Dragon Scales and Jaded Edges
Chapter 1
It's been a long, dreary night for the young purple and green drake. At first it seemed like just another day would go by, in which he'd wake up and immediately make his way to the bathroom to handle his morning routine.
But this morning, however, would be far different. He finds it difficult to even get out of bed, which for the Royal Advisor of Princess Twilight, does not sit well for anyone.
This is proven when a series of fairly loud knocks echo from the door to his room, which aside from the faint glow of the sunlight behind closed curtains, is completely shrouded in darkness.
A female's muffled voice calls out from the other side of the door.
"Ambassador Spike? Her Majesty requests your presence in the Throne Room!"
He grumbles and whines quietly from below his blankets, instinctively pulling the pillow over his head. This, however, is a fruitless endeavor as the knocking returns mere seconds after.
"Ambassador Spike, can you hear me?" she calls again.
Spike growls and only tightens his grip on his pillow further.
Finally, the mare on the other side of the door has had enough. She knocks on the door again and, in a much more irate tone, calls out, "Very well, then, Ambassador! Please do forgive me, but it seems I have to step inside!"
The sound of the door handle jiggling open forces Spike to open his eyes, though the lights to his room flicking on makes him close his eyes again, and hiss.
"Hss! Five more minutes, please Misses Maple?" he begs the maid, whose shadow only confirms that she's getting closer to him.
The elderly brown-coated unicorn mare with a white and dark brown-streaked mane and tail rolls her yellow eyes and approaches the sleepy dragon. "Oh come now, Ambassador. You know how Princess Twilight would get if she saw you in this state! Besides, today is a very important day! The new Headmaster of the High Council is going to be voted on by the Nobles, and the Yaks are to discuss trade with the Buffalos in Appleloosa! In addition to that, though, somepony has volunteered to be a maid for the Night Shift, which I'm certain you'll have to monitor and evaluate throughout the week! And while that's going on, you'll also need to-"
As Maple continues to name down the Twilight-sized checklist, Spike only finds himself dozing back off.
Maple deadpans at him when she hears the sound of him snoring, then leans forward and, using her magic, begins to pull his blanket down from his face.
"Ambassador Spike! I'm sorry, but you must wake up now! Her Majesty has specifically ord-"
Unfortunately for her, a chain of events begin to transpire. Firstly, his pillow rips due to his claws' pressure. Second, one of its feathers begins to stick out of said pillow. Third, the tip of said feather begins to rub against the inside of Spike's nostrils, sending a sudden, jolting tickle through his senses.
His eyes shoot open and he brings his claws up to his face, trying to hold it back... but sadly, it is all for naught, as his eyes water, his lungs fill themselves with air instinctively. Barely even noticing the wide-eyed unicorn in front of him, he suddenly closes his eyes as the fires in his chest fill his throat.
"Aa-CHOO!"
And as quickly as the green flame spews from his mouth and onto the mare in front of him, her startled "EEK!" quickly fizzles into silence, as the mare vanishes into a green flame.
Due to Spike being half-asleep, it barely even registers into his mind at what just transpired. And so, stretching his arms out and yawning, he rubs the sleep from his eyes, before finally, reality crashes down on him like the sound emerging from the hallway just outside his room.
"Oh shi-" he begins, only for an all-too-familiar female's voice to boom through the castle in a Royal Canterlot tone.
"SPIIIIIIIIIKE!"
"... Shit!" he curses to himself, flinching as he hears the sound of his impending doom approach his room.
And said "impending doom" comes in the form of a very, very angry-looking lavender Alicorn Mare with a purple mane and tail that slowly flow with magic, and a pink stripe adorning their side.
Her purple eyes lock onto his nervous green orbs.
One of her eyebrows raises, bemused, before she asks him in a calm, collected (yet also definitely angry) tone, "Care to explain why the particular maid I've chosen to wake you up decided to, suddenly, appear in a flash of Green Dragon Fire, mere inches over my head?"
He smiles sheepishly and curls his legs up to his chest, almost in a fetal position, while raising his right claw up.
"Umm... gesundheit?" he sheepishly tells himself, mostly. A Germane word that wishes good health and protection.
Sadly, though, he's not quite magic enough to resist the angry Alicorn who firmly shuts the door behind her, locking the two of them in for a very harsh lecture.
Needless to say, "good health" is likely not to come for the poor young dragon. His extended chores will see to that.
"Ugh... I swear, it's always the same complaints as the last twelve times with those two!" Spike gripes as he walks through the hallway, flanking the (now much happier-looking) Alicorn. In his right hand is a quill, and in the left is a partially unfurled scroll with a checklist on it. "Hey Twilight! Think we can grab some lunch right quick?"
She snickers at his antics and rolls her eyes. "Spike, lunch isn't for another hour! Besides, don't you have to meet up with the upcoming applicants soon?"
Spike looks over at the list, and nods his head. "Oh, yeah! Let's see... three ponies wanting to become guards, five butlers, and... one maid."
Twilight smirks at him. "Now Spike. I know you've technically just come of age, but you have to remember to keep your testosterone in check. We don't want to scare off any more maids by getting too flirty."
He, in turn, rolls his eyes and groans. "Oh, for... I told you I was just answering one of her questions! That's all!"
"Right, because a maid-in-training would casually ask the Ambassador of All Creatures how many packages he holds between his legs?" Twilight asks him.
His cheeks flush red and he looks away from her. "... F-for your information, I thought she was asking about scroll packages!"
Twilight shrugs her shoulders and takes a turn towards the garden. "Really? Because if that were the case, I could've sworn you carry way more than just two of those on average! Unless, of course, you're saying that I can't count?"
"Th-that's not what I'm saying at all, Twilight!" he objects, biting his tongue as he notices that she's gotten him cornered there.
She points a hoof at him and smirks. "So you did try and flirt with her!"
Spike rolls his eyes and throws his arms up in the air. "Oh, fine! So I may have been a little risqué with my answer... but she really did ask me first!"
Twilight sighs and, conjuring up a magic hand, gently pats him on the scalp, much to his chagrin. "Aww! Spikey-Wikey is finally becoming an adult and owning up to his mistakes!~"
He bats the hand away and deadpans at her. "I'm twenty, you know! Technically been considered an adult in most countries for two years, now!"
She waves a dismissive hoof at him. "In pony years, sure! But until you've found your 'Spark', and completed your second molt, I'm afraid you're still just a teenager!~"
This makes Spike groan as he brushes the green spikes on the middle of his head, straightening them out. His eyes look down at his own body, and he frowns disappointedly at the slight pudge that, somehow, remains over his belly, despite his arms and legs having grown out a good bit.
His frown soon turns into a pout, as he pokes on his belly with a claw. Upon sighing dejectedly, his shoulders slump down a bit... a detail that doesn't go unnoticed by Twilight, who pauses her movement and looks on at him with concern.
"Spike? What's wrong?"
He looks away from his body, and out a nearby window. "I don't know... I just... don't think there's really any creature that would be interested in me. And, well, who can blame them? Just look at me!"
Spike looks at Twilight and motions towards his stomach. "I'm not really the 'perfect male' example out there, you know? And yes, I've tried exercising. I've tried going out more. None of it works for me!"
He then looks down and closes his eyes. "I'm just... worried that I'm gonna be stuck like this!"
"Spike, look at me." Twilight orders sternly.
Spike bites his lips and looks up at her. Rather than an angry expression like he expected, though, she's looking at him with a fairly neutral one.
"Listen to yourself, Spike. Do you seriously believe that?" she asks.
He opens his mouth to respond. "I-"
"It was a rhetorical question, Spike." she intercedes, cutting him off. "You don't believe that it's hopeless for you. I mean, look at me for example!"
They pause their walk, and she gestures towards herself. "Tell me, Spike. When I was your age, did I look anything at all like I do now?"
Seemingly for the first time in a while, his adolescent mind begins to mentally trace the mare's body. How she stands up taller than most mares he's seen - nearing Princess Luna in height back when she was first freed from the Nightmare Curse... and almost as tall as Rarity was when she was attacked by it that one time...
He opens his mouth again, but Twilight cuts him off again.
"And before you answer that, Spike, this isn't 'Princess Twilight' asking you. It's just me, your Big Sister Twilight Sparkle, asking her dorky little brother, and Number One Assistant, for his own honest answer. Please, don't hold back. Compare me to how I looked then. Was I anything like I am now?"
Hearing that, however, he feels a wave of calmness rush over him. Then, with a playful smirk, he shakes his head.
"Nah, you were definitely a little pudgy, yourself."
The two of them chuckle at that. "You see? It's only a simple phase in your life. Nothing to be ashamed of! Simply keep your chin up, and I've got no doubt you'll find that spark!"
Spike nods his head, smiling at her in appreciation. "Thanks, Twilight. I... guess I needed to hear you say that."
Rather than use her magic, though, Twilight brings a hoof up to his head and pats him on the scalp, though he doesn't bat her gesture away this time, and even giggles a bit at it. "Any time, LBBFF!"
He snickers and tilts his head. "Hey now, I'm not that little anymore!"
She trots ahead with a sing-song voice. "Still little to meeee!~"
With a simple eye-roll, he jogs forward, keeping up with her. Now with a bit more spirit, he continues following beside her as they go through a few more smaller errands.
After having separated from Twilight for the time-being, Spike makes his way through the hallway leading towards the Castle Entrance. On his checklist, he begins going through the various names he's already interviewed, and those of whom he has yet to interview.
"Hmm... most of the butlers were taken care of, which leaves the three guards, and that one maid. Huh... well, I guess she wouldn't be here until the afternoon, anyways, what with her applied schedule, huh?" he mumbles to himself with a light chuckle, as a variety of slim-framed, sultry maids fill his mind. Shooting his eyes open, he clears his throat and slap himself on the face.
"No! Keep it together, Spike! Professionalism! You're the Ambassador of All Creatures! You shouldn't let that sorta thing cloud your judgement! Focus on the task at hand! ... I wonder if she's hot- QUIT IT!"
He opens the door and steps outside. However, in his distracted mental state, a gust of wind is able to easily blow his checklist from his claw, and into the air.
"Crap! Dang it, come back here you-" he begins, as he stretches his claws out and chases the sheet.
His left ear-fin twitches as he hears light snickering coming from the side. Curious, he looks towards the source of the voice, only to spot three unicorns grinning at him. All three are colts, and judging from the looks of their white coats and blonde manes, he can automatically assume that they are none other than three sons that belong to Prince Blueblood; Highborn the green-eyed one, Patrician the blue-eyed one, and Bitworthy the golden-eyed one; the third of whom stands as their ring-leader.
Sadly, Spike can already tell where this is going, and has already deduced that, most likely, his checklist flying out of his hand wasn't just a coincidence.
"You should really keep a firmer grip on your list, Ambassador!" Bitworthy tells Spike.
Spike sighs and turns back towards the paper. As he goes to grab after it, though, a golden glow covers it and lifts it inches over his head.
Bitworthy's taunting only makes Highborn and Patrician laugh at Spike's expense. "Honestly, Patrician? I don't see what the Princess sees in this filthy dragon!" Highborn says, quietly enough to where only the three of them, and Spike, could hear.
Patrician snickers back at him. "Oh I know, right?! We Unicorns, after all, are far more superior when it comes to decision making! Why, the fact she even let this filthy lizard into our fine city eludes me!"
Their words begin to sink into the back of Spike's mind, but they manage to hit an even deeper nerve when Bitworthy pitches in, albeit with far less subtlety, as he goes for a much more louder retort.
"Me, too! And just look at the size of this fat lummox! Does Princess Twilight have to levitate him just so his wings could bring him up?"
Spike pouts and looks back down at his pudge, then places his hands on his belly. "I-it's just a phase..." he whimpers.
Highborn chuckles louder, and points at Spike, while looking at the other two. "I bet lifting him is just as hard as lifting the Sun and Moon up!"
The three of them laugh even louder, as they begin trotting towards the front entrance... but not before balling up the list and tossing it onto a tree.
However, Spike quickly notices a dark orb of some sort fly from behind the tree, and bounce right off the back of Bitworthy's head, frazzling his mane.
The three of them immediately turned their heads around, glaring at Spike as the red ball bounces towards the tree not too far from him.
"You oversized oaf! How dare you throw something at us like that!"
Spike raises his claws up defensively, as a panicked look adorns his face. "N-no! I swear it wasn't me!"
Bitworthy's horn glows golden, surrounding the dragon and forcing him to lie down on the ground, while the three unicorns approach him, clearly not buying his explanation.
"Well who else could it have be-"
Bitworthy's words are immediately cut off when the ball crashes directly into his face, sending him stumbling back a couple steps.
Infuriated, Bitworthy glares at the ball, and soon all eyes focus on a thick white hoof that emerges from behind a bush, catching the ball with ease.
Then, a slightly low-pitched female's voice calls out from behind the bush.
"Oh, my bad. With a mouth as big as yours, I thought it was a goal for a second there."
Spike, being close enough to the bush, immediately notices a pair of glowing green eyes with slitted pupils. His blood suddenly grows cold.
The three nobles, however, don't note it themselves, and stomp towards the bush.
"You've got a lot of nerve throwing things at me, you little wench! Now get out of that bush and kneel before me, this instant!" Bitworthy demands.
To his credit, this does make the mare rise up from the bush and approach them from the shadows. However, what neither of the parties expect is for the mare in question to stand considerably taller, and stronger, than the entire group.
Even Spike, who at this point stands high enough for a unicorn's horn to reach his chest, has to look up at this mare, whose thick white chest tuft reaches his forehead.
Her black mane and tail are unkempt, and partially cover her right eye, while a very, very thin red tip marks the tip of a singular lock of hair - a similar thing to her tail, as well. However, her mane stops short of a noticeable scar on her right cheek, which while faded, leaves a subtle pink "x" on her face.
Another noteworthy trait about her would be the pair of long bat-like wings on her back, and the pair of dangerously sharp-looking fangs sticking out of the corners of her mouth.
To the stallions, they may as well be looking up at Princess Celestia if she lacked a horn, and was turned into a Vampire.
But instead of burning in the sunlight, she casually enters it without so much as a simmer.
She leans her head down so that it's inches from Bitworthy, and deadpans at him, clearly unimpressed.
"And if I say 'no'?" she challenges him.
His two brothers back up slowly, staring at the huge mare in a panic. Bitworthy, however, glares at her and lights his horn up, engulfing her in his glow.
"Then I shall make you bow, peasant!"
However, the next thing catches them off guard. Rather than kneel before him, she grins wickedly at him, and stands there, unmoved by his magic.
Beads of sweat falls from Bitworthy, as he struggles to force the mare onto the ground. "W-what... what the fel are you?!"
She only responds by licking her right hoof and tapping on Bitworthy's horn, diminishing his spell immediately. "What's the matter, kid? Am I too much mare for you to handle?"
He scowls at her, before bringing a hoof up and swinging it at her face.
In a flash about as quick as lightning, though, she deflects his hoof to the side and casually pushes him back a couple steps. Stunned at the sudden counter-move, he stares at her in shock, before she casually brings a hoof up and slaps him across the face.
The 'smack' sound echoes through the entrance. Even Spike winces at the sight.
Bitworthy holds his quickly reddening cheek and goes slack-jawed. "D-did you just strike the royal face?!"
She leans closer to him and scowls. Despite their white coats, the three colts can already feel their skin underneath going even more pale at her threatening demeanor.
"Yeah, and I'll kick the royal ass too, if you so much as try that shit again!"
She then straightens up her posture and glares at the three, almost like a disappointed mother would scold her children. "Honestly, I think the power's gotten to all three of your heads! Do you not even realize that you were harassing the Ambassador of All Creatures?! As in, 'The Princess's Right Wing'?! If she were right here, right now, what do you three think she'd do to you?!"
Her words seem to get through to the unicorns, as they begin sinking slightly lower beneath her steely gaze. She points at Spike and continues. "Now, the three of you will go over there, and apologize to the Ambassador, then go back to what you were doing before you three decided to act like retards!"
Though Highborn and Patrician begin making their way over to Spike, Bitworthy tries to defend his pride and raises a hoof up to point at her. "W-we don't have to take that from a filthy snaggle-fanged bat!"
She deadpans at him and, as quickly as he spoke to her, responds in kind, "Big talk coming from a needle-horn that couldn't even move a mare. And honestly, you guys saying he's harder to lift than the sun and moon? I bet your ego's so big that it's got its own orbit!"
Spike can't help but bite his own tongue as the mare takes more verbal strikes at the three bullies.
"W-who is this mare?!" he thinks to himself.
"Y-yeah, well your kind should be back in the mountains, sucking fruits!"
Spike feels the urge to respond, knowing firsthand about racial slurs and statements, what with being a dragon raised in a pony society.
However, the mare simply chuckles at the unicorn and, yet again, quips back at him. "Uh-huh. And your kind should be back in your father's home, sucking cocks!"
"Why you-" he begins, only for her to cut him off again.
"And news flash, dipshit! This place has surveillance cameras on it! Imagine how pissed the Princess is gonna be when she not only hears about this, but sees the three of you degenerates harassing the one she views as her own brother!"
This makes Bitworthy's blood run even colder. "Y-you wouldn't dare!"
Her grin only grows more menacing, as her fangs glow in the sunlight. "Try me, Fuckweed. So what's it gonna be?"
His legs begin to quiver a bit, before finally, he relents and walks over to Spike. Then, like his two brothers, he kneels to the ground, nose-to-pavement. "I-I'm sorry for my uncouth behavior, Ambassador Spike. I swear on my family's honor, it shall not happen again!"
Spike slowly nods his head. "U-umm... apology accepted?"
And at that note, the three of them scurry back up to their hooves. Giving the mare one last startled look, they immediately run away, likely returning home, rather than the castle.
The mare chuckles boisterously, before looking at Spike and, losing the sinister grin, goes for a more calm, relaxed smile. "Sorry you had to see that, Ambassador."
Spike quickly shakes his head and looks up at the mare, smiling back at her. "N-nothing to be sorry for, Miss! Uh... thank you for standing up for me!"
She shrugs her shoulders. "Eh, least I could do. Celestia and Luna did tell me that you were too nice for your own good."
His eyes widen. "Wait! You know the former princesses, too?!"
She nods her head. "Of course! They were the ones who sent me here to begin with... in more ways than just one, so to speak." She mumbles that last bit, mostly to herself.
Spike manages to pick up on that. "Oh? What do you mean by that last part?"
She waves a dismissive hoof. "Eh, it's a long story. But basically, I was sent here by their recommendation!"
He nods his head, smiling at her. "Oh, okay then! I take it you're waiting on the other two guards?"
This makes her blink owlishly at him. "Other two..."
Then, unexpectedly to Spike, she throws her head back and laughs. He tilts his head confusedly at her, until she waves a dismissive hoof at him, and catches her breath.
"Guards?! Pfft! Ha! Nah, I've already served enough Military! No, I'm actually here to apply for that Maid position!"
His cheeks flush even redder, as a brief image of this Shire-sized Mare in a maid uniform flashes into his mind. "M-M-Maid?! Y-YOU?!"
She rolls her eyes, and smirks knowingly at him. "Well, duh! Didn't the list say that it was gonna be a Nightshift Maid?" Then she slowly walks up to him, so that her chest tuft is mere inches from his face, and places a gentle hoof on his head, causing his pupils to thin into pinpricks.
"But please, Ambassador. You can call me Jade!~" she says with a wink, before turning around and slowly trotting towards the tree, with a slight swing to her hips... a swing that Spike not-so-subtly notices himself staring at.
She brings her left foreleg up and punches the tree, causing the balled up checklist to fall from its branch and, conveniently, land in Spike's hands.
"Anyways, c'mon! While I won't sizzle up in the sunlight, I am pretty sensitive to the heat! Burns like hell, let me tell ya!" she calls back, as she begins making her way up the stairs to the front doors of the castle's Main Hall.
Though he doesn't voice his response, Spike finds himself walking behind her, trying to keep his eyes glued to the paperwork. However, as his eyes keep drifting up to the mare, or more specifically, her swaying hips; whose cutie mark appears to be a purple heart over a jade gem, he can't help but snicker at an all-too-familiar phrase he said years ago.
"Spike want!~"
And unbeknownst to either of them, a faint green and purple spark briefly flickers through his eyes in no more than a split-second.
