumbing, he had managed to make what once was a cave into a grand, underground home that would compete with even Celestia’s living quarters. With the mineshaft he dug out to acquire marble, precious metals, and even gemstones, Spike was able to fashion everything he could need in a home, from a bed and shower, to elegant plates and silverware to accommodate his recently finished kitchen. He had everything he could need, and was once able to trade with a traveling salespony to get some blankets for his bed and those in the spare room. Why he had a spare room his did not know, but he needed to do something with the area, and already had a room dedicated to valuables and keepsakes. At least, he bought them from him after chasing him a half mile and getting him to calm down. The color from the stallion’s coat drained when he first spotted Spike. Spike was forced to give chase just to be able to talk to the frightened mess, taking nearly ten minutes just to convince him he wasn’t going to eat him. After taking the pony back to his home, and showing him around a bit, he was able to befriend him. They shared a slightly tension-filled meal that consisted of wild grapes and a few vegetables he found growing around in the nearby forest. The pony was confused at the lack of meat on Spike’s plate until he told him out his dietary habits, and how he had tried meat before, but found it unappealing and rather repulsive, and preferred gemstones far more than fruits and vegetables. After trading a few gems for the spare blankets the pony had with him, the merchant was back on his way to Equestria from his expedition in the Badlands. Spike went into the kitchen and set about preparing breakfast, lighting the torches as he strode through the halls. A plateful worth of gems ranging from topaz to emeralds and a few grapes from that nearby vine in the forest made up his immanent meal. His stomach rumbled, telling him to hurry up with the food. Spike decided it would be best not to argue with his belly, and pulled up a seat at his dinner table. He took a bite of a ruby, savoring the flavor for as long as he could before sinking his teeth into another. Rubies and emeralds, his two favorite gems, though sapphires fought with emeralds for second place. Twilight would never give him enough gems to sate his appetite, saying that they contributed to the little amount of fat that was on his body. He always wanted to tell her that what she clearly didn’t know what she was talking about, but the last time he tried to convince her, she sealed his mouth shut for almost three hours because he was a apparently “distracting her from her studies with unsupported claims and nonsense”. Hypocrite... Spike continued to eat his meal, wondering how the girls were fairing back home. Sure, he sent Celestia a letter every few months, but she rarely referenced the mane six when she replied back. most of the times it was just her saying it was good to hear that he was doing well on his own. Maybe I should send a letter to see how they are actually holding up... He tossed the last sapphire up in the air before chomping down on it with an audible crunch. Spike took the bowl back into the kitchen and set it back up on its shelf. He really didn't have a need to clean his dishes when he only had gems on it... Crap, he had some grapes too. Spike looked back in the bowl, and found a smudge of purple near the bottom, its very presence openly mocking him. He frowned at the inconvenience, hoping that the gaze of a mighty drake might make the mark retreat into nothingness. When it didn't work, he took a quick glance around the room, as if checking for witnesses, then blew a gout of flame into the bowl. looking at the now clean dish, spike gave a small grin and patted himself on the back for thinking up a quick solution to his problem. Spike turned away from the counter and made his way towards the main room. It was only about two in the afternoon, so he had some time to go for a quick flight over the forest. spike made his way outside, the warm sun washing over his buffered scales and sharpened spines. Why Spike took to such meticulous extents to better his appearance he didn't really know. Most of the time he did it just to preoccupy himself and to see just how 'good' he could get himself to look. Each week he took about a day to just polish his scales and sharpen his spines to the point of perfection, even though it didn't really matter. No one was ever around to see him, and he practically closed himself off from other sentient creatures for the most part. Spike took a brief walk and surveyed his surroundings. Thankfully there was very little wind today, making for an easy sail to the ocean and back, and hopefully it would only take a few hours this time. Last time spike made his trip, he was caught in the middle of a thunderstorm that came out of nowhere, and it ended with him crashing into the ground not but a mile from his home. Spike lowered himself to the ground, and with a push and a flap of his wings, he took off towards the sky. He was glad to be going for the trip again, seeing as his wing had only healed a week before, and his accident had grounded him for almost a month. Spike took it upon himself to make it to the shore in only an hour, attempting to double his pace to make cover the necessary ground, but sadly, things didn't go as planned. Not but not ten minute into the flight, as he was admiring the view of the forest, Spike was blindsided, the impact forcing him towards the ground. Catching himself, Spike landed in the dense forest to take shelter. Turning his head, Spike saw his assailant; a slender drake with dark green scales and a white underbelly, and a massive pair of wings adorning his back, almost looking uncomfortable and clumsy. What he saw wasn't a friendly sight, for the other drake had a sadistic smile splayed across his maw. "About time I caught the little spy, and now you're gonna get what's coming for you for spying on us!" The confidence with which he spoke would have made many second guess their chances, but Spike merely shook his head and walked forward, eliciting a growl from the slightly older drake. "So why exactly have you interrupted my flight? I have schedule to keep and would much rather not have to deal with this today." Spike watched as the larger drake furrowed his brow and huffed, releasing a small wisps of smoke into the air. "Don't act like you don't know what you're doing. We've seen you guys watching us from the trees more than once, and when we would try to confront you, you would disappear without a trace! Sounds like everything a spy would do... Watching us to try to learn where we store our hoards so you can steal them while we are away! Well it won't work!" The drake had worked himself up over his own speech, becoming even angrier the longer he spoke. "So you don't even want to try and talk this out, especially seeing as I wasn't spying on you? Geez, I was just watching you guys, it gets boring out here some days. But still, figures, you Badland dragons are all the same... so, it's a fight you want?..." spike's eyes began to glow with emerald flames, claws in tandem with his eyes. "Board my tail! And you think you can scare me with some glowing eyes and claws? Just for that I'm goi--Ahk!!!" The drake couldn't even finish his sentence before Spike had made his move. His leg, encased in an emerald glow, was bent in ways that could give a foal nightmares for years. Spike held an un-breaking poker face as he did the deed. Having had to deal with them for so long, his usual morals and attitude towards other creatures, no matter what race, fell short for the dragons here. Approaching the suffering creature before him, Spike spoke. "And now you see the end result of your misdirected anger. You know, I grew up in place that was just filled with sunshine and rainbow colored ponies, where friendship could conquer anything that stood in your path. But that was before, and being alone for over a year and a half seems to change you when you live in a place with nothing but rocks, mountains, and moronic dragons for miles around." Now filled with terror, the drake tried to scamper away, only to be held by spikes telekinetic grip once more. "P-Please.. just l-let me leave.." He half whimpered, attempting to talk it out with the beast that now loomed over him. "Hm.. now don't those words sound ever so familiar? Oh yea, they do. I gave you the opportunity to leave, or at least talk about what was going on, but nooo... A certain drake just has to be all macho for Celestia knows why... Well, since I have your attention, take my words to heart this time. Leave. Me. Alone. It's that simple. Now go, and if any of your friends ask, tell them you flew into a mountain or some other idiotic mishap. Wouldn't want any of them ending up like you, now would we? I can't say that I would like to have to repeat this incident again, because I honestly would rather avoid fighting." Spike turned around, walking away from the drake writhing in pain, not looking back as he took off once more to finish his flight, leaving the crippled drake in the forest. Author's Note Next chapter will be the true beginning of the fic. The events that have happened are all just plot filler and stuff like that, and the dragon's attempt to confront spike is just leading up to the beginning. Plus, after it gets into the next chapter or two, it can be put into some spike shipping groups.
New BegginingsSpike's flight home had been bothersome to say the least. Normally he wouldn't have done something like that so quickly, seeing as he tries to avoid violence, but knew that he had to get his point across to any others that would try to assault him. Spike arrived home just before sunset, walking with noticeable pain in his back due to his flight. Moving over into the center of the main room, spike set out to stretch his sore wings before calling it a day. Every fiber of his wings hurt from the strain he put on then during his journey. He usually took two hours longer to make it back home when he made his flight to the ocean, but he pushed himself to go far faster than usual. Food. He needed It badly. flying for several hours usually did this too him, but today was especially taxing. With his stretching complete, spike made his way down the middle hallway towards the kitchen, igniting the wall torches as he went. Spike searched his cupboard, looking for his special bowl of diamonds that he kept for after workouts. Finding what he was looking for, spike pulled the bowl from the cupboard, eyeing the gems that lay before him. He knew that after he finished up these he would need to go down and find more. Gems were far more scarce in the badlands than in Equestria, and it made finding food especially difficult. This was only compounded by the fact that he had a rather selective diet in comparison to other dragons in the area... Spike took one of the gems, biting it in half. He shuddered as an indescribably amazing flavor washed over his tongue. He would describe the gems as juicy... but after some serious debates with twilight about how to describe the taste of a gem, he decided it would be best to not think about it and just enjoy the them while he still had a few left. Popping the last gem in his open maw, spike made his way into his room and gave a content sigh as he curled up on his bed. The next morning spike awoke to a peculiar noise, sounding almost like clacking stone. He rolled out of bed, landing an all fours, and made his way down the hall, following the noise. Upon nearing his kitchen, the noise became clearer, sounding as though dishware was clinking together. When he poked his head around the corner, spike couldn't believe what he saw. A white and light blue dragoness, inspecting the various plates and kitchenware. Her white scales complimented her light blue underbelly, he unbridled beauty surpassing that of Rarity a hundred fold. She seemed to be admiring the craftsmanship of the many items in the room, occasionally mumbling to herself. Spike sat in the open hallway, openly staring at her... until she turned after about a minute, and the sight of a beautiful dragoness was replaced with a marble bowl. Spike reeled back from the sudden bowl to the face, clutching his slightly swollen snout. "What was that for!?" spike said, his face a little sore from the impact. It hurt more than what he made of it, seeing as it the bowl was solid stone, but wasn't about to show that much weakness to the stranger standing in his kitchen. "Why won't you guys stop following me?? Haven't you ever seen a dragoness before? Everywhere I go it's the same!" she spat, venom seeping from every crack in her voice. Spike sat still, confused by the dragoness's words. "What? I haven't been following you. And just who are you to talk like that after breaking into my home, snooping through my kitchen, and breaking my favorite gem bowl over my face!?" he retorted, watching as the dragoness's expression changed from one of hate to one between confusion and guilt. "I-I'm sorry, I just thought that you were one of them... they were chasing me for almost half an hour outside... and then that's when I found this place..." she looked down as she gestured towards the open space. "Wait, wait... who was following you...?" Spike said, with a hint of worry lacing his words. "The dragons from the nearby mountain. they spotted me as I was flying overhead, and chased me over towards the forest. After diving down under the treetops, I managed to lose them." Spike visibly relaxed upon hearing her finish. "Thank Celestia, I thought for a minute there that you lead them straight here... oh that would have been bad." spike clutched his head, unsettled by the thought of them finding where he lived. "So... Mrs... um.. Could I get your name? I don't quite know how to address you. "O-oh, my name is Azura. I actually had a question... That reference, I've never heard it before. Where exactly did you learn it?" Spike mentally slapped himself for using a reference she wouldn't understand, along with giving away the fact he wasn't actually from the Badlands. Spike shook the matter off and gave a warm smile. "Well, my name is Spike, and before I answer that question," he gave a small smirk, "I would like to know where you are from first." Azura tensed at the request, and slowly answered the question. "I-I'm not really from around here either. Heh heh... yea.." she nervously rubbed the back of her neck as she finished. Spike cocked a sideways grin, "Avoiding the question are we? And as for your answer, it's blatantly obvious that you are from no where around here." spike craned his neck forward, eyeing the suspicious dragoness before him. "So I ask again, where are you from? And try not to be so vague in your answer this time..." Azura stood stock still. She had no doubt that he wasn't from the Badlands, but wasn't sure where else he could be from. "N-No... you're right.. I'm not from anywhere near here. I live in the Draconian Republic, about a five day flight Southeast of here..." She bit her tongue, remembering her direct orders. "so yea.. that's where I am from. Now then, how about you? You don't seem to fit in around here either, seeing as you actually have a nice home?" Now it was spikes turn to be shocked by what he heard. He already had over a million questions to ask here about her homeland, and now opted to question her. "You mean that there is an entire Republic... with other dragons in it?" Spike leaned forward, hopefully awaiting her answer. "Well, yes." she answered lamely, "and I'll tell you more about it after you tell me a little bit more about yourself." she finished, smiling slyly. Spike was confused by the mixed signals he was receiving from her, and was about to question, but chose to tell her his past, as per request. "You probably are going to laugh at me when I tell you where I grew up..." he started, fiddling with his claws as he spoke and occasionally looking back up at her. "There's this place called Equestria, full of... well... ponies. It's a really great place. Nice ponies, a few friends in a small town called Ponyville... and um..." Azura noticed that he was becoming more uncomfortable the more he spoke, but mustered the courage to ask, hoping not to strike a bad memory. "So... why did you leave? Your home at least. And what are you talking about when you say ponies?" her last question was laced with doubt. "Your not lying to me are you...?" Spike was taken aback by her last sentence, and shifted his attention from his claws to the dragoness's face. "N-No! I'm not lying to you! This place called Equestria, it's rather far away from here. It's filled with, well, multi-colored ponies. And as for why I left... well..." Spike could feel his composure breaking as the topic he tried to ignore for the past year and a half reared its head once more. "w-well, my adoptive sister... she, well, changed... Literally and figuratively." Azura nodded, though still extremely confused, and walked towards the middle of the kitchen and laid on the ground, curling her tail around to the front of her form, resting her head on her arms. Looking back up, she motioned for him to do the same... Spike was hesitant at first, seeing as he was about to get a free mental therapy session from the dragoness he had known for literally five minutes, but gave into the offer. Lying down next to her, he nervously averted his gaze from the beautiful creature two feet in front of his face. "Could you tell me what happened? I realize that it must have pretty bad, seeing as you left." Azura looked at him, noticing that he was practically chocking on his words. "S-she.. changed after she became a princess. The pony who had hatched me started out as nice and sincere, and I was given to her when she passed her entrance exams, the final test being to hatch a dragon egg. I became her assistant, but she treated me as a little brother up until she became a princess." He looked down at the ground, tears welling in his eyes as he remembered what had happened. "When she became a princess, she started to treat me different. When I would ask her to spend time with me, or just do something... she would rub me off. At first it was just her saying she was too busy with princess stuff, but then she started to push me away in a different way." Spike was about to continue, but was stopped when Azura spoke up, clearly angry about something. "So you were just given away as a pet!? I thought you said where you grew up was great! What I've heard so far screams the opposite of good to me. It's no wonder why you left..." Azura looked away, still scowling while she contemplated what she heard. "N-No! It wasn't bad at first. She taught me a lot as I grew up! It was only after she became a princess that it became bad. And as I was saying before, she began to find other things to keep me away from her... She started to find more for me to do, especially after my growth spurt a few years back. I would be out helping ponies in town, and whenever I came back to the castle early, she would have some kind of huge mess for me to clean up!" Spike sat up a bit, spreading his arms to emphasize his point. "And the messes she made weren't just like a messy room, or dusting a bunch of things. She made messes that took hours to clean." Azura visibly winced at the statement, sympathizing with the creature in front of her. "So she made you work for hours just so you couldn't talk to her?" She asked, a small frown of sympathy adorning her maw. "Y-yea... and she did the same thing the day before I left. Had some meeting with the Griffon Kingdom the next day and didn't want to be disturbed. Trashed the study, books spread left and right from random sections of the shelves... but it was obvious it was on purpose. Books from irrelevant categories were lying about, and each one was neatly closed, to prevent damage." Spike sighed, remembering unchanging traits of the lavender mare. "Faithful student of Celestia, bearer of the element of magic, and would kill herself before harming a book for any reason. But yea, she trashed the study and tasked me to cleaning it up, which a little over six hours." Azura looked up at spike, meeting his forlorn gaze. "Well, I think you made the right choice in leaving, but why did you come out here?" she asked, confused by his past decisions. "Well... she wasn't the only reason I left." Spike was suddenly extremely uncomfortable with what he was about to tell her. "The other reason I left was... well... love." His voice became so quiet in the small room that even Azura couldn't hear him. "What? I didn't quite catch that last part, you know... the important part." Spike couldn't take it anymore, almost yelling at her. "Love! Ok!? The other grand reason is because nopony loved me! I was an outcast and a novelty of sorts. I wasn't even given the time of day by anypony, not even by my sister! What mare in their right mind would date a dragon? I almost wish that I had realized it sooner! Would have at least saved me self-loathing for my lack of having a special someone, after twenty-six years... I mean, I chased this one mare for like years, and the best I ever got was peck on the check for being a 'gentledrake' and helping her around her store." spike looked down, having only one thing left to say. "almost twenty years of chasing her... and she never had the heart to just put me down..." Spike slumped onto the ground and rolled over on his side, facing away from Azura. He felt broken from his own confession, not even wanting the dragoness's company anymore, preferring to wallow in lonely sadness for a time. Though he was about to do just that, something happened that changed his mind. Azura stood up and slinked closer to the purple drake before her. lying back down next to him, she wrapped her arms around his form, pulling herself against the green spikes adorning his back. Pushing them aside a little bit, she pressed herself tight against his back, earning a confused look from the drake. Giggling softly, she craned her neck forward until she could rest her head over his neck. "Spike, I have to ask, how would you feel about coming to the Republics... with me?" Spike was still. An indescribable joy welling within chest after hearing her speak, and after realizing what else she was implying. "Y-you want me come with you back to the republics? I-I... ok." Spikes voice started out as one of joy, but then fell a bit when he realized he would have to leave everything behind. He contemplated the situation for a moment, then spoke. "And... thank you. For everything. I don't think I can describe it with words, or anything else for that matter." Azura smiled, happy to have spike be so accepting of the situation. She had only known the drake for about half an hour, but had grown found of his words the more he spoke. Then a thought came to her. With a sly smirk adorning her maw, she shifted a bit to get more comfortable. Then, gently lifting spike's, head, looked over his face before closing her eyes. Spike didn't know what was happening at first, but soon figured it out. With a forceful lunge, Azura pressed her lips against his, pulling his head deeper into the kiss. Spike froze. not only was this his first actual kiss, but from the first dragoness he's ever seen no less. After only a moment, he melted into it, fully accepting her advances. He felt as though he finally had purpose, being held by the creature before him. After a few seconds of this, Azura attempted to step it up, forcing her serpentine tongue into his mouth, mixing salvia as they battled for dominance. Not wanting to be outdone on his first kiss, spike pressed for dominance. Pressing his tongue into her mouth, spike made headway with his advances as she backed off. Azura was in bliss. Never before had she been kissed with such passion. Unable to restrain herself, a few elicit moans escaped her breath as he took control. This continued until they had to come up for air, parting their lips to gaze at one another. Spike blushed, having experienced his first kiss of many. After a moment silence, spike spoke. "So when do we leave? I mean, I still have some stuff to pack along. You know, things of sentimental value." When spike said this he was specifically referring to one of his most treasured memories and possessions. A picture him, twilight, and her friends; taken a month prior to Twilight's ascension. Azura looked back at him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before answering. "Tomorrow, spike. I think we still have some 'unfinished business' to attend to..." she finished, shooting a sly smirk spike's way. Spike returned the gesture full force. "Right. Tomorrow." Their throes of passion could be heard throughout the home and out into the wilds that night. Ponyville Carousel Boutique Rarity lay on her bed, sniffling softly in her shame from the nights events. How could he do that? and during dinner too? Do I really come off as desperate for such things? Rarity continued to go over what had happened that night. The stallion had been a perfect gentlecolt when they met, so where did she go wrong? Clearly it wasn't her fault given what he asked. The nerve of him, asking during the middle of the dinner if their date would include various 'night activities' after when they returned home. Rarity couldn't get it out of head, the feeling of constant dread. As she laid in the middle of the bed, mascara from the night's outing smearing down her face from her reddened eyes, she felt a sudden, emptiness. Sitting up she looked out the window towards the South. Unable to shake the feeling, slowly trotted to her dresser, each step being muffled by the carpet beneath. Pulling open the topmost drawer, she searched for the keepsake she hadn't seen in over a year. After a moment of rummaging, she found it. A heart shaped fire ruby, held by a 'claw' crafted gold necklace. She picked it up, staring at it's crimson center. It almost seemed dull, the ruby not catching the light of the room like it once had. She carried it back over to her bed, and held it close to her chest in an attempt to fill the newfound emptiness within. Though it did little to ease the pain, she held it close as she drifted off into the dreamscape, memories of old dancing back and forth in her mind. She laid on her side and muttered one last thing before she drifted off. I will wait for you... Author's Note Please just remember to tell me if you see any errors that need fixing. And poor Rarity... oh well.
