Spike grumbled to himself as he shifted his ten-ton body a few inches to the left. It’s been almost twenty long years since he was evicted out of Ponyville and claimed a large moss-covered cavern as his new home. Granted, the cavern had more than enough space for two large dragons to move about comfortably. However, Spike was still having trouble getting used to his new environment even after all this time. When you spend a good portion of your life sleeping on a comfy mattress, it is hard to get used to sleeping on the floor. Spike tucked his huge wings on top of his back, shifting his body for the second time. How other dragons could manage to find comfort in these frigid caves puzzled Spike to no end. He began to wish he was still a small child living with Twilight in her library.
Twilight.
Wisps of green steam lazily floated out of Spike’s nostrils, rising into the air. Spike’s mind was flooded with memories of his time living with the nerdy but caring lavender alicorn that he called sister. Thinking about Twilight made Spike begin to regret leaving home, even if him leaving his home wasn’t his doing. Spike sighed to himself, lifting his head and opening his toothy jaws to release a yawn. He wanted to walk up to Ponyville, knock on Twilight’s door, and just hug her. But Spike knew that visiting Twilight or the others was impossible. Illegal, really. It has been seven years since Mayor Mare passed a law that banned any adult dragons from residing anywhere near Ponyville. And that, sadly, included Spike, who was then still a little child when he was cruelly casted out of Ponyville. Of all the ponies that could have brought this needless punishment on the once young dragon, Spike never thought he'd be betrayed by Ponyville's mayor. Spike let out a growl as he thought about what Mare had done to him. He spent twenty years alone in the wilderness. Twenty years forced to fight for a decent scrap of food. Twenty years of defending the less-than-adequate damp hole he called a home from other dragons. Twenty long years without ever hearing the bubbling giggle of Pinkie Pie, reading a book with Twilight, or gushing over Rarity's divine beauty. Mare took everything from him, and for what? The life Spike knew was gone, possibly forever. And it was all Mare's fault. His growling transitioning into snarling, Spike began to expel wisps of emerald fire out from the corners of his jaws with anger.
I swear to Faust, I’m going to hunt Mare down and maul her.
Spike suddenly found himself mentally punching himself in the face. How could he think to do such terrible things? What Mare did to him was wrong, but killing her out of anger wouldn't make him any better. She had to have some reason to exile him. And then it hit him. There were news reports involving several guards discovering the smoking, mutilated corpse of Mare’s oldest son near the dragon lands.
What was the kid’s name again? Silver Spirit?
Spike heard about Mare’s son before. He loved to explore places. Though, maybe he shouldn’t have travelled so close to dragon territory. Could it be that Mare blames the dragons for killing her boy and became hateful towards them? Spike let out a pitiful sigh. That’s probably why I had to spend most of my teen life rotting away in a uncomfortable cave. Spike yawned once again and sat up from his prone position, looking out into the sky. The anger he was feeling slowly subsided into that of despondence. He knew visiting Ponyville will only end in trouble, and as much as he wanted to go back, Spike couldn't risk himself or his friends. The white puffy clouds gradually darkened into a gloomy grey. It was going to rain soon, which meant there would be no afternoon flying or hunting for a while. Wonderful.
***********************************************************
Spike sat in a little basket with a Daring Do comic in his claws, his face buried deep into one of the pages. A thunderstorm had materialized outside the Golden Oaks Library just a half hour ago. Torrents of rain drizzled over the circular glass window right beside Spike’s makeshift bed, the windows rattling with a constant ping!. As soon as the little dragon turned a page, the skies roared with a unnecessarily loud clap of thunder.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!” Spike yelped, scrambling out of bed. The frightened dragon immediately ran downstairs in a panic. Twilight was sitting in her desk while reading a book when she suddenly felt something small and scaly leap into her lap.
“Spike, what happened upstairs? You’re almost as white as Rarity’s coat.” Twilight said.
“The thunder... It got louder!” Spike replied, fearfully clinging to the alicorn’s neck.
“Ohhh.... You’re afraid of thunder, aren’t you Spike?” Twilight said. She pulled Spike close to her bosom, wrapping her hooves around the trembling dragon in a warm embrace. She could register several muffled whimpers coming from her little dragon. Ever since the day Spike hatched, Twilight would spend about nearly three hours holding a terrified Spike close to her whenever a thunderstorm occurred. Even now, Spike couldn’t bear withstanding a storm without Twilight by his side. Twilight gently cradled Spike in her forelegs, giving the young dragon a affectionate nuzzle. After a few moments, Spike finally calmed down. He lifted his head in curiosity after hearing a more subtle clap of thunder reverberate throughout the library. With his fear dying down, Spike laid his head on Twilight’s bosom, feeling the soothing beat of the alicorn’s heart. All the fear welled up inside Spike was immediately expelled from his body.
“Don’t worry, Spike, it’s going to be alright. The storm should pass soon.” Twilight softly cooed.
“Aren’t you afraid of the storm too, Twilight?” Spike asked.
“No. Well, not anymore.” Twilight said.
“When I was a filly, I used to be just as scared of thunder as you. But then I found a way to overcome my fear.”
“How did you do it?”
“One day, during a big thunderstorm, I snuck out of Celestia’s castle and walked up a hill. The thunder was beginning to get louder, so I decided to do the one thing that came to my mind: I began shouting at the thunder with all my might. And you know what? I began feeling better. I realized shouting at the thunder helped me feel better. So whenever a thunderstorm occurred, I’d go out and shout at the thunder until I was no longer afraid.”
“Wow... Do you think I should try that?” Spike asked.
“Not in this terrible weather, silly!” Twilight said, bringing a now giggling Spike into a tight hug. “Alright, go get ready for bed. We have a big day tomorrow.”
***********************************************************
Spike snarled in dismay as the thunder roared with fury and electrical might. A part of him, the small frightened dragonet deep inside, wanted to run to the safety of Twilight’s hold, but she wasn’t here to comfort the dragon. There was no one to give Spike relief and safety from the raging twister of lightning and rain outside. The raging thunderstorm before him looked like it was going to rip the cavern off its foundation and pull Spike into a twirling mass of darkness and torrents of electric. Thankfully, the storm seemed to stay stagnant where it was. Lightning ripped through the clouds in a bright flash of light, forcing Spike to back up deeper into his cave.
“STUPID STORM! WHY CAN’T YOU GO AWAY?!” Spike roared out, but his voice was immediately drowned out by another clap of thunder. Spike growled with frustration as the thunder continued to roar out with fury. It was then at that moment he got an idea. He began walking towards the mouth of the cave with slight hesitation.
Don’t go outside. You’re going to regret this. This idea is so horribly stupid.
Spike hissed at himself for allowing such a idea to abound in his mind. He walked out of the cave, feeling the rain harmlessly smashing onto his scales. He climbed up onto the roof of the cave, looking out into the sky. Rain continuously fell on his face, barely getting a reaction from Spike. He glared at the sky, a growl escaping his jaws.
***********************************************************
After a long day of activity and spending time with her boy, Twilight was finally able to get some rest. She laid back on her bed with a sleeping Spike laying comfortably on her bosom, using her left hoof to softly caress the dragon’s back. With a soft yawn, Twilight laid her head back and wrapped her hooves around Spike once more, closing her eyes to enter the realm of dreams. However, the alicorn was denied of sleep when Spike suddenly stirred awake.
“Twilight...”
“Yes, Spike?”
“I think what you did was really cool, yelling at the rain. Who knew I had a cool big sister.”
"Hahahahah! Me, cool? Hah, aww, no. I was just trying to be brave. If anything, I could learn a thing or two from you, Spike." Twilight responded. For a few long moments, Spike and Twilight stared at the circular window on the adjacent wall, watching the rain fall out of the sky. The siblings continued to snuggle up to each other, until both of them had finally drifted off into the realm of dreams.
***********************************************************
Spike puffed out his chest, unfolding his wings to their full length. He glared at the sky as it flashed to life with several bolts of lightning. The thunder was booming with more audible vigor than a angry dragon chasing down a runaway gem. Spike uttered a loud snarl in reply, as if he were challenging the thunder to a duel. Spike listened as the thunder tremendously increased its volume. It looked like the thunder accepted his challenge and began to retaliate with it’s own roars. Spike snarled even louder, opening his jaws to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth as he inhaled. It was time to show the thunder who was boss.
“GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!”
Spike’s roar echoed across the sky, going on for miles until it finally ceased. Spike suddenly felt his fear slowly slipping away. With his confidence growing, Spike began roaring more and more, drowning out the thunder’s booming call. In the span of three minutes, Spike’s fear had completely vanished and gave way to a increasing well of courage. Spike continued to roar out, leaving no room for the thunder to fight back. It was as if the storm couldn’t handle Spike’s vocal retribution and decided to back off. As the thunder died down, Spike jumped off the roof of the cave and rolled onto his back, rich laughter bursting out of his mouth.
“YEAH!!! TAKE THAT, YOU STUPID STORM!!!” Spike victoriously yelled out. As if by magic, the storm began dissipating until a vibrant light blue replaced gloomy grey. Spike sat up, noticing the feint outline of Ponyville just miles away. A small sigh drifted out from the dragon’s mouth as he stood up.
“I did it, Twi. I got over my fear of thunderstorms. I’m sure you’re proud.” Spike said, mostly to himself. He wore a big grin on his face as he trotted towards a nearby lake.
This victory calls for a well-earned fish dinner.
