Combat Baby

Chapters

Ch. 1 She
Ch. 2 My Beloved Monster
Ch. 3 I Don't Like It Like This
Ch. 4 For What It's Worth
Ch. 5 Modern Romance
Ch. 6 My Own Worst Enemy
Ch. 7 Orange Sky

Ch. 1 She

Chapter 1: She

Celestia's sun shined down on to the land of Equestria below. The light entered the window of Fluttershy's cottage, hitting an orange pegasus's face. The light caused her to wake up. With a yawn, Scootaloo got out of her bed and stretched her hooves and wings out. Looking at her wings, she flapped them slowly and sighed to herself, Almost done with school and still can't fly. Way to suck, Scootaloo,' she thought to herself as she made her way out into the living room of Fluttershy's home.

In the main room, Fluttershy was tending to one of the many animals that were taking residence in her home. "Oh, good morning, Scootaloo. Did you rest well?" the yellow pegasus asked.

"Yeah, I did. Thanks again for letting me live here during the week to attend school, makes things a whole lot easier for me," Scootaloo said, being careful to not trip over a family of sleeping rabbits.

"Oh, it's not a problem at all! I mean, you are my best friend's little sister and all. Of course, even if you weren't Rainbow Dash's sister I would be more than happy to have your company," Fluttershy spoke as she finished bandaging a squirrel.

"Well, still, thanks," Scootaloo said as she put her saddlebag on her back, "I should get going to meet with the others, see you later!" The purple maned pony was quickly out the door, on her scooter, and heading to the schoolhouse.

Along the way, she met up with her two best friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. The three ponies, despite being almost done with their schooling, still have not gotten their cutie marks. While they didn't crazy and bizarre activities in hopes of gaining their marks, they still stuck by each other and remained close friends. Lately, however, Scootaloo had noticed something different about her two friends and it showed up again as they walked.

"Hey, girls," the pegasus said to her friends, "What's up?"

"Oh, hey there, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle welcomed her friend, "I was just telling Applebloom here that I think the new colt is pretty cute!" The unicorn was blushing a little at her words.

"You mean Pip?" Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yeah, that's him. Ah do have t' admit, he is cute with his accent an' all," Applebloom chimed in, "Ya should totally ask him out or somethin'".

"You think he will want to?"

"Ya have t' ask him!"

"I think I might do that today," Sweetie Belle thought to aloud.

Scootaloo was both bothered by the conversation itself and by the fact that her friends were talking about colts and having crushes on them. "Uh, guys? Maybe we should worry about that stuff after we get our cutie marks? We still get called blank flanks, you know."

Applebloom shrugged it off quite quickly, "But we'll get 'em when we get 'em, Scootaloo. Applejack and Big Mac keep tellin' that, so ah'm not worried."

"Neither am I," Sweetie Belle agreed with the earth pony, "besides, I think Applebloom is more worried about getting Snails to pay attention to her," the white unicorn gave a sly smile as she revealed Applebloom's secret.

"Hey! You promised not t' tell anypony!" Applebloom lightly pushed her friend, "How about ah tell Snips that you like him, huh?"

"Hey, no fair!"

"What's not fair about it? Ya just told Scootaloo about Snails!"

Scootaloo's mind drifted off as she moved on her scooter. She ignored the bickering and gossiping of her friends. In the pegasus's mind, she was really annoyed that her two friends were becoming like the fillies they hated when they still called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders; they were just like Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. Taking a deep sigh, she turned around and scooted toward Ponyville.

"Scootaloo! Where are you going? School's this way," Sweetie Belle called out.

"I'm not going today," she replied.

"Why's that?" Applebloom asked, her head titled to one side.

"Just feel like playing hookey today, that's all," she simply stated.

"But what about-" Sweetie Belle started.

"Don't worry, I'll be back their tomorrow. No worries," Scootaloo said as she started the engine on her scooter and rode away. Her friends watched her ride away, giving a worried look.

Riding through town at a slightly slower speed than she would normally, Scootaloo began to let her mind wander, "I know I shouldn't ditch class today, but I just need to just get away from that girlish stuff that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are talking about. I should be okay since Dash did this quite a lot when she was in school. Guh, but I just don't understand what's with the girls. I mean, what happened to our top priority being about getting our cutie marks? Now they just care about getting colts to notice them. What's the point? Seriously, what do I care if some guy likes me or not. And for that matter, I don't think being super girly is going to help. Guh, I can't stand girly stuff….'

Lost in her own thought, Scootaloo didn't hear a terrified voice from above, "Look out below!"

With a loud thud, a purple and green dragon with small wings crashed into Scootaloo, knocking her off her scooter and causing the two to hit a tree. Rubbing his head as he recovered, the dragon looked toward Scootaloo and became deeply concerned, "Oh my gosh, are you alright, Scootaloo?"

Ch. 2 My Beloved Monster

Chapter 2: My Beloved Monster

Scootaloo looked up to see the purple dragon that had flown into her, "Ah, what the heck, Spike? Geez, feels like I was hit by train," the orange pegasus commented as she rubbed her head.

Spike panicked as he closed his wings up and helped Scootaloo back on her hooves, "Oh dear, are you alright? I didn't mean to do that, honest!"

The pony was standing on her own hooves again, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine….what happened though?"

Spike looked embarrassed, "Oh, heh….well you see, I was trying to fly again today with my new wings and I guess I lost control. Heh, guess I should stay lower to the ground for a while, huh?"

Scootaloo listened to his words, "That's right, your wings grew in a few months ago." While she commented, Scootaloo was deeply jealous, 'He's already flying with them? I've had mine for my entire freaking life and in two months he's already off the ground?' Scootaloo was bitter in her thoughts.

"Heh, yeah," Spike replied, "Though I think I'm going to stay close to the ground for a while until I get used to them."

"I guess," Scootaloo said in a detached tone to the dragon, setting her knocked over scooter upright.

"Hey, now that I think about it, aren't you supposed to be in class?" Spike asked.

"Eh, don't feel like going today," Scootaloo replied, buckling her helmet.

"Why not?"

"I just don't, okay?" Scootaloo was getting defensive as she started to scoot away.

Spike walked quickly to catch up with her, "Well, what are you going to do then?"

"What's with all of the questions?" Scootaloo counter-asked to the dragon.

"Just curious."

"Well, if you must know, I don't know."

"Well, how about I join ya?"

The pegasus stopped her vehicle, "And why do you wanna?"

Spike shrugged, "I don't know. I got nothing to do since Twilight is helping Applejack today and it's not like I have any friends around to hang out with."

Scootaloo sighed and began to move again, "Fine, whatever."

Spike smiled and followed behind, "Great! So, how are you doing today?"

The dragon received a glare from the orange pony, "You really want to know?"

"Of course! I always like to listen!"

Scootaloo gave a groan and began, "Alright, if ya really want to know, I'm not really doing that well. I'm really annoyed that Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are not really concerned about getting their cutie marks anymore. I mean, that's why we became to the crusaders, and for that matter, friends in the first place. And now, they are just so girly that it makes me sick to just think about it. I mean, for Celestia's sake, they were talking about colts they thought were cute. And a different matter, I was lack of a better term, kicked out of Cloudsdale until I can fly on my own because I've gotten to the point where no pony can fly me up to the city without being looked down upon by others. I'm thankful my sister was able to fly me up there for this long now, but I know Dash has a reputation to keep up so now I'm living with Fluttershy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy living there with her, but I would like to go back home," Scootaloo stopped and turned her head to Spike who was still walking with her and listening to every word she spoke as he looked at her, "Ah, sorry Spike, I rambled way too much about that junk."

"No, no, it's quite alright. Sometimes you just need to get all that stuff out, you know?" Spike said as he walked on all fours since it was becoming more difficult for him to support his larger size that came with his last growth spurt.

"Guess ya got a point there," Scootaloo said, giving a very small smile to the dragon, her first true smile of the day, "Dang, you really grew a lot," Scootaloo finally took real notice, "I remember when you were the size of a filly just a few months ago and now you are the size of a full grown stallion."

"I know, it's really weird for me. And to top it off, I'm not even close to stop growing. Twilight said my new growth spurt isn't for about a few years. At least I can get used to having wings by then. Darn things are so weird on me," Spike commented as he opened his wings to slowly flap them before closing them right back up.

Scootaloo felt a strong desire to state that he has no idea what it's like for her, having wings for almost sixteen years and not fly. However, she held her tongue. Instead, she actually said something she wasn't expecting, "Ya know, it's not that bad hanging out with you, Spike." While she was surprised at what she said, it was true.

"Really?" the purple dragon asked.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like you are talking about what colts you think are cute and wanting to ask them out," Scootaloo remembered her friends talking about such.

"I honestly doubt I would ask any colt out for a date, Scootaloo," Spike laughed, which also made the pegasus laugh.

"Guess you have a point there."

"Where are we going, by the way?"

"Oh, just to special place of mine," the orange pony said.

"Special place?" Spike was puzzled.

"Yeah," Scootaloo stated, "It's a place, that is special. It's special, and it's a place. Should I explain it further for you?"

"Alright, alright, I get it."

After about a hour of the two moving at a leisurely pace and talking about different things, from Twilight testing new spells and having them backfire to Scootaloo's first encounter with the animals in Fluttershy's cottage, they arrived to the place the pegasus talked about.

"Here were are, dragon."

Spike saw they were on top of a ravine with a few trees to provide shade. Below, the ravine was quite bare with no sign of vegetation except for the few plants near the river at the very bottom of the high cliff walls.

"How did you find this place to begin with?" Spike asked as he looked over the ledge, careful to not lose his footing.

"I saw it one day when I was begin carried by Rainbow Dash back to Cloudsdale. I thought it looked cool and I went to check it out. Seems no pony else knows about this place, so I guess it's my private hideaway," Scootaloo explained as she took her helmet off and placed it on her scooter. She then laid down beneath the tree and let out a sigh of relief, "Now this is the way to relax."

Spike took shelter under the tree closest to Scootaloo, "I have to agree, this is a nice place away from everypony."

Scootaloo sat up for a second and looked at Spike, "And if you tell anypony about this place, I'll be throwing you into the ravine myself."

"Okay, okay, I promise!" Spike panicked from the threat.

Scootaloo then laid back down and smiled as she relaxed.

The dragon and pegasus spent the day talking about different and random topics. They joked about different ponies they knew and overtime became quite friendly toward each other. As dusk came, the two returned back to Ponyville, agreeing to meet up everyday after Scootaloo's class at the ravine.

Scootaloo was happy to finally find a friend with the same mindset she had.

Ch. 3 I Don't Like It Like This

Chapter 3: I Don't Like It Like This

For the next week, Spike and Scootaloo would meet at her secret spot near the ravine. They would often talk about the orange pony's day at school and about how it was becoming increasingly bothersome for her to hang around Applebloom and Sweetie Belle because they were becoming too girly for Scootaloo's taste. Spike would listen and often agree with her statements. The dragon actually told the pegasus that the two girls once kidnapped the dragon to dress him up in a few of Rarity's old dresses and made Spike model for them. Upon hearing that tale, Scootaloo saw that Spike understood where she was coming from.

One day, the pegasus and dragon were lying in the grass and watching the clouds roll slowly by in the wind. While they did make some small talk, it was really quiet between the two new friends. Finally, Spike broke the silence.

"Hey, Scootaloo," Spike called out.

"Yo?" the orange pony replied.

"Can I say something to ya?"

"I think you just did, Spike," Scootaloo joked.

"No, I'm kind of serious."

"Well, spit it out, dude."

Taking a deep breath, the dragon spoke, "I know this may sound weird and sudden, but….I think I like you, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo's ears perked up a bit as she continued to lay in the grass, "Well, duh. You wouldn't be here if you weren't my friend."

"No, it's not just that," Spike rolled up from his back to a sitting position, stretching his wings out and light flapping them, "I mean, duh, you're my friend and all. But I like you more than just that."

The pegasus felt a chill run down her back. She because nervous.

The dragon tried not to trip over his own words as he closed his eyes to speak, "I like you a lot, Scoots. I mean, you seem like a really awesome kind of girl and I know it's weird but I think I lo-"

The dragon was cut off when a hoof was shoved into his mouth. It was Scootaloo, and she had gotten up to stop the dragon from speaking further. She was giving him a glare that paralyzed Spike, "Don't you dare finish that sentence when I move my hoof."

The hoof was removed from Spike's mouth. "What's wrong with me saying all that?" he asked.

Scootaloo didn't answer right away. After a few seconds of looking elsewhere, away from Spike, she replied, "Look, Spike. It's not you that I'm having an issue with, it's with being in a relationship with somepony. I just don't want to deal with anything like that for some time right now, alright?"

"Deal with anything like that?"

"Stupid relationships! It's why I'm not hanging out with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom right now because they not shutting up about the stuff! I don't care for that junk right now, and if you dare bring this up again, I will tear your tail off you!"

Spike gulped and hugged his tail closely to him.

Scootaloo's appearance went from frustration and anger to a small smile, "I'm joking, I'm joking! I wouldn't hurt ya!" Spike still was not convinced, holding to his tail as he relaxed. "But really, dude, it's just not something I want to deal with right now. Nothing personal."

Giving a small smile back, Spike spoke, "Alright. Sorry about all of that. Just pretend that it never happened."

"No worries, Spike, already forgotten," Scootaloo said with a wink and a warm smile.

"Alright, awesome," Spike looked up at the sky and saw that Celestia's sun was getting lower in the west, "Oh no! I need to hurry back to the library, Twilight needs me to help her with some of her studying later tonight! Sorry I can't stay longer, Scootaloo!"

"It's alright, Spike. Go on ahead, I'm going to stay here for a bit," the pegasus replied.

The dragon nodded and started to run off back towards Ponyville, "See ya, tomorrow, Scoots!"

Scootaloo waved her hoof back to her dragon friend, "Laters!"

As soon as Spike was out of sight, Scootaloo laid right back down in the tall grass and continued to view the clouds in the sky. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing her mind to wander. As it did, she continued to think of the previous incident that just had happened with Spike. Scootaloo softly laughed to herself as she thought about the event and how Spike was shy as he was confessing his feelings for her. The moment she thought Spike was cute, the smile disappeared from her face. 'Wait, what am I thinking? Spike is just a friend. Sure, he's kinda cute and all, but nothing more! We are friends and that's it. Nothing more, Scootaloo thought to herself, 'Besides, I already said I don't need to have some sort of coltfriend to make things weirder for me right now. Now, I'm going to open my eyes and not think about the thing that just happened, Spike being cute, or love at all!'

Scootaloo opened her eyes up to the blue sky that was full of slowly moving clouds. Among the clouds, Scootaloo's eyes were drawn to a cloud that was in the shape of a heart.

"Oh, come on! That's so not cool!!" Scootaloo shouted in disgust as she sat up and trotted to her scooter. Placing her helmet on and starting the motor, she scooted off toward Ponyvile, "That is so unfair!"

Ch. 4 For What It's Worth

Chapter 4: For What It's Worth

Scootaloo was riding her scooter toward Ponyville. Celestia's bright sun was lowering itself in the distance and the sky was getting darker. The orange pegasus reached Ponyville Square just as the streetlights were beginning to turn on. The square was pretty vacant save a few group of ponies chatting amongst themselves. Scootaloo didn't pay attention to them, as she was lost in her mind and wrestling with her own feelings.

'That dumb dragon! Why did he have to go and ruin such a good day for me by saying that. Now that's all I can think about,' the pegasus thought to herself as she drove, 'I don't need this right now, I have bigger and more important things to deal with, like learning to fly, and getting my cutie mark, and….okay, I guess that's it, but I want to just get those things done! I mean, what's his deal? Why would he like me? If he liked any of the other fillies, they would be more than happy to be his marefriend or whatever. They probably think that he's really charming. And easy on the eyes as well as pretty cute. And he kinda is adorable when he embarrassed and stuff….wait a minute, what am I thinking? There is now way I like Spike like that! No way, no h-'

Scootaloo's thinking was cut short when her scooter hit a bucket of apples in front of a merchant cart. Flying forward and hitting the ground with a thud, she carefully raised her head that now had an upside down bucket upon her head. "Oww…." she moaned as she lifted the wooden bucket off her head to see a worried orange earth pony with a blonde mane and a brown hat.

"Goodness, are ya aright, sugarcube?" the pony asked.

Scootaloo recognized both the pony and her voice, it was Applebloom's older sister Applejack, "Yeah, I'm alright. Nothing damaged expect my pride. Sorry about this, Applejack."

"It's quite fine….Scootaloo was it?" Applejack asked, hoping she remembered her sister's friends. The pegasus nodded to the earth pony, "Well, good to hear. Ya seem a bit off there, sugarcube, care ta talk about it?"

Scootaloo was about to object to the idea of sharing, however, she stood up her hooves and sighed, "Ya know, I think it might actually help me right now."

Applejack nodded, "Well, go ahead say what needs ta be said as I pick up the apples, dear."

Letting another sigh escape her body, Scootaloo began, "Well, I kinda am just confused with some stuff right now….I think part of me has fallen for somepony. It's not like I don't want to like him or anything….but I don't want to deal with that junk right now. I just want to get my cutie mark and finally fly on my own."

Applejack had finished gathering most of the fallen apples in the bucket that was pervious on Scooaloo's head, "Well, fer what it's worth, sugarcube, ah do understand where yer comin' from. An' to save you the trouble ah had, let me just tell ya this, ya can't always control things in yer life. An' this includes who ya fall for and when."

Scootaloo was looking down as Applejack spoke, not wanting to believe her words to be true. She then felt a hoof on her back and a voice she could recognize anywhere, "She is right about that, squirt."

Scootaloo looked up to see that it was her sister, Rainbow Dash. She continued, "If things in our life could be controlled easily, then I would be in the Wonderbolts right now! But no pony has that kind of power. Don't get me wrong, even though I'm not with the 'bolts, I wouldn't change a thing about how things turned out. Not one"

Scootaloo looked down at her front hooves and the ground. When she looked up to the others, she asked, "So, what should I do, Dash?"

"Whatever you want to do, Scoots."

Finding some courage within herself, Scootaloo nodded to her sister and replied with confidence, "Alright, I will try it." Scootaloo grabbed her scooter off the ground and rode off to Fluttershy's cottage for the evening.

As the two friends watched the orange pegasus ride away, Applejack asked Rainbow Dash, "Ya think she's got the guts to do whatever she wants ta do?"

"Of course she does, she is my sister!" Rainbow Dash said proudly with a big smile.

"That's what ah'm kind of afraid of, Rainbow," the earth pony smirked.

"Oh, shut it, Applejack!"

Meanwhile, Scootaloo was deeply thinking as she was riding back. She was filled with newfound spirit and confidence. 'I can do this. Applejack and Dash are right, I should just go for it!' As the pegasus arrived to her quarters, she didn't know that she wouldn't have the same amount of confidence the next day.

Ch. 5 Modern Romance

Chapter 5: Modern Romance

The next morning, as Celestia's sun shined in the sky, Scootaloo rode off to the Ponyville Library on her scooter. Inside of her, she felt determined to let Spike know of her change of heart, that she liked Spike back just the same. However, as she drew closer to the building, the butterflies in her grew. The determined expression on her face disappeared and was replaced by a troubled appearance. 'Gah, get it together, Scootaloo! Don't chicken out now!' she told herself as she stopped outside of the library. Trotting up to the door, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door, quickly building up her courage as fast as she could.

The door was opened by a purple unicorn with a smile, "Oh, hello there, Scootaloo. What brings you the library?"

Feeling the courage returning to her, orange pegasus spoke with confidence, "Hey, Miss Twilight Sparkle, is Spike here?"

"Oh, yes, he is!" the purple mare replied cheerfully, "In fact, he's right here." Just as Twiight finished speaking, the familiar dragon came into view from the doorframe.

"Oh, hey there, Scootaloo!" the dragon welcomed the pony, "How's it going?"

As soon as Scootaloo saw and heard the dragon, her courage fled swiftly, "Uh, I'm doing fine….um, I was wondering if you could come outside for a bit?" Scootaloo was doing her best to not be clumsy with her words.

Spike turned to Twilight and asked, "May I Twilight?" The tone of his voice sounded like that of a little filly pleading with their mother for a treat.

Twilight softly chuckled to herself as she heard her assistant's voice, "Oh, alright. Go on ahead, Spike. But finish putting away that stack of books you were on?"

"Thank you, Twilight!" Spike said as he went to finish placing the books in their proper place.

"He'll be out in just a second," Twilight gave a warm smile to Scootaloo before turning back inside to resume her tasks.

Scootaloo, who watched Spike plead with Twilight, found that her cheeks were slightly burning. She was blushing. Quickly shaking her head to get rid of the feeling, she admitted to herself that Spike did seem quite cute during that little episode.

As quick as he left, Spike returned to the open door where Scootaloo was waiting, "Ready!" He closed the door as he stepped outside, "So, what's up?"

Scootaloo was slow to respond, wanting to not make her words to seem weird or odd, "Well, I just thought we'd hang out by the ravine this morning, is that cool?" While the words came out as she wished, it still seemed like something she wouldn't say.

"Alright then!" the dragon said happily.

The two friends slowly made their way to their secret spot. Spike was the one who did most of the talking on the way over. He started talking about what had happened the night before. He was talking about his evening, helping Twilight study. Scootaloo, while she was listening and responding to the dragon, the pegasus was feeling anxious with what she wanted to get off her chest. She felt that she must tell him, and yet at the same time, she had no idea what to say to Spike.

Upon arriving at the ravine, the two laid down in the grass as they usually did. The two looked up at the cloudless sky. It wasn't long before Scootaloo gathered enough courage to start the conversation she deeply feared.

"Hey, Spike?" she spoke in a soft tone, sitting up in the grass.

"Hm?" Spike saw the pegasus move out of the corner of his eye.

Spreading her wings out, Scootaloo continued to speak, "Remember what you said yesterday?" Her wings were out because she hoped it would hide her blushing cheeks with her part of her back turned away from him.

"What I said? Oh, you mean about that time I ate forty of Pinkie Pie's cupcakes? Alright, I admit, it wasn't that many, but I did eat about twenty. I won't be doing that again since it made me really sick. I wasn't kidding about me being sick," Spike sat up in the grass as well as he felt bad about lying in his story.

Scootaloo turned her body around to Spike, her face flushed, "That's not what I mean, Spike! I mean….I mean what ya said about liking me and all…." her eyes were fixed downward at the grass as she spoke.

"O-Oh…." Spike wasn't sure what to say since she did threaten to rip his tail off he talked that again.

"Yeah….I….well, I think I kind of like you back…." Scootaloo spoke very softly. She raised her head up and talked again but with a louder tone, "But just a little, alright? Got it?" She looked at Spike who was holding his tail in his front claws, "Oh, come on, Spike! I'm not really going to rip your tail off! Besides, I'm the one who brought it up…." Scootaloo's words were soft and trailed off as she finished speaking.

"You….like me back?" the dragon asked.

Looking back down at the grass, the pegasus replied, "Y-Yes…."

"So….can I ask you something?" Spike looked at Scootaloo, who was still staring at the ground beneath that her flank and front hooves were on top of. The pegasus nodded and Spike continued, "does this mean we can be….you know….coltfriend and marefriend?"

Blushing heavily at the dragon's words, Scootaloo's voice shook, "I guess we could…."

Slowly looking up to see the dragon, Scootaloo was surprised to that Spike was in mid-pounce to tackle and happily hug her. The orange pegasus could not react fast enough to avoid the hug from the dragon. While she was admittedly enjoying the hug, she was trying to pry herself from the dragon's embrace since it felt odd and alien to her.

"Spike! Ease up on the hug already!" Scootaloo pleaded. Spike laughed as he held her close to him. The pony managed to get her hooves in a place where she was able get out of his hold, to which she was able to tackle Spike back for revenge. The two continued to mischievously wrestle with each other. It lasted for a few minutes until Scootaloo finally got the upper hand on Spike and managed pinned his front limbs and wings down against the ground, "Ha! Gotcha!"

Spike laughed good-naturedly as he was pinned under the exhausted pony, "Ha, alright, alright. You win." Spike smiled up to Scootaloo who was looking back down to him.

Looking at the dragon beneath her, Scootaloo's cheeks turned a pinkish-red shade. His warm smile struck at her and made her heart flutter. In a half annoyed and half loving tone, Scootaloo spoke, "Darn it, Spike. You are too freaking cute."

Before Spike could process what she said, the pegasus lowered her head and kissed his lips. The two experienced their first kiss together. Scootaloo's wings stood on end as a new, strange, and exciting feeling ran about her body, tingling her senses and causing her to shiver. As for Spike, he also shivered as the pony kissed him passionately. His scales stood on end and butterflies floated in his stomach as he carefully returned the kiss to the pony he now more than just liked. Both of them knew how they felt about one another: they loved each other.

As their lips parted, Scootaloo looked down to Spike, her face deeply red from her blushing. Spike looked back to her, his face more of a deep purple from color being added to his violet face. The two looked at each in silence for a few moments before Spike nervously spoke.

"So….does this mean….you and me…."

"Yes….you're mine…."

Ch. 6 My Own Worst Enemy

Chapter 6: My Own Worst Enemy

A few weeks passed as Scootaloo and Spike began dating. However, Scootaloo refused to use the word 'dating' since she felt it was both weird and embarrassing. She also felt that way when she and Spike told Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle about their new relationship. Oddly enough, Spike seemed quite fine with informing everypony about it, it was Scootaloo who was shy about doing so. Everypony gave them their best wishes. While it did make Scootaloo happy that their friends were all celebratory for the new couple, she still felt there was a hole inside of her heart that was nagging at her.

Late one warm afternoon, Spike and Scootaloo were relaxing with each other by what was now their special place by the ravine. Looking up at the clouds that dotted the sky, Scootaloo really felt she had to say something.

"Spike?" she asked to her dragon.

"What's up, Scoot?"

"Do you think I'm lame at all?" her voice seemed shaken.

"Huh? Why would I think that?" the purple dragon sat up in the grass.

Scootaloo did the same, "Because I'm a blank flank and I can't even fly!"

"So?"

"So?" Scootaloo was stunned by his relaxed tone, "I'm a freak! I'm almost done with school and I don't even have a cutie mark yet! Applebloom and Sweetie Belle got theirs last week, making me the only pony that doesn't have one in the entire class! And if that wasn't enough, I can't even get off the ground yet! Just look at these wings! They can't do it!" Scootaloo opened her wings to their full wingspan before lightly flapping them, gently moving a small amount of grass near where she was seated. "Even you fly better than me, and you've only had your wings for three months while these things haven't done a darn thing for me since I was born!"

Spike looked at his marefriend and stood up. He moved over to her and wrapped his front limbs around her to hug her, "Scootaloo, I don't care about that. To me, you are awesome as you are. When you get those things, it will be wonderful, but right now I love you just as you are."

A few tears were forming in the pegasus's eyes as she returned the hug, holding to her dragon, "I keep hearing that," her voice was becoming distorted, "but I just want it to be over with….I want to be who I'm supposed to be. I'm tired of fighting myself and always losing."

Spike said nothing. His eyes were closed as he comforted the pony as she hugged him and lightly sobbed against his scales. A few tears rolled off her cheeks and onto the scales. One of the claws of the dragon was carefully stroking Scootaloo's slightly tangled, purple mane.

"I'm….I'm sick of being my own stupid enemy…." the pegasus mumbled.

Opening his eyes slowly, Spike quietly spoke, "Scootaloo," the pegasus looked up at Spike, wiping the tears from her eyes with one of her hooves, "you can ride on my back."

The orange pegasus was confused at his offer, "What?"

"I know it's not the same as flying solo with your own wings, but I think it's a start for ya," Spike gave a warm smile.

Scootaloo thought about the idea for a minute before responding, "Okay…."

Ch. 7 Orange Sky

Chapter 7: "Orange Sky"

"Are you sure about this, Spike?" Scootaloo asked as she was looking at Spike in front of her, seated with his wings spread out wide.

"Sure I'm sure," the dragon replied confidently.

The orange pony was still skeptical, "Umm, how do I….hold on?" she reasonably asked.

"Just fling your hooves around my neck. Then cross them to lock them in place! This will work, I'm sure of it!" Spike seemed to be sure of his method.

Scootaloo was still worried, "Have you ever flown with anypony on your back before?"

"No, but I've head some really heavy saddlebags on me a few times last week. It wasn't that bad!" the dragon gave a warm smile to Scootaloo, who blushed a little.

"O-Okay, Spike," the pegasus replied a bit flustered from his smile.

Doing as she was told, she wrapped her hooves around his long neck and locked them, holding herself closely to her dragon. Spike flapped his wings at a quick pace, to which he began to hover slightly off the ground. Worried, Scootaloo closed her eyes and gripped herself closely to Spike. She would never admit it, but she was scared. Not because she didn't trust Spike flying with her on her back or that they would crash, but she was worried about Spike pushing himself too far. Spike continued flapping his reptilian wings at a swift pace, allowing the two to hover higher above the ground. Spike then adjusted himself to allow himself to glide at a downwards angle.

"There we go, and now to shift just a bit…." the dragon spoke to himself as he glided carefully down into the ravine.

Scootaloo opened her eyes to see that Spike was gliding into the ravine. This frightened the orange pegasus, thinking Spike had pushed himself too much and caused the two to soar into the rocky ravine. She clutched tightly to Spike as she expected for both of them to crash.

However, the dragon was in complete control of his actions. Making a sharp turn upwards, Spike was able to climb up into the air quickly and gain speed, "And there we go!" the purple dragon chimed as he flapped his wings to gain more altitude.

Opening one eye slowly, Scootaloo saw that they had not crashed, but were high above the ground. She looked down and saw Ponyville below. A few ponies were looking up at the two soaring in the sky. Scootaloo could not believe it. She was finally in the air.

"So, what do ya think, Scoots?" Spike asked as he adjusted his wing beats to minimal to allow for an easy glide among the clouds.

"It's….breathtaking…." Scootaloo managed to say as she looked in every direction. Below her was the earth to which she was once grounded on. Next to her were the clouds she dreamed of being next to since she was a filly. And in the distance, Celestia's sun was beginning to disappear in the horizon, causing the sky to be painted a bold and beautiful orange.

Spike smiled happily to himself as Scootaloo gazed around at the sights from such great heights, an experience she had never enjoyed.

Still holding to Spike, the pegasus gradually opened her wings. The feathers on her wings tingled greatly against the air. It was a bizarre and alien feeling to Scootaloo, but she instantly fell in love with that feeling, just as she had fallen in love with the dragon that was carrying her.

With her wings still spread out, she held on to Spike the way she had previously when they had taken off. Closing her eyes, she gently planted a kiss on his neck and nuzzled against him, "Thank you, Spike, thank you."

Spike smiled lovingly and replied softly, "Of course."

As the air flowed through her mane, Scootaloo added, "I truly love you, Spike. So very much."

Unknown to the two lovers, something was happening just outside of their sight. On the back of the orange pegasus, there was a faint yet radiant flash near her tail. Without either of them knowing immediately, Scootaloo had finally gained her long awaited cutie mark.

END