Spike looked down from his mountain, watching as the snow continued to fall. It had been almost half a year at this point since he’d left Ponyville, and about a month since he called this range home. It wasn’t anything special, but it provided him with some shelter from the cold, along with a town close enough for him to find work.
And now, he sat alone at the mouth of the cave he slept in, feeling like anywhere other than here was home.
The full grown drake pushed himself up, his muscles protesting at the effort. It didn’t surprise him. He’d been sitting there for hours, looking out upon the blizzard that was blanketing the forest below. Of course, it got him too, but the gale force winds were much more the issue for him. They were what could beat his internal fire, chilling him down to his bones.
Once he was deeper into the cave, he would begin to warm up, he knew as much, but he doubt the chills would stop. Not with today. Not with the problems that it caused.
He glanced at his chimney, breathing in sharpley as he continued to shiver. It had always baffled him as to how he could manage the same, uncontrollable flames that he always could, even when the rest of him was cold. In fact, he had even once conducted experiments on it, and him and…
Spike moved on, getting onto all fours as he stretched out. Even though he was ‘full grown’, he was nowhere near the size of other dragons. A lot of ponies had hypothesized as to why, but he always held the firm belief that what a dragon desired determined it, at least in part.
To reflect his desires, he could look around and see all that he owned. A large rug to curl up on in front of a fireplace, now roaring with his flames, a chest that contained souvenirs from around Equestria, including his comic collection, a bed, and… that was about it. Well, except for the painting of…
He looked down, his ears coming down… before going right back up. Spike blinked at the natural reaction, knowing that they only did that if they were trying to catch something he wasn’t quite aware of.
And then he felt an odd chill along his spine. Glancing behind him, his claw swiping to the side at a bone that marked a recent meal, he could catch wisps of white and blue. He stepped forward, his spines twitching as they tasted the air. Years spent honing them let him taste the magic in the air, and even let him identify it as a mix of spirit and ice.
He continued on his way to his bed, trying to make sure that the intruder hadn’t caught on to the fact that he’d noticed them. At least, before he said, “I hope you at least brought snowcones with you.”
A small yelp came from behind him, and Spike couldn’t help but smile. He had heard that sort of surprised shriek too many times from… ponies not to be able to feel warmed by it. It helped more when a cute, small voice whispered, “I-I’m sorry, but no?”
Spike hopped onto his bed, laying down with a small huff of smoke. “Ah, I wouldn’t worry about it too mu…” He stopped short, staring at the, he assumed, elemental in front of him. The small pony had icicles for a mane, before descending to a blue coat with white swirls that constantly shifted through it. He could imagine what… “Umm, my name’s Spike.”
The small mare looked down, the middle of her body glowing a slight red as her mane covered her face with a soft jangle. “M-my name is N-North, and I-I’m sorry for disturbing you. I just, umm, wanted to say hi?”
Spike raised an eyebrow at the soft words. He was a pretty bad liar, all things considered, and almost as bad at spotting lies. He could even tell that the mare was hiding something, but if he were honest, he didn’t really care. It was just nice to have somepony there. “Well then, hello!”
A small giggle escaped the mare as she looked back at him, and he waved to her. She waved slowly back, before taking a step forward. “Umm, it’s a nice place you have. I hope the cold doesn’t bother you too much here.”
Spike puffed out his chest, sitting up as he bounced a fist against his scales. “What? Are you accusing me, a mighty dragon, of being afraid of the cold?” He watched as a dark blue glow filled the mare’s chest, before he stuck his tongue out. “I’m just kidding, I swear.”
“Oh…” The red glow came back to her chest as she gave a small smile back. Only now did Spike notice the ice that formed where her hooves touched, and he frowned at the fact. “So, I’m going to take a long shot here and say you’re some sort of ice pony?”
North shook her head furiously, before floating into the air. “N-not at all actually! My full name is North Wind, for my duty as an elemental of the winter. It’s a,” she lowered herself back down, looking away now, “not that big of a thing though.”
Spike’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but North wouldn’t be able to see that, not with how he was right now. Not that he cared, just like he bet she didn’t about him. “So, I’m guessing you’re the one who made the blizzard outside?”
North shot back up, a smile wide across her face. “Oh, yeah! D-do you like it? I put a lot of work into it actually. If you don’t get the mix of snow and ice and-”
“Do you have any idea what blizzards like this do?” Spike slammed a claw onto the stone floor, scraping it as he gouged lines across it, flames licking the sides of his maw. “Do you?”
North slid back, putting her hooves in front of her face as her image became more translucent. “N-no? I-I mean, I know most don’t like them, but with how long you had-”
“Yeah, and why do you think that?” He stepped ever closer, stomping his way towards the mare. “You can’t fly if ice coats your wings. If too much wind hits you, you can get tossed into mountain, where you could get buried by the fresh snow. It sure as hell makes any long trip impossible!”
North landed back down, her ice starting to lead back to the entrance now. Tears were now coming down her face now, but she didn’t move. Not when she didn’t need to. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I promise. I thought… I thought it wouldn’t hurt anypony.”
“Wouldn’t… wouldn’t…” He raised a claw, his body shaking with rage. Everything he had wanted to do, his plan, his nice reunion…
Spike then looked at his claw, and for a moment saw himself back in Ponyville. The same petulant, wanting, angry drake that had disgusted him before. That had led him to leave.
It was the one who’d left that now lowered his claw and looked down. “I’m… I’m sorry, North. In fact,” he lowered himself, bowing to the mare. “Thank you, for not allowing me to make a mistake that would have hurt a lot of others.”
North stopped, the ice at her feet now receding from the entrance as she tilted her head. “Wh-what do you mean?”
Spike looked up, a sad smile across his lips. “Tomorrow is Hearthswarming Eve, and your blizzard has stopped me from going to where I once called home for it. This year… this year will be the first where I am not with my sister, or any of my friends. Just… all by myself.”
North raised a hoof to her mouth, her eyes widening. “Oh… Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know, I swear!”
Spike laid down with a soft sigh, before shaking his head. “I know you didn’t. You were just doing your job, and, if I may say so, it’s a lovely blizzard out there. Really shows off the beauty of a disaster I suppose.”
“Well, I mean, sure, but… You don’t like it.”
Spike blinked a few times, staring at the mare as a soft blue low came from her chest. His eyes widened as he remembered how many times he’d said that behind Rarity’s back after she tried telling him a gift was good or what not.
He could also remember how much it always hurt him.
Spike bit into his cheek for a moment, before sitting up with a smile. “Well, there’s no reason to cry then. We both messed up, and it’s time to move on. Besides, I left my town because I needed a change of scenery anyways. What better way to do that then make some fresh memories with a new friend?”
North nodded, despite walking back towards the entrance. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I hope you and your friend have fun.”
Before she got more than about five steps further, Spike knocked on the top of her head, causing the elemental to leap into the air in shock. He merely smiled at her, despite the tears he was forcing back. “I’m talking about you, dummy.”
North blinked a few times, before putting a hoof up to her chest. “M-me?”
Spike nodded, opening his wings up. “Hey, you obviously are a nice mare. I mean, I can’t think of a single other time somepony made a blizzard just for me. That’s something special.”
North lowered herself, smiling, before she wrapped her hooves around him. “Th-thank you.”
Spike wrapped his wings back around her, a soft smile on his lips as he stroked through her icicles. He didn’t need to say anything back. Not when, despite her being made of pure cold, he actually felt a bit warmer with her in his claws.
