Crimes and Courtship

Chapters

Stolen Serpent
Verko's Viciousness
Epilogue
Prologue

Stolen Serpent

At least they would have relaxed had the following week not been the busiest week they had ever had, Twilight had half-expected this to happen because she had confessed to Celestia that she didn't feel like she was very important or needed in royal affairs, to which Celestia had promised that even the smallest of royal duties were vital and crucial parts of being a princess but agreed to put her to the test by unloading more duties on to her as a way to challenge her and see whether she was truly ready to, one day, take her place and rule Equestria on her own. Ordinarily this wouldn't have been a problem, the only issue was that she had become too reliant on Spike organizing all of her tasks according to an overly complicated set of specifications she had put in place to make her duties easy to manage and go as smoothly as possible, not to mention check lists, preparation for certain events, running around here, there and everywhere for things she needed, Spike didn't get a moments rest. The week started off fairly positive, Spike did all the things he usually did for Twilight on a daily basis, it was only on his second day that things took a turn.

Twilight was walking along rattling off several different things that had Spike having to rapidly write on a piece of parchment whilst fetching various objects, sweat was dripping from his body and he was panting like a thirsty dog, his face glowing red with the heat as Celestia's sun shone down. Twilight was about halfway through dictating all the things she had lined up for the week when she realized that along with her own voice, she couldn't hear the scratchy noise of a quill scribbling away, nor could she hear the pitter patter of Spike's dragon feet and even the heavy breathing of exertion had stopped. She looked around only to realize that the new noise she hadn't heard was a thud as she saw Spike had collapsed on the floor, clearly having been overworked. Frantically, Twilight picked him up and rushed to the hospital, she felt like her duties could wait if it was in the interest of making sure her number one assistant remained healthy and, more importantly, alive. Twilight practically crashed through the hospital doors, drawing the attention of every nurse and doctor who immediately took Spike into the A&E wing to see what was wrong with him.

Twilight waited patiently outside his room, panicked because she would undoubtedly fall behind schedule without Spike and also because Spike's life was clearly in danger, or so she assumed anyway, it wasn't often that a dragon just randomly collapsed for no reason, or if it was a regular occurrence then it had certainly never been documented. After minutes of waiting, Nurse Redheart stepped out of the room and Twilight practically pounced at the news and quickly said "Oh my goodness! Is he alright?! What in Celestia's name happened to him?!"

Nurse Redheart calmly went "No need to worry your highness, Spike is perfectly fine, he was simply dehydrated and was working too hard, that's all. He should take it easier, he clearly had less food and water than he was used to whilst he was working and from the way his body um... evacuated itself once his muscles relaxed, it seems he has not been giving himself any breaks"

Twilight smiled awkwardly and said "Sure! I'll be certain to let him know that" whilst desperately trying to ignore the fact that this was probably all her fault, she forgot just how hot the summer months could get in Equestria. Once Spike was feeling better and they were on their way back to the castle, Twilight said "I'm sorry that I made you work harder than you were able, I understand the workload is larger but I should never put work before your safety, do you want to take the rest of the day off?"

Spike shook his head and said "No no, I'd prefer to keep going for the rest of the day, I couldn't call myself your number one assistant if I let a little thing like this stop me, I promise I'll be fine"

Twilight sighed in relief and said "Oohh thank goodness! Not to say that your falling unconscious mishap was inconvenient or anything but we are really behind schedule! We still have a lot of categorizing to do! So it looks like we'll have to work well into the late evening so that we can get back on track and start the next load we have planned tomorrow morning! That's not an issue is it?"

Spike scoffed and went "Please! I'm like any employee anywhere Twilight and you are the boss! You say jump and I'll ask how high! No problem!"

It was a problem. Spike had meant it when he said that he fully intended to work the rest of the day plus a little overtime, it was only when he realized just how much work he had to catch up on that he realized he had probably made a mistake, then again he was determined to prove he could handle it or Twilight might reconsider who she would want as a royal adviser, not to mention that if he had taken the day off he probably would end up having to do a lot more catching up the following day. Spike persevered despite having to work, not just through the rest of the day, but also the evening and even some of the night until it was one o'clock on the morning, which wasn't ideal considering that Twilight insisted they got an early start every day at six o'clock in the morning, five hours of sleep wasn't exactly enough. Spike somehow managed to drag himself out of bed ready for work, involuntarily having to skip breakfast as Twilight all but forced him into getting to work straight away in order to play catch-up and get back into the regular flow of her schedule and, ideally, even do so much work that they would be ahead of schedule!

Twilight knew something was wrong when she noticed Spike moving around in a very lethargic and hazardous way like a pony who had drank too much cider or party punch, not paying attention to what she was saying half of the time, forgetting things he had to write down or do and often stopping and resting in the middle of a task to keep himself from falling over while his eyes rolled in their sockets. After two hours of this behavior seemingly not fixing itself, Twilight took Spike aside and said "Spike, is something wrong? You look to be on the verge of fainting again, are you too hot or something? Are you staying hydrated?"

Spike shook his head frantically to wake himself up for all of ten seconds as he said "I'm fine I promise! I've had plenty of water and I'm keeping cool! I'm fine!" Spike yawned and got back to work, trying desperately to look like he was motivated and determined to stay busy despite the fact that his body and mind were crying out for some relaxation, peace and quiet. The day came to a close and at around midnight, Twilight was satisfied that enough work had been done for the day and retired to her room, allowing Spike to collapse in his own bed and shed a tear as he fell into the deepest sleep he had ever had in his life, nothing came closer to the feeling of going into a coma than when Spike closed his eyes and allowed his mind to slip away and finally switch off for what precious few hours it had to take care of itself subconsciously. Only six hours later and Spike was once again forced to get out of bed feeling like he had only just got in it before having to start work yet again, he didn't know how much more of this he could take, he felt like he might snap if it went on for too much longer as he was constantly having to push himself harder to meet with Twilight's expectations of him as an assistant, there was only so much one dragon could take and he was hoping beyond hope that Twilight might go easy on him, which is why it surprised him that in the middle of the day, he actually got his wish...... sort of.

Halfway through the day Twilight went "Alright Spike! I think this has been a very productive day so far if I do say so myself! We've been doing so well that we're actually slightly ahead of schedule! Why don't you take a small ten minute break?" Spike felt a surge of elation, a ten minute break? It wasn't much but it was something! He didn't want to go back to sleep because he knew he would oversleep and that wouldn't reflect well on him, so he decided to just enjoy some fresh air as he flew out the doors and sat at the highest point of the castle. As Spike took in a deep breath of fresh air, allowing the cool breeze to glide across his scales, he looked down at the ground below before realizing that he had never been this high up before... then felt a slight sense of discomfort as he imagined what would happen if he jumped without opening his wings...... the second he hit the ground he would most likely die instantly, everything would just stop.........

Spike had hardly realized he'd just been staring at the ground below thinking about jumping to his doom until Twilight found him and said "Ah, there you are Spike! Break time is over, so can you... can... um...... Spike? What are you doing?"

Spike was silent for a moment before he went "Twilight... I've never really thought about it but... can I ask you a question?"

Twilight, somewhat perplexed, went "Um... sure Spike, anything"

Spike asked "When taking off from the ground or from the edge of something tall or whatever... is opening your wings a voluntary action or does it happen naturally?"

Twilight said "It's a voluntary action, you choose to open your wings. Though of course you would have to open your wings if you were jumping off of something tall like the castle! If you didn't you would just... just......", Twilight gasped as she caught a sense of exactly why Spike had decided to ask this question, it was an awful revelation and an idea that Twilight thought she'd never have to realize as she went "Spike... were you up here just contemplating the prospect of what it would be like to... to... well...... go to sleep permanently?" Ashamed, Spike simply nodded as tears welled in his eyes, Twilight just panicked and went "Spike spike spike, please tell me how to help! You should never ever feel so low as to want to do that! If I can do anything to make you never feel those kind of thoughts again just tell me and if I can do it then I will make it happen!"

Spike thought for a moment, he hated to admit it but the strain of the work was getting to him more than he thought, he'd gotten through the physical health scare but now his mental health was at risk, he needed more than a simple ten minute break. With that idea in mind, Spike simply turned to Twilight and said "I need... a vacation..."

later -

"I'm serious girls! He was just sat at the top of the castle and seriously considering jumping off without opening his wings!" Twilight was sat in the throne room of the castle with all of her friends, Twilight had put everything on hold to seek advice from the rest of the elements to see what they had to say about Spike's idea of a vacation instead of sticking to his vocation.

Applejack said "Twilight, don't you think y'all are frettin' too much 'bout this? Spike deserves a little TLC if he's so plum-tuckered out that he's willin' to consider kickin' the bucket too early just so he can relax! Give him a break!"

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement and said "Yeah, I always know that after a few hours of arranging weather or cloud busting, I need somewhere to nap and get super chillaxed!"

Twilight shook her head and said "No no, you don't understand, he doesn't just want to stop working for a while, he also wants to go travelling. Specifically, he said that his ideal vacation would be to use the summer holiday to visit all the places we never got to explore properly when we were trying to stop the storm king, starting with Kluge Town"

Pinkie Pie said "Well, what's wrong with that? Visiting all sorts of cool places would be super duper fun! Spike can handle himself, he's a dragon!"

Twilight, with some hesitance, went "OK but... what about all my royal duties that need organizing? I can't very well do it alone and just imagine how behind schedule I'll become if I let my number one assistant take a break for the whole summer! I'm already behind schedule for holding this meeting! HOW COULD I POSSIBLY COPE?!?!"

Twilight's outburst was followed by a short silence before Rarity said "Darling, forgive me for being somewhat direct but... it does seem a tad lazy on your part to expect Spike to do everything for you"

Twilight raised an eyebrow as she looked in Rarity's direction and went "Excuse me?"

Fluttershy finally entered the conversation and said "Well, you're a princess now, I know Spike is training to be your royal adviser but he won't be the ruler of the country, you will. Don't you think it would be more challenging and a better test of your skill as a monarch to make do without Spike by your side for the summer? Plus, even if you do need help, you can always call on one of us, or if you're working through the night then Owlowiscious can do some things for you, right?"

Twilight thought through everything the girls had said, before letting out a breath she had been holding and said "You're right, I suppose if Spike really feels like he needs a holiday then so be it... to be honest I can't believe I had to think about this when the alternative was for him to splatter himself all over the footpath between the castle and Ponyville!" After the meeting had ended, Twilight went to find Spike, luckily catching him just after he had decided to get all the sleep he had missed out on so that he would feel more rested because whether Twilight agreed to let him have a break or not, he would end up either working hard to organize all of her royal duties or making the long and arduous journey to stop number one, Kluge Town. Twilight took in a deep breath and said "Spike, if you promise to never ever, not even once, EVER even consider suicide no matter how tough things get, EVER... then you can go on vacation for the rest of the summer"

Spike's eyes widened, he knew that Twilight was going to think about letting him have a holiday but he wasn't expecting to get the whole summer off! He went "Really? You mean, no work at all? I can just go wherever I want and do whatever I want?"

Twilight nodded and said "Precisely, all you have to do is pack what you need and go, I won't follow you, I won't contact you for help, I won't ask you to do anything for me before you leave, just so long as you NEVER think about hurting yourself then I'm gonna let you go. You're very special to me Spike and I've been unfair to you, so long as I can guarantee your health and safety then you take as much time off as you need. You've always been here for me, so the least I can do is let you enjoy your summer without lifting a claw to help me for once, I promise I am totally fine so don't worry about me, ok? For this summer, you have total freedom, no prying eyes, I swear"

Spike just threw his arms around Twilight and said "Oh thank you Twilight! Thank you thank you! I can't thank you enough, seriously, thank you so much!"

Twilight chuckled and said "You're welcome, now go pack a few snacks and something to drink to keep your energy up for the long journey to Kluge Town and then... well, have fun!" Spike was so excited to get going that all he packed was four sandwiches and two bottles of water for the trip, he figured that as long as he stayed at a decently high altitude when flying, then the heat of the desert wouldn't affect him too much because the wind blowing through his spines as he flew would keep him cool. Twilight smiled as she bid Spike farewell, to see him soaring through the sky with his wings wide open on his way to far off lands was a much more pleasant vision than him plummeting willingly to his death, she reassured herself that she had made the right choice and as soon as Spike was too far away to see, she went back into the castle to do her own work and take her mind off things. Spike took in a deep breath of fresh air before letting it back out, he had never felt so good, not even his bag of food and drink weighed him down, he couldn't wait to get to Kluge Town and see what wonders awaited him there. He knew that Kluge Town was slightly dangerous but he was a dragon and confident he could hold his own, not to mention that, as soon as he made it to Capper's place, Capper would probably make for a good tour guide when navigating Kluge Town, making sure to avoid danger but also act as a body guard if things went south.

After a long flight, Spike finally touched the ground again, stopping right outside the entrance to Kluge Town, it seemed things had changed quite a bit since the defeat of the storm king, in that it was a little bit friendlier than he remembered. As he walked through the town, rather than coiling back in fear at his oddly vivid color palette or trying to rob him of his exotic and tasty food, they welcomed him, said hello and just engaged in some idle chit-chat, it was all just very pleasant! After looking around the various stalls to see what kind of things Kluge Town had to offer, he figured he might as well find a place to stay, he couldn't take in the whole town in just one day of course! He didn't want to try and find Capper's place just yet, besides he figured that he'd be a nuisance if he asked to stay at Capper's place and instead decided to see if he could find some kind of hotel. Rather than wander around aimlessly through the labyrinth of streets he asked a local if there was anywhere to stay, to which the local simply smiled and pointed him in the direction the nearest building where he was certain to get a bed for the night.

Unfortunately, Spike wasn't very good at navigating, he made his way through some winding streets and ended up getting completely lost and didn't feel like flying to find out where in town he was after flying for so long just to get to the town. Luckily, as he was walking past an alleyway, he noticed that at the end of the alleyway was the very hotel he was looking for, he could tell because the wooden door to the place had the word "hotel" scratched into it along with three stars, sweet! He decided not to go the long way and just cut through the alleyway, Spike smiled as he felt like this was going to be an awesome summer holiday, though that thought disappeared when he was halfway down the alley, as did all of his thoughts upon falling unconscious after receiving an extreme blow to the back of his head from an unknown assailant.

hours later -

When Spike opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, he had no idea where he was, there was a searing pain on his back, a warm liquid rolling down the side of his body and some sort of odd scar on his throat. As things came into focus, Spike noticed that he was slightly curled up, having been locked up in a cage so small that the bars pressed against his body and, through his slightly fuzzy vision, he noticed the silhouette of some unknown creature walking away carrying...... a pair of wings? Spike came upon a horrific realization, when trying to flap his own wings he confirmed what he thought had happened, whoever had attacked him had crammed him into a cage and had just surgically removed his wings. Spike screamed, his vision cleared as he noticed one of the filthiest most unkempt rooms he had ever seen, as the creature came back into the room he grabbed a nearby object and threw it at the cage, making the rusty bars rattle as it screamed "Shut up dragon! I see that you're awake enough to notice that I've ripped your fucking wings off, relax and shut your trap, they'll grow back"

Spike looked up to see his captor, a gigantic, disgustingly ugly mole rat wearing goggles and a scruffy suit, with a voice that made it sound like his throat was coated with a layer of slime. As he sat down he simply said "The name is Verko, crime lord of Kluge Town and your new owner dragon! You'll be staying here in Verko Tower as my slave! Well, temporarily anyway..."

When Verko mentioned the word "temporarily" a glimmer of hope lit up in Spike's eyes as he went "You mean... you mean you're not going to keep me here? You'll set me free eventually?"

Verko cackled and said "Set you free!? Why would I do that?! You see dragon, I consider myself a collector of sorts, I harvest the rarest and most valuable items far and wide, some for my own private use and other things, like you, I sell off to the highest bidder! Believe me, there are a lot of creatures out there that would consider a captive dragon like yourself a very valuable commodity!"

The hope in Spike's eyes died, conceding defeat for the moment he just said "Well, considering you are going to keep me in this cage, can you at least call me by my name? It's Spike"

Verko snorted and said "Your name is of no consequence to me dragon, you're staying right where you are until a decent buyer comes along. Oh and by the way, that little cut along your neck? That was to remove the glands that make you capable of breathing fire, which sadly does decrease the value a little, though the glands do make for excellent fuel! In fact I'm using them right now!"

Spike was horrified, his body had been mutilated and altered all for the sake of profit?! No wings, no ability to breath fire, he was doomed. How could he escape such a situation? As he was going through that question, a body guard came through with a plate and a bottle of wine, Verko grinned and went "Ah! Excellent timing, You see dragon, I've used your fire glands as a means to cook a rare delicacy that no creature has had the pleasure of tasting for thousands of years, fried dragon wings! With a nice glass of red speyer wine, excellent year and the only one of its kind, a meal fit for a king!"

Spike looked on in horror and sorrow when Verko's body guard left and he was forced to watch Verko eat his wings, which only hours ago had been attached to his body. Verko scraped his yellow teeth along the bones, licking his lips and sucking his paws to get every last morsel of delicious flesh and skin that he could until just the skeletal parts of the wings were left, clean and washed down with a wine that probably no other creature had ever tasted. Verko hummed and went "Ah... exceptional! I also think these bones would make for a nice little trophy in my study as a memento of my conquest!"

Spike, with tears streaming down his cheeks went "You monster... just you wait until Twilight comes looking for me!"

Verko's ears perked "Twilight... did you say Twilight? As in the pony princess? You're in her employ?!"

Spike nodded, Verko looked scared beyond belief as he went "Oh no! No no no no no no no no NO! Of all the dragons in the world I capture the only dragon I absolutely couldn't afford to capture lest I face the wrath of that purple horse goddess?! This is terrible! You're far too dangerous to use as a bartering item if you're in with equestrian royalty!"

Spike smirked and said "Exactly! Now let me go!"

Verko, shaking nervously said "No no no, it's not that simple dragon! I've taken every measure to ensure that you stay here! Sure your wings and glands will grow back but that process takes a long time! So the only way you could escape is to jump out of the window, though considering we are up in a tower you wouldn't survive the fall and I doubt you want to end up splattered all over the ground!" Verko was right, Spike had still made a promise to Twilight not to kill himself under any circumstances. Verko was sweating profusely, chewing at his nails as he mumbled to himself "Who knows? She could be on her way right now! What can I do? I can't very well...", then Verko seemed to have an epiphany, he turned to Spike and said "If you're a friend of Twilight Sparkle... what are you doing here in Kluge Town?"

Spike, not seeing any reason not to answer, said "Summer vacation"

Verko's eyes lit up as he asked "So the princess isn't expecting your return until the end of the summer?! Oh thank goodness! OK, this can work, I'll simply keep you here, nurse you back to health and send you back when the summer is over, nobody will have to know... though if you're discovered by accident... no, I can't take that chance!" Verko, in a panic, went over to a cupboard and opened it up, rifling through various different bottles on the shelves until he pulled something out, hastily opening it and practically shoving it in front of Spike's face before pleading with him "Drink this"

Spike eyed the foul-smelling liquid curiously and said "What is it?"

Verko groaned as he sighed out "It's a color potion, it's not gonna kill you, just disguise you, now drink it!"

Spike didn't see that he had much choice and so downed the potion, he felt his scales tingle and his spines shiver as all the purple skin on his body turned crimson and all the green on his body adopted the shade of purple that had previously been on his skin, though his eyes retained their emerald green hue. Then, out of nowhere, Verko took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the cage. Spike got out of the cage and went "You're letting me out of the cage?"

Verko said "Of course, though I'll only allow free range of movement in this room and this room alone dragon, I can't very well get you looking back to your old self if you're stuck in the cage. Ugh, when will I learn to always check the merchandise before I try it out?! Well, so long as you're living here you should at least make yourself useful, if you can serve your pony royalty then you should be able to work for me decently well enough, so make yourself useful"

Spike saw that as a fairly small price to pay for his freedom and so he asked "Well, what do you want me to do?"

Verko sat down, clearly exhausted emotionally as he waved his hand nonchalantly and said "Clean, take your time and if you want anything to eat or drink just let me know and I'll let you take a break for as long as you need. I need you to be at your best as soon as possible so I can get you sent back to where you came from unscathed in order to forget that all of this ever happened...", Spike was surprised, Verko was turning out to be a more fair employer than Twilight at this point! Sure it's because he didn't want to get in trouble, though if Spike had to pick one job over the other for the summer, this is probably the one he'd pick!

Verko's Viciousness

Spike searched around for some cleaning tools, eventually finding a very basic broom in a closet along with some empty plastic bags. As Spike got to work sweeping and collecting rubbish in the bags, straightening out furniture and collecting various plates and cutlery along the way, he decided that since he was trapped here for the summer then he might as well attempt some kind of conversation with his temporary kidnapper-turned-boss. "So... Verko, how'd you get to be crime boss of Kluge Town?"

Verko snorted and said "What do you care dragon? I'm keeping you here as a servant, what delusional world are you living in where you think that the appropriate response to temporary enslavement is to have a friendly chat with the person who's enslaving you? Don't tell me that it's employment because I'm not paying you"

Spike rolled his eyes and went "Well, Twilight doesn't pay me to be her servant and I still talk to her. Come on, if I'm gonna be here we might as well help the time go by"

Verko raised his eyebrow and said "The princess doesn't pay you to work?"

Spike shook his head "Not a single bit, not to mention she only stocks pony food, which is fine and all but it wouldn't kill her to occasionally get a few gem stones for me to eat. Actually, that's one thing I wondered, how comes you know that my dragon body will regenerate the body parts you removed?"

Verko smiled and said "Well, despite my rather grotesque appearance I do happen to be quite knowledgeable about things, it helps when it comes down to shady business transactions to have an extended knowledge so that you can avoid getting scammed. I have plenty of books about history and coupled with a bit of common sense, it's easy to see that once dragons reach a certain age, their bodies begin to heal quicker and even regenerate body parts due to the volatile terrain they live in plus the fact that dragons typically tend to enjoy a good fight every now and then"

Spike found that little fact pretty interesting, not only that dragons had the ability to form new limbs but that Verko knew he looked gross and was, presumably, making up for it by being powerful and smart, never judge a book by the cover. Suddenly, Spike's stomach rumbled and gurgled, Spike cringed and held onto his stomach before quickly asking "Hey Verko... where's your toilet?"

Verko went "Huh? Oh right, out in the corridor, first door on your left. By the way, there's no point trying to escape once you leave this room, my body guards are posted throughout the entire tower and they'd catch you before you even made it to any exits", Spike hurried himself to the toilet, leaving Verko to relax and smile to himself as he reflected on all that had transpired. This day had started with a possible business deal gone wrong and now Verko felt like he had made a friend, he'd never had a friend before because he was an enormous mole rat and as soon as anybody saw how vile he looked they just assumed that a vile appearance meant a vile soul. It didn't exactly help prove them wrong when he decided to become a crime lord but it's not like many other opportunities were available to him in Kluge Town. Verko shook his head frantically and spoke to himself "What is going on with me? I'm Verko! The greatest crime lord this town has ever seen! I've ruined lives and torn creatures apart just to make money! I have more power than anyone else in this town and on top of that I actually own a fucking tower named after me! I can't go soft! Pah! Friendship, what's so good about friendship anyway? It's not like it's magic or something! It's that dragon! He's treating me like a friend to weaken me! I'll show that little shit! If he needs the toilet so badly then I'll make sure he gets it!"

Spike re-entered the room and went "Ah, thanks Verko, I didn't realize how badly I-" shortly before falling unconscious as Verko picked up a nearby hat stand and brought it crashing down on Spike's head.

hours later -

Spike woke up with a pounding headache, his eyes opened slowly with that familiar feeling of disorientation, had everything up until that point been a dream? Had he been knocked out again or was this still the first time but for real? He wasn't sure until his vision returned to him properly. As Spike looked around he noticed that the place was surprisingly clean, he wasn't in a cage but rather he was suspended in the air by hooks that were piercing the flesh of his head, arms, back, legs and tail on the end of strings that were attached to the ceiling, he had no wings or ability to breathe fire, his claws, spines and even the spade on his tail had been filed away until they were basically non-existent and upon checking every nook and cranny of his mouth with his tongue to figure out the source of the painful ache in his gums, he discovered that all of his teeth had been removed... yet he still couldn't be sure if his previous suffering had been a strangely accurate dream or not, at least not until Verko came into the room. Spike growled and went "Verko! So you're the one who knocked me out in that alley huh?" Spike was briefly surprised to find he still had perfect diction despite having no teeth.

Verko raised an eyebrow and said "What the fuck are you talking about? We've already done that part, I knocked you out again on your way back from the toilet"

Spike nodded and went "Ah right, gotcha, just had to be sure but also... what the fuck?! I thought we were getting on! My idea of nursing myself back to health isn't sticking hooks into my body to suspend myself in the air! It's almost kind of mocking considering I can't fly at the moment"

Verko chuckled and said "Yes, I must say that the cruel irony of having you be in the air without wings was a stroke of genius on my part! I had no choice, you were trying to make me weak dragon! I started thinking of you as a fellow creature rather than broken goods, which is all you are! I had also been foolish enough to restrain myself in altering some parts of your anatomy that could potentially be used as weaponry! Like your sharp teeth, sharp claws, those spines and even that club-like spade on your tail! Now if you decided to fight against me for your freedom you have only brute strength! I think it goes without saying that considering my larger size I could best you in a fight and even if I didn't, my body guards would make short work of you! Now your only means of escape is death! Though in the meantime I'm going to torture you for attempting to taint my dark soul with your goodness and kind-hearted nature! You have all summer to heal so I can still send you back to your pony princess seemingly unharmed! Physically at least, I imagine your mental health is something else entirely, the point is that you deserve to suffer!

Spike grimaced and went "Well... what's to stop me from telling the princess you did all these horrible and humiliating things to me?"

Verko snorted and said "Nothing, though she'd never find me. I'm an extremely resourceful and powerful criminal, you think I don't have back-up plans for such a dangerous situation? I'm the most powerful creature in Kluge Town and I've made plenty of enemies, yet my criminal empire thrives! Besides, do you think your extremely demanding and unfair princess would ever allow you to go on vacation again if you told her?"

That comment actually sent a twinge of fear through Spike, the whole reason he was even here was because he needed a break from all the hard work that he was going through that had brought him to the brink of suicide, if he told Twilight he had never gone past Kluge Town and had been kidnapped by Verko, he'd never get a vacation again! He might actually find himself back at the top of the castle again, ready to end it all for the sake of comfort! It seemed death truly was the only escape and due to his promise to Twilight, even death wasn't a route he felt able to take. Verko smiled wickedly as he saw Spike's expression and went "I see you've come to an understanding about your little predicament you ridiculous reptile! Don't go thinking that your punishment is over however, no no no, you needed the toilet, you wanted to clean and you wanted to be nice to me... so I would say some more cruel irony is in order, because I'm going to give you those opportunities in the worst way possible!"

Spike didn't see that there was really any way out of this, so he simply stopped thinking about it, why try to formulate a plan in a situation that was so hopeless and inescapable? Might as well just let the inevitable happen instead of trying to fight it. Verko retrieved what looked to be an extremely large syringe then set it to one side as he then went and fetched two big buckets full of water, Spike could only guess as to what devious and disgusting things Verko was planning to do to him with those items, no obvious methods of torture came to mind that involved an over-sized plastic tube and water, was he going to be drowned? Forced to drink until his stomach burst? Spike didn't know, though what followed was certainly not what he had expected. Verko thrust the syringe into the first bucket of water and pulled back on the plunger, half of all the water in the bucket filling the syringe to full capacity, Spike's eyes went as wide as dinner plates upon feeling a light pressure on his pucker with Verko chuckling while he prodded the young dragon's back door with the nozzle of the syringe before saying "So, are you ready to empty your bowels like you've never emptied them before you little lizard?"

Spike was visibly shaking as he frantically went "No... n-no way, there's no way you're serious! Please don't do this! I'll do anything you want just g-" Spike didn't get to finish his sentence as he went silent with shock at the feeling of the nozzle forcibly stretching open his ring and entering his rear, though quickly found himself making grunts and moans of mild discomfort as untold amounts of water started to slowly fill his bottom, with Verko still chuckling away and relishing the sound of Spike's whimpering and watching with cruel fascination as he saw the little drakes belly beginning to distend with the amount of water that he was being forced to hold inside him considering that the nozzle of the syringe was currently blocking the only passageway. The pressure built and built until finally the syringe was empty of water, having been deposited into Spike's guts until his belly looked like a big water balloon, what came next was just as uncomfortable an experience as being filled with water... that was letting the water out. Verko stood back and ripped the nozzle from Spike's back door, allowing the water to gush out from his hole like a waterfall and spilling onto the floor below, a spillage which Verko would certainly order Spike to mop up once he was finished with him.

Verko was pleasantly surprised to find that other than being an extremely light shade of brown, the water looked about as clean coming out as it did going in, Verko highlighted this fact as he said "Interesting dragon... either your kind has intestines as clean as a whistle or you're far too thorough when it comes to personal hygiene! Though that being said..." Verko once again plunged the syringe into the bucket of water and smirked as he went "...I suppose when it comes to making sure you're clean inside and out, you can't be too thorough can you? So let's make sure your insides are as clean as they can get!" Spike endured an arduous twenty minutes as Verko followed through on his plan despite there being nothing to flush out of Spike's body, now it was just plain and simple torture... sort of. In a weird kind of way, Spike actually began to enjoy the feeling of being filled with water, it made him feel full in a strangely comfortable way and then when the water left his body, he felt a great sense of relief. When Verko had gone through both buckets of water, Spike wasn't sure if he was glad it was over or not, though was quick to notice that despite quite a bit of water being ejected from his body, his still slightly swollen belly indicated that perhaps not all of it had left him entirely. Verko put the buckets and syringe away ready to move on to the next phase of his torture while Spike pleaded with his body not to get an erection, which would no doubt be very awkward to explain considering that Spike had only just discovered this odd kinky part of himself.

What Spike didn't know is that things were actually about to make a very abrupt and sexual turn, though Verko would be under the assumption that this would more be a form of torture rather than pleasure, both because he assumed Spike was straight and that what he was about to do would be rape, completely unaware that Spike was bisexual and that his next action would be somewhat semi-consensual. Verko returned and began searching through a nearby drawer, retrieving what could only be a dog collar, Verko saw Spike's eyes were drawn to it and said "Pretty nifty thing huh? I snatched this little item up from a diamond dog I'd managed to capture a few moons back! Now it's time for you to wear it, I wouldn't want to make our next activity too easy..."

As Verko put the collar on Spike's neck and tightened it as much as he could without suffocating him to death, Spike just went "What do you mean?"

Verko stood in front of Spike and said "So... now that you've been to the toilet, you would get back to cleaning right? After all, you seem to give the impression that you are somewhat fond of cleaning, not to mention quite good at it, you like to clean... so if you would be so kind..." Verko undid his pants and pulled them down, kicking them away from his feet as his surprisingly large dick sprung out, the tip actually striking Spike on the nose before Verko went "How about you polish this for me? With your mouth..." Spike actually wasn't against the prospect, true he wasn't asking for this or necessarily saying yes to it, yet he wasn't saying no either and although he had shown more of an interest in girls back home, he did have an interest in guys as well.

Spike just looked up at Verko and asked "So... you're gay?"

Verko snorted and went "I have no sexuality. I'm a creature of business, I strive for efficiency and as I'm sure you have noticed, I look extremely disgusting, so I can't afford to turn down the very rare opportunities I get for sexual gratification and relief. If it feels good, then that's all that matters, now suck it." Spike closed his eyes and opened his mouth obediently, to which Verko responded by immediately shoving his entire erection as roughly as possible down Spike's throat and started to savagely thrust away, his large heavy balls slapping against Spike's chin as he pistoned away like an aggressive machine. While Verko was grunting from the exertion of violating Spike's mouth, Spike couldn't help but hack and cough as he struggled for breath, not expecting such a violent approach as well as the collar that was already too tight and served no other purpose than to crush his airways and squeeze Verko's large member. Despite the way he was being treated, Spike figured he might as well indulge himself and coiled his tongue around Verko's cock and made small moans of excitement and pleasure whenever he could. Verko had intended to do this in order to humiliate Spike, though he had achieved his goal in a rather different way, the helplessness, the subservience, this was the kind of humiliation that Spike found to be so thrilling and exhilarating, especially if sex was involved.

Minutes went by and Verko kept his consistent pace, it was actually Spike who was the one that changed. Other than embracing the ferocious face fucking, Spike was red in the face from lack of air, his throat felt sore, his cheeks were aching from the constant sucking, his eyes were welling up with tears and drool was dripping from his chin. Spike was pulled out from his trance when he felt Verko's dick throbbing as if to signal his impending orgasm, Spike was relieved that all his efforts were about to be rewarded with a glorious mouthful of delicious spunk, or maybe Verko would decide to hold himself in his throat and deposit his warm load directly into his stomach which would be just as arousing... or at least it would have been had Verko decided not to do either of those things in favor of pulling his dick out of Spike completely, his shining and spit-polished shaft glistening out in the cold open air of the room. Verko sighed in relaxation and said "Ah... good dragon, you polished my fuck pole perfectly!"

Spike deadpanned and said "Your dick wasn't dirty to begin with, you just wanted a blow job"

Verko simply went "Shut up, time for part three of your punishment! I've already mocked you for your weak bladder and your bizarre desire to clean things, now to punish you for your kindness and your twisted perspective that friendship solves everything!" Verko moved behind Spike this time and eyed up his defenseless virgin ass hole, then gripped onto his hips before saying "Considering that I'm a filthy overgrown mole rat who doesn't have anyone's admiration, wouldn't it be the kind thing to do to let me use you like a friend with benefits would?" Verko cackled lightly as he shuffled forward and began to press the tip of his cock against Spike's twitching back entrance.

Rather than vehemently asking Verko not to penetrate him, Spike panicked and said "Wait! Aren't you at least gonna lube me up?"

Verko smirked and said "Wouldn't be much of a punishment if it was purely pleasure on your part, I'm doing this to hurt and humble you. Remember dragon, I'm a cold and ferocious crime lord and the master of this tower, so you're gonna be taking it my way, not your way!" With no restraint or sympathy whatsoever, Verko pressed harder and with saliva as his only aid, began sinking his member into the tight warm confines of Spike's young dragon booty. If Spike had teeth he'd be gritting them, he'd never had anything so large in his bottom and he was being stretched out by what felt like a monstrous amount of dick meat that was slowly making him very full in quite a nice way, way fuller than the water had made him feel and just because it was so hard and solid, he could feel every contour, every vein, every little detail of Verko's cock as it slid past his ring and rubbed against his inner walls. Spike stayed defiantly silent, mainly because he didn't want to make it obvious he was enjoying it in case Verko decided to stop, though he couldn't stop his own rapidly growing erection, achingly hard at full mast with the tip bumping against his own belly that was still distended from being filled with water. Once Verko was fully hilted in Spike's behind, he let out a sigh of enjoyment and hummed slightly as he said "Very nice.... you're very tight back here dragon, not surprising I guess, I doubt you get much action. In a way it's almost a shame I have to ruin you, this is a really nice butt, I doubt there are many creatures who have an ass like this..."

Verko tightened his grip on Spike's feminine hips and began humping away, initially deciding to not go as hard and as fast as possible because he had felt his climax building when fucking Spike's face and didn't want to cum too early, otherwise the punishment would be over too quickly. As a reptile, Spike didn't have a prostate and so wasn't able to truly experience the sensations that most guys would get, though that didn't mean that he didn't absolutely love being fucked in the ass. Spike yet again acknowledged that he couldn't let Verko know he was enjoying himself but he also couldn't ignore the fact that his balls were aching for release, had Verko decided then to reach down and fondle his junk, Spike was certain he would have immediately painted the floor with his own spunk, Spike only hoped that the anal sex went on for long enough that he might be able to orgasm without the need for direct stimulation to his angrily pulsating erection. Verko picked up the pace, he wanted to punish Spike for sure but he did feel a little backed up after voluntarily sacrificing the chance to blow his load in Spike's mouth just so that he could torture him by giving it to him in the ass, not to mention that he could easily just torture Spike like this again considering he was here for the whole summer, this would be a summer to remember. While Verko panted heavily with his hips colliding with Spike's buttocks and sweat rolling down his forehead, Spike was feeling the heat from all the constant friction, the rim of his pucker was stinging and itchy and despite Spike enjoying the sex for the most part, the unrelenting impatience of Verko and his unwillingness to think of how Spike was feeling did come with a slight element of discomfort on top of the already odd feeling of his bloated stomach jiggling.

Verko was rushing towards orgasm now, his nuts swinging forward to clap against Spike's own, unaware that the small drake was even closer to cumming than he was. Spike tried desperately to hold back the moans of elation he wanted to let out as he was finally brought to climax, though couldn't help but let out a whimper as pleasure coursed through his entire body the second he started to squirt jizz onto the floor beneath him, his entire cock from the shaft to the tip tingling while his cum factories tensed with each shot. Verko had heard Spike's small whimpering sounds and smirked, assuming they were whimpers of pain and despair, which only spurred him on to hasten his way to orgasm, getting closer by the second as he felt Spike's anal walls rippling and squeezing his turgid length. A whole minute passed with Spike's cock deflating and Verko somehow finding the strength and energy to fuck faster and stronger with each passing moment with seemingly no end in sight, until finally letting out a large guttural groan and holding himself fully inside Spike as he started pumping what must have been pints of stored up cum into the deepest recesses of Spike's delicious draconic derriere. Spike hummed and let out a sigh of contentment, in stark contrast to the water, Verko's payload was thick, warm and gave him a sense of comfort akin to having just eaten a large hot meal on a cold wintery night, though his sense of equilibrium was brief as Verko's load was so substantial that Spike's abdomen once again expanded from the excess amount of fluid inside him, so heavy was he now that the hooks in his skin were struggling to keep him held aloft.

Verko stayed inside Spike, resting while he got his breath back, once he was relaxed and his dick had gone soft and flaccid, he slid himself out and walked to the other side of the room to rifle inside a closet for something while his cum leaked out of Spike's wrecked caboose and drizzled all the way down from his packed back end to his emptied balls. Verko returned to Spike's side wielding a cutlass and swung it through the air, cutting all the strings that were holding Spike up, leaving the poor dragon to thump to the ground right on his swollen belly, the result of which made his body force both water and cum from both ends. Verko smirked and stomped on Spike's back and kept pressing down until his belly had gone down entirely as the fluids he had been containing was squeezed out of him via his ass and his mouth. With the torture over, Verko just took a seat, then he heard something he never expected to hear as Spike simply went "Hmmm...... thank you..."

Verko looked at him and said "You're thanking me? Thanking me for what?"

Spike chuckled a little and said "Everything... that was soooo fucking good...", Spike let out a yawn and before drifting off to sleep he stated "Oh and by the way, I don't think you look gross at all, you're probably quite handsome for someone of your species... I hope we get to do this again some time..." then shut his eyes to take a well deserved nap, leaving Verko to question... well, question everything. How did he feel about Spike? How did Spike feel about him? Was this torture? Pleasure? Both? How in the world had a simple opportunity to earn some money from illegal trafficking turned into a romance? Was this even a romance at all? Verko had a lot to think about. Verko stared at Spike's limp and lifeless body for a good thirty minutes before he decided what the answer to all of those questions were.

hours later -

Spike once again woke and this time, apart from the searing heat still plaguing his anus, he felt completely content and wasn't in any pain. Though he was surprised to find he wasn't back on the hooks again, he wasn't in a cage, he wasn't even in the same room, he was in a bed. Spike got up feeling confused only to also notice that the wounds from the hooks that had been sank into his skin had either been bandaged or covered with a band-aid and just to top it all off, he had clearly been bathed at some point. Spike walked out of the bedroom and walked back to the room where he had originally been held captive only to find Verko sitting in there counting bits, though upon seeing Spike enter the room he stopped and, with a smile, said "Ah Spike! Nice to see you are finally out of bed! Before you say anything I just want to say... ugh... say s-s-s-s-s-s-f-f-fucking SORRY! Ack! I've never had to say that before in a nice way... sorry for everything I did to you, even though you found some sort of bizarre pleasure in the activity, thanks for staining my fucking carpet with your juices..."

Spike smiled and said "Well, I forgive you! Like you said, I did enjoy it for whatever reason and... you're using my name, are we... friends?"

Verko almost gagged at the implication and grimaced as he went "No... o-of course not! How preposterous!"

Spike then asked "Well then... are we, like, more than friends then? Romantically?"

Verko turned away and said "To say I have become fond of you would be... i-i-inaccurate! Obviously! You are just... wonderfully convenient... emotionally and physically convenient... which is why I've decided to revert to my original plan of nursing you back to health and sending you home by summers end... though of course I'll still be doing stuff to you over the course of the summer to remind you of your place beneath me whilst you are staying here in the tower, not because I enjoy your company and affections! So don't come back to Kluge Town every summer because it will happen all over again and I... whatever, you heard what I said! Do we have an understanding?!?!"

Spike smirked and said "Oh yes Verko, I have to admit you don't make it crystal clear in a traditional way, however I understand completely what you're saying..."

True to his word, Verko made sure Spike's needs were tended to so long as Spike returned the favor and by the time summer ended, Spike looked exactly the same as he did when he arrived, his fire glands grew back, his claws, his spines, his wings, the collar had been removed and Verko had given him the antidote that would return him to his original color palette. Spike returned home and as he soon as he walked through the castle doors, Twilight was there to greet him, instantly picking him up in her magic and drawing him in for a hug as she said "Oh Spike! I've missed you so much! I hope you enjoyed your travels and I can't wait to hear all about it, but first let me say something... I must say I was skeptical at first but I must admit, not having you around to rely on has helped me learn a lot about being a princess, even if I sometimes got a bit caught up in all of my scheduling. I understand better now what a task it is to arrange all of my duties and I'm sorry I put you through so much stress, if there is anything I can do just name it and I'll make it so! I will see it done, no questions asked!"

This was a big opportunity, Spike was being given the option to have practically anything he wanted, Twilight was a princess and as such her word was law, if she said "dig" then Equestria would ask "how deep?" Spike could have asked for anything he wanted at that moment, he could ask to have gemstones stocked in the kitchen for him to eat, he could ask to be paid for his work, he could have asked for anything his mind could imagine... but there was only really one thing that he wanted and so, with a smirk he said "Actually Twilight... do you think I could take a vacation every summer?"

Epilogue

next year -

"Bye Spike! Enjoy your vacation!" Twilight grinned with genuine joy as she saw Spike flying off into the distance to once again immerse himself in the rich cultures of other lands, she loved the fact that he was always so keen and anxious to go to places left unexplored.

Spike once again touched ground right outside Kluge Town and just like last year, he explored the town a little before setting off to try and find the hotel he had tried to find last time, or more specifically, the alleyway that led to the hotel. After getting almost completely lost he finally found it and as expected, the second he was hidden from view in the dark shadows of the alley, he was quickly grabbed by an unknown assailant who pressed a rag soaked in chloroform against his face.

An hour or so later, Spike awoke in Verko Tower once more, stretching out and yawning as he tried to shake himself awake. Spike tried to flap, tried to breath fire, swirled his tongue around his mouth... nothing happened and his teeth were missing. Spike checked his claws, his spines and his tail, everything filed down and a different color. Finally Spike felt around his neck and sure enough, there was a dog collar, Spike smiled, Verko had remembered everything.

As if on cue, Verko entered the room carrying a plate with Spike's wings, freshly fried, then said "Ah Spike! You're awake finally. Sorry that I still have to have you unconscious to bring you to the tower, it's a business thing"

Spike shrugged and said "Don't worry Verko, I get it. Though you know that you can trust me not to go blabbing about this place, right?"

Verko sat down and simply went "Of course, by the way it took you quite a while to get to the rendezvous point"

Spiked smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and apologetically went "Yeah sorry, I still don't know my way around Kluge Town all that well"

Verko chuckled and said "I'll provide you with a map for next time, now then, I think it's about time I tuck into these wings before they get too cold, feel free to do your own thing." Spike grinned, he already knew exactly what he wanted to do and started crawling his way towards Verko like a seductive salamander before finally taking his place at his feet and immediately worked to pull down Verko's pants to get at his cock. While Verko licked his lips and felt his mouth water at the sight of the juicy and delicious fried dragon wings on his plate, Spike licked his lips and felt his mouth water at the sight of Verko's semi-erect cock flopping out his pants, it seems Verko had been expecting and anticipating that Spike would stay true to his slutty nature and cave into his carnal desires as soon as possible. Spike took hold of Verko's cock and gently started to pump away at it whilst he wrapped his lips around the fat hefty sacks hanging beneath and sucking on them as softly as he could, considering that Verko didn't really get a whole ton of action it was long before he started to feel his orgasm slowly building and by the time he had finished his meal and washed it down with a glass of wine, he was ready to cum. Verko felt like he could've held on a little longer but he figured that Spike wouldn't particularly mind if he was a little quick, they had the whole summer after all!

Verko grunted as he ejaculated, rope after rope of hot fresh jizz painted white lines all over Spike's back, who continued his ministrations throughout the entire thing. Once Verko was finished, Spike let his balls slip from his mouth and let go of his pulsating prick so that he could climb up onto his lap, face away from him and then start grinding his ass up against his spent member. Verko groaned and went "Spike, I only just came, you're gonna have to wait a while before I can pound your ass"

Spike smirked and said "I know, just thought you might want a little booty action before that and besides, I can wait. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the feeling of my butt rubbing and pressing up and down your dick big boy..." It was true that Verko didn't particularly mind if he was brought back to full hardness like this, though judging by Spike's raging hard-on and the way he shuddered every time he felt Verko's skin glide across his pucker, he was probably enjoying it more than his mole rat master was.

The End

Author's Note

Thank you elias41 for this story idea! I hope you enjoyed it :)

Prologue

"OK Spike, it seems like we've got everything in order! Have we double-checked the check list?" Twilight was in the throne room going through one of the biggest check lists she had ever compiled. Ever since becoming the princess of friendship, her responsibilities as a former student of Celestia and an element bearer, not to mention being a teacher to Starlight Glimmer and also a future ruling monarch in training, had increased tenfold in comparison to when she was just a simple filly with good grades and big dreams.

Spike nodded and said "Yep! We've double-checked the check list and have even triple-checked the check list to make sure we checked that we had checked everything on the check list from when we double-checked the check list!"

Twilight grinned and said "Excellent! I'm glad I have you around to help me organize things Spike, I know I don't say it very often but I hope you realize just how much I value you as my number one assistant, I can't think of any creature I'd want as my future royal adviser than you. Not to mention you're a friendship ambassador, hero, friend and... well, the closest thing I have to a son"

Spike smiled and wiped a tear from his eye, he may never get to meet his parents but he always felt reassured and touched that Twilight would always be there for him. "Thanks Twilight... I never really tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me either, even if some of the lessons I learned turned out to be from problems that I caused", they both shared a chuckle and, for once, got around to something they didn't do very often; relax!