The boy stood at the entrance to the cave, uncertainly staring into the gloom. He shifted nervously, turning the short sword in his hands before straightening up and edging forward. A few tentative steps closer, and he was just gingerly crossing the threshold, holding his blade aloft in preparation for sudden attacks. Fortunately, he was now within the cave, and it appeared to be lacking in unexpected death.
Breathing a sigh of relief that nothing had happened to him, the boy observed his surroundings. The cave was roomy, and the first thing he noticed was how clean the area seemed to be. There was no dirt strewn about, and the floor and ceiling were smooth, completely devoid of the typical spikes hanging above or protruding from the ground below that adorned any other cave he had ever heard of.
The walls were smooth and polished, possibly by dragonfire. Occasionally, the pure surface was marred by a gemstone embedded into the wall, glowing with a soft blue light. He pondered on the almost unnatural immaculateness, for the dragon had clearly gone to some considerable time and effort making the cave look nice, but eventually moved on, striding into the dim tunnels beyond.
As he walked, he reflected on what drove him to seek out the most terrible predator to roam the land. It had been his ambition, ever since he was a toddler, to become a famed knight; one of Princess Celestia's protectors. But he'd always been stuck helping his sister and tending to her books.
But recently he'd been hearing stories of a truly monstrous beast, a terrible wyrm who had stolen many valuable gems and precious metals. Slaying such a creature would surely earn him the position he desired, and a place in the annals of history. He'd be a sir, or possibly even a lord!
But only if he survived, and managed to defeat the dragon. He pulled his sword out of the scabbard on his hip, and looked it over. It was cast iron, older than its bearer, with cracked edges; it resembled more saw than sword. He hadn't been able to afford better, and had not much in the way of armour either; merely some rusted shoulderpads and a slightly sliced pair of gauntlets. None of which would be particularly effective against claws or fire.
The odds weren't in his favour it seemed, but there was no reward without risk. And despite the huge chance of disembowelment or incineration, success over the beast would result in a reward worthy of any dragonslayer.
His musings had brought him into a larger chamber, one that split into three separate tunnels, one heading to the left, one to the right and one going straight ahead. Set above the left tunnel was an amethyst, glistening softly with a vibrant violet light, sending coloured beams into its shaft. The furthest right tunnel contained a sapphire bluer than the sea and sky, it’s roiling gleam piercing the soul. And the final, middle tunnel held a flawless white diamond, larger and brighter than its peers, shining like the heavens themselves. He headed to the left tunnel and peered in, but it contained no lightstones and beyond the purple shimmer was pitch black. Unsure, he went toward the right entrance, and found a similar state.
As he walked toward the middle hole, a terrible cry rang through the caverns, freezing him in place and chilling his blood. As the shriek died down, he snatched his blade from where it had slipped his grasp onto the stone floor, clattering loudly. Wielding it somewhat unsteadily now, he staggered forward, certain the foul creature lay just before him.
He blundered into the cavern walls a few times, the narrow, twisting path and lack of a light source proving to be his bane, but ahead of him there was a whisper of a glimmer, beckoning him forward. He could swear he heard a woman's voice. Maybe the dragon had stolen a maiden! If he were to rescue her, that would go some way to his knighthood, he was sure.
Stumbling slightly, he continued toward the ever-alluring glint, until at last it bathed him in it's brilliant glare. He blinked to clear the spot that floated in front of his eyes, and stared into the dragon's hoard.
It was not, as dragons are wont to do, piled up haphazardly into a heap with little regard for its components. Each piece of treasure was stored in a neat little area, away from the other items. There were racks of jewels, each stone gleaming with vivid colour, arrayed like a rainbow. Small piles of coins were piled by value, origin and date. There were ores and bars of various manner of metals and a few pieces of armour lay upon wooden mannequins.
Curiously, there was also a rather large pile of fabrics, and clothing that made the robes worn by the greatest of monarchs appear to be rags . A rather ornate mirror also stood nearby, studded with gems like a glittering rainbow. There did not seem to be a girl anywhere he could see. He hoped, if it was indeed a woman he heard, she had not been eaten by the savage beast. That wouldn't reflect well on him, he knew.
And finally, in the midst of this wealth stood a small drake, a mere head or so larger than the boy himself, facing away from the tunnels the aspiring knight had appeared from. It's scales were of ivory, with a pearlescent shine. A large pair of wings lay curled on it’s back, a ridge of violet spines lying between them, running from the tip of his diamond shaped tail to the top of his skull, which was also adorned with several curved horns and a rounded pair of fins.
The boy gripped his sword harder and steeled himself. Though the dragon was considerably smaller than he had been anticipating, he thought this to work in his favour. It would certainly be a fairer fight. He took a deep breath, before calling out to the creature. "Dragon, your reign of terror is ended! Face me, and know your doom!" That sounded suitably knighty, he thought.
The drake let out a small noise of confusion, and curled around towards him. He observed the pale, sky blue underscales and it's deep sapphire eyes, which were emphasized by a light blue on and above its eyelids, boring into him. He could now see it was in fact a dragoness, which explained a fair bit. She regarded him coolly, but with a hint of uncertainty.
"Don't you know it's rude to break into a lady's home?" she asked icily.
He stared at her, enchanted by her voice as though an angel had flown from Heaven and sang to him. "I... Um." The entranced would-be soldier stuttered, caught out of his depth now. "I didn't know you were a lady..." He trailed off under her arched eyebrow as the snowy dragon rebuked him.
"Oh alright then, that's perfectly fine now, isn't it? Makes all the difference." She puffed out a small cloud of smoke from her nostrils as the boy cringed. He felt strange, her disapproval almost hurt him.
"Well, I can see you wish to fight me," she pointed a claw at the ancient blade, "so get on with it. I haven't got all day you know, it takes time to look this good." However, all thoughts of harming the dragoness were far from his mind now. He wobbled in place, and sheathed his sword.
"I'm sorry. I had heard there was a gigantic, murderous leviathan here, but I can see I've made a mistake. There's no way a creature as beautiful as you would kill and steal."
His words placated the dragon somewhat. "Quite so. A lady doesn't partake in such barbarian actions like some common bandit. But you've still invaded my boudoir, threatened me with weapons and taken up my rather valuable time." He winced a little, but had an idea.
"I'll make it up to you. Dragons like gems, right?" The dragon looked at him, then at the rows of gems on her shelves.
"Well, yes, of course. We eat them, you know. When we don't eat meat, that is." He shivered slightly, imagining horrors and sharp, shredding teeth.
He reached into his pocket and felt the cool, smooth surface of one of his prized possessions. He'd owned it since he was a child, having discovered it one day while exploring a wood. He'd always loved it's brilliant crimson hue and strange near heart shape, often taking it out to gaze upon it. He deliberated for a moment, before making up his mind. "Well, I have a gem I can give you, to make up for trespassing."
He pulled the jewel out, and held it before the dragoness. As he did so, a pang of loss beat in his heart, but he was resolute. The drake appraised the stone, disbelieving. "Is- is that a fire ruby?" She exclaimed, all traces of annoyance replaced by surprised elation.
The lad didn't know. "Not a clue, sorry. Found it when I was just an infant. I always liked it 'cause it was shiny, but you have it now."
She pulled back. "No, I couldn't possibly. It's yours, and I have many gems besides." But her face said otherwise as she hungrily surveyed the fire ruby, claws contracting and uncontracting.
The young man chuckled. "It's fine. It's just going to waste on me; you'll enjoy it more than I ever could, I'm sure. I bet it'll taste good."
The dragon gasped. "Taste? I could never eat such a beautiful gem, especially not a present from you, my dear...?" She trailed off uncertainly.
"Oh! I'm Spike, Spike Sparkle." He grinned at her.
"And I am Rarity."
Spike's grin took on a dreamy tint. "Rarity... A beautiful name for a beautiful dragon." A light pink appeared on the dragoness's cheeks and she smiled, showing a row of dainty, yet sharp fangs.
"Thank you, dear Spikey-Wikey. I'll wear this ruby in a necklace. Such a magnificent present deserves nothing less."
She reached towards her metal pile, grabbing a large golden bar so pure her talons bit into it slightly. She breathed a blue fire onto the ingot, melting it, and then twisted it into shape. Spike watched the skilled hands shift and turn in amazement, and in almost no time at all she had a necklace. She pushed the ruby into the still-hot gold, and it melded around it, setting it into place.
She waited for the completed amulet to cool down a bit, and then placed it around her neck, minding her ridges. "Spikey-Wikey? Be a dear and push it shut, please." The teen walked around her, minding her tail, and clasped the two ends together, his gauntlets thankfully stopping his fingers from burning.
Rarity made her way over to the mirror, turning side to side and admiring herself. She faced the human. "Well, Spikey-Wikey? What do you think?" She looked up at him with her big blue eyes fluttering. He was enthralled. The burning scarlet of the ruby contrasted perfectly with her pale scales, giving her an almost ethereal appearance.
"You look absolutely amazing, Rarity. I'm glad I gave the ruby to you."
"You're such a charmer, Spike." The flattered dragoness replied. "I think you deserve a reward for such a thoughtful gift." The young man rubbed his foot along the ground shyly.
"I don't need a reward, Rarity." But the drake simply smiled at him, before leaning forward and planting a deep kiss on his lips. He stood frozen for a moment, before breaking out into a smile of his own. "Now that's what I call a reward."
Good
Little rushed for him to give her his prise possession after only seeing her once.
Could have made it a little longer where he leaves and comes back several times but that was your choice not mine
you cant let this be a one shot it has so many posibilities
Needs moar. It's great and all as is, but I think you're on to something with this. Please continue.
"Oh! I'm Spike, Spike Sparkle."
I laughed so hard at this. Not entirely sure why XD
Mawesome
1029089 love at first sight?
1029234 I love you let me give you this gem that is more expensive than everything you own
because that totally tracks
Oh, the joy. Finally something original for a Sparity fic! Such a concept, too. I enjoyed reading it quite a bit, actually. Short and sweet.
At first I thought it was a bit rushed, then I thought for a second. Spike, in the show, has a "love at first sight" deal going for him. It's nice to see someone taking that into account in their story.
Much love.~
1029241 love makes you do crazy things.
More please
This has potential. I think you should roll with this. Expand. This is just such a unique idea, it's a shame to let it end here.
Nicely done. I have to agree, more would be quite welcome.
I really like how you had things twist and turn into the end game. It kept things interesting.
This is a great story and I would like to see more of it.
1029089
Yeah, I did rush it a bit, but I was kinda running outta steam at that point, and I wanted to keep it short. As for th prized possesion, it's not really prized. Think of it as a really neat looking rock he found as a kid, and simply kept around him as a sort of lucky charm. It doesn't mean the world to him, and losing it is a little painful, but he likes Rarity and wants to say sorry for threatening to murder her.
1029145
Well, Spike doesn't have his own second name, and while Dragon would have been ironic but I decided to make him Twilight's brother in here. (Shining Armour doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned.)
1029168
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
1029234
Not love, more infatuation.
1029241
The gem is rare and valuable, but definitely not more than she owns. She is a dragon, with a dragon's hoard after all. To Spike, it's a pretty pebble, he has no knowledge of it's value. He expected her to eat it, after all.
1029242
Thank you. It is a bit rushed, I'd be the first to admit that. But if I'm honest, that's more due to author failings than the fic, or references to the show.
1029109 1029455 1029484 1029765 1029118 1030589
I may possibly continue, especially now that I know there are people who want me to, but for now I'm not certain of where to go. I'd have made this longer (cutting it off after the gem hasn't sat well with me, honestly) but I don't know if I can write romance, and while I could go a comedy route where Spike shows her to his family, I don't think it fits the spirit of the fic. It might be a while before I continue.
Thanks you all for your kind words and comments though, I appreciate it immensely.
1030622 I would love to read more on this please do write more
1030691
You'll get more. Eventually. Most likely. Probably. Maybe.
1030715 well its evident you are a good writer so all you need now is the idea
the spark of imagination
1030622 Spike's dream and the obvious complications seem the perfect fuel to lite the fire of creativity here. Plus, we lack the apparent thief that Rarity was suspected of.
1030721
I'm flattered. I'm not sure it's true, but nonetheless, thank you.
1031093
There was no thief. It was simply rumour and gossip blown out of proportion about a few sightings of Rarity herself.
1031125 That was not apparent. Although, it does make sense. Still, Spike's dream needs advancement, and Rarity needs a hand, er, claw in it!
1031157
Sorry about that, I wasn't sure how to make it obvious it was simply misinformation. As for Spike's dream, I am kinda interested in going in that direction. Will require some deliberation though.
I agree with Path of Cloud.
Not to mention that there's the part about Dragon Thralls. When a Dragon or Dragoness fancies an individual they take them for their hoard as a sort of live treasure. Which would most likely suit Spike just fine and she would make him her "Champion."
This would also make use of the weapons and armor she had collected, as well as get Twilight into the story when she tries to find him.
On the point of Shining Armor, I think he would actually work in this fic as Spike's knight mentor if he wasn't related to the Sparkle family. Seeing as a Knight starts of as a Squire (Knight Apprentice) under another knight. It would fit.
1031220 Indeed.
1031224 I was also thinking about the armor she had made. Spike could be one hell of a knight backed by his dragon mistress and love.
1030622 show him visiting her a few times first
then have him show her his family
1031224
Huh, I've never heard of dragon thralls, but it makes sense in the whole kidnapped maidens thing. As for the weapons and armour, they're just gilded ornaments. Even as a dragon Rarity is form over function. But she does have a fair bit of coin, purchasing some wouldn't be out of the question... Something to think about, at any rate. As for Twilight looking for him, this is not something I'd previously considered, but I'll take a gander at it, I guess.
As for Shining Armour. No. Most completely and definitely no. I hate Shining Armour as a concept and a character. He and Cadence will never exist in any story of mine ever.
1031274
Gilded treasure isn't much good for fighting with. And remember, Spike is infatuated with Rarity, and Rarity is lightly interested in him. It's much like the show, neither are actually in love with each other. Love isn't a word to be thrown around.
1031285
Hmm. Yeah, I could see repeat visits. I think I might know where to take the next chapter.
1031449 ok just dont make it a dream that would just make a lot of people sad
1031459
A dream? You mean like, Spike dreamed up the whole encounter, or that Spike's desire for being a knight is simply a dream?
If it's the former, you have absolutely no worries. If it's the latter, I wouldn't worry too much their either. It's entirely possible Sir/Lord/Baron/ect Sparkle may eventually appear.
1031474 ok
wait
so you do plan to expand apon this eventualy
i just squeed
1031483
Yeah, I think I will continue this story. It's enjoyable to write, I have people who'd read it and I know it'd bug me if I didn't.
1031499yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
1031449
Okay sorry to disrupt your royal high horse for a second here but seriously, what's the problem with Shining Armor and Cadence and before you pull some kind of closed minded "If they existed they should have been there before hand" crap let me ask you something... Does Twilight seem to be someone who likes bringing up her past? Besides the fact that she hates sounding like a braggart and "Hey my Brother is captain of the royal guards and my foalsitter was a princess" seems a tad braggy to me.
And on another note, denying the canon because it doesn't suit you is one of the major reasons fandoms are criticized because until the show is over and done any fandom storyline is in jeopardy of royal upheaval at the hands of the show's writers.
While I apologize for the harsh tone I believe it's that narrow minded attitude that brings this fandom as a whole down. Because the creed of the Brony is love and tolerate and if you can't except a character for whatever reason than you sir or madam are doing a horrible job of being a brony. So for you inability to Love and Tolerate I must respectfully rescind my watch from you. *You have lost one follower on the grounds of lack of love and tolerance.*
1031449 Exactly! And thats why we need the story to get us there.
1031923
She has brought up her past before, funnily enough. It would have been child's play to insert either one of the characters then.
I can deny whatever I wish to if it suits me so. Canon only affects the show, and even then sometimes doesn't.
Narrow minded? Hah. Ignoring the fact the characters were created purely to sell toys, I don't like the characters because of their personalities, voices, colours and various other things.
The creed of the brony? This isn't 2011 any more. Very few people even go in for love and tolerance nowadays, in the same way very few people use flint tools. I am not bound to love or tolerate, there is no law, no rule and nothing forcing me to. I can dislike whatever character I want, and if you can't accept that not everyone likes every character then the problem lies solely on your end. I severely doubt there aren't any charaters you dislike a little bit. You're the only one on a high horse here.
As for horrible job being a brony? Hahaha. Being a brony purely means liking the show. Nothing more than that.
It's a shame you don't want to see more of my story but that's your loss, and I won't lose any sleep over it.
1032065
Ah, okay. Well, I can't say it won't be some time before we near that point but chances are it'll happen eventually.
1032123 When it comes to drawing things out, I have no room to complain.
1032123
Ah I see what your saying, forgive my earlier outburst, I thought you were going the route of the fanon fanatic as I've seen several times... I do agree that it would have made more sense to bring them up at least once before the wedding. More than likely there wouldn't have been such a large shitstorm on that topic if they had. But, then again Twilight does seem to screem workaholic does she not? As the writer of the story Adventures of a teenage foalsitter pointed out. (Though this has yet to be confirmed but, would make a lot of sense.) That she is easily distracted by her studies and this leads to her forgetting important things.
I humbly apologize for jumping the gun like that, sadly with most fandoms I've been a part of there seems to be a certain level of narrow mindedness about things like new characters and such. The reason behind not liking Shining Armor or Cadence I completely understand as not mentioning your brother to your best friends for almost a year is kinda odd. Though there are some people who do things like this for stupid reasons... the continuing Save Depry campaign being a chief example. I mean it hasn't been relevant in how long now and it's still going?
Once again I have to apologize, I know that the fandom creed idea is kinda old but, honestly wasn't that the entire reason the brony nation (As I've started calling the fandom) started? Because of the fact that there was a well written story with a message like back in the good old days when Cartoons didn't suck?
1032294
I'm sorry too, I feel I was a bit harsh.
1032535
It's quite alright, you have the right to defend your point of view. So once again I'd like to say I'm sorry and if you need an idea for this story's sequel I believe Spike informing Draggity (Dragon Rarity) about the thief and her asking him to find it on her behalf would be a good start.
A truley interesting twist on Rarity and Spike, i REALLY hope you will write more chapters.
1033923
Your wish will be granted sometime in the future. Maybe in a fortnight or so.
1031499 then you might want to change the status to incomplete that will placate them for a little while and give you time to do other things along with this
this has major potential. please continue it.
1046382
Your wish will be granted. Sometime. Computer's currently affected by Malware though.
1048482
i have a question to ask u though. is there a limit to how many stories u can fav?
1048694
I'm not certain, but I doubt there's an restrictions on the number.
I just had one of those rare moments when you remember a story, and immediately go and search it out to reread it. Glad I didn't end up looking for a half hour (or more) for this. Glad I reread it too, and hope that the next chapter comes out soon!
1251815
Hah, thanks. Unfortunately, next chapter isn't looking to be terribly soon. I'm starting college today, and Guild Wars 2 has come out, so pretty busy. I'll do my best to at least try to write some more of the chapter though.
1030622Great job I hope there's more to come
1294508
There will be. Eventually.
1297880Thats good
cool story :D
just dont turn it into a clop-fic... it would be a shame to have this nicey-cutie-wutie story scarred by sexual scenes D: