High Moon Ch. 42:

Of Talks and Colors

After a short walk, filled with friendly conversation, Spike and Lily made it to the southern fields of the High Moon city ruins. From there they would be on a path towards a field that Lily knew about that had the sweetest berries in all of Everfree.

It was during this walk that Spike spoke with Lily about her previous life before High Moon. Of course, the drake already knew of much of her life from the many talks they’d had during his and Quill’s first two months.

For instance, Lily wasn’t able to find High Moon until a few months after she had been separated from her old hive by a terrible storm, that had no doubt forced others of her kind to be separated as well. Lily normally would have been able to find her old hive, however, the storm seemed to have disrupted her hive mind with the other flutterponies.

Whatever became of her old hive was unknown. Lily also said that she could have joined a changeling hive, since the two insect equines were of close relations, but she chose against it.

Why, though, even she didn’t know. Lily had nothing against the changeling race, but she didn’t want to live in tunnels where the sun’s light didn’t reach. Spike could understand that she did this only for her health, and could only give his condolences in regards to the hard and unfortunate life she’d had.

Lily told Spike that so as long she was breathing, and had the ability to generate her magic, that she was fine with any life the Threads Weavers had for her. It was partially from this that Spike drew his admiration for the pony.

It didn’t matter where she’d end up, or what was thrown into her life next, Lily would always find some way to make the best of what she had. Spike knew that everyone knew he considered himself a sacrificial drake, one that put others’ concerns ahead of his own, but Lily was something more. She had been forced away from her old life, regardless of how boring she thought it, forced to say goodbye forever to everything she knew; and she still was able to keep going.

However, Spike already knew all of this.

So this time, Lily decided to entertain the drake with a tale of her race’s many special abilities and traits. As Lily continued with her tale of her race’s equine traits, Spike started to get an eerie feeling coming from the trees and bushes around him. He waved it off as a trick of his still-tired mind, though, and continued to listen to Lily.

From Spike’s understanding, flutterponies thrived on natural magic radiating from the sun, and its light. It is from this that their magic is given form, and their life-force is drawn upon. This didn’t mean that she’d die from not being in the sun for extended periods of time, though. It simply meant that she wouldn’t be in the best of moods.

Much of this Spike had noticed previously, from times when Lily had stayed up some hours after the sun had gone down. Lily would seem more tired, yet still had energy to be slightly fidgety, and move quickly to find a place to sleep. The best way to describe this was Lily, and other flutterponies, were somewhat bipolar come night time.

Lily further said that there were other means of getting the energy that she needed to stay functioning properly. Certain fruits, spring water, and special types of flowers were some of the things that flutterponies could use.

When Spike asked if there was anything else that could give Lily a boost of internal magic, a bright red blush crawled across Lily’s face, and for the first time in the two months he’d known the pony, she stammered like a filly.

“W-well...th-there is o-one other way,” Lily trailed off with the blush growing brighter while she refused to look behind her at Spike. A moment of silence passed as Lily tried to regain some amount of composure, and reminded herself that she was the elder here, not Spike. “Yes, um, there is another way for flutterponies to regain some energy. However, it is more of the...intimate kind.”

Spike continued to followed Lily further down the path while he tried to understand why Lily would be flustered to say something like that. But then it hit him, and he moved on the change the subject, quickly. “O-okay...so what else can flutterponies do?”

After breathing a sigh of relief, Lily continued to tell Spike everything she knew of her kind’s magic, and how in-tune insect ponies were with nature. She emphasized this by kneeling down to a withered flower, placing her hands around it before buzzing her wings.

Spike’s eyes were filled with the sight of rainbow-colored lights as Lily continued to gather magic from the sun through her wings. As usual, the sight was nearly breath-taking from the array of vivid colors that came from Lily’s wings.

Once the light show ended, Lily stood back up and revealed the once-dead purple flower to not only be filled with life, but also to be even healthier than the other plants around it. The drake was left in awe as he knew, for a typical unicorn, magic like that was far beyond normal, but Lily did it effortlessly.

As they continued the walk, Spike started to wonder how ponies seemed so weak in comparison to other races and other equines. Sure, physically speaking, evolution created barriers separating the different races that only half-breeds like Dusk could pass through. But for equines, it seemed that normal ponies were left behind.

However, Spike then turned that thought down, knowing that not every country, or kingdom, was the same, thinking of the neighboring country, the Lunar Republics. From what Spike remembered hearing from Sketchy and Jinx, the Republics were home to all kinds of different races, and very different magic.

Not to mention, ponies there had a better overall aptitude for magical arts, and in some ways were superior to Equestria. ‘But how?’ Spike thought to himself as he and Lily started up a hill. It didn’t make sense to Spike, since Equestria had been established for centuries, while the Republics had only been unified for less than a whole decade.

Yet, the Republics had been basically self-sufficient since Nightmare’s defeat during the Nightmare Rebellion. How could a country only a fraction as old as the other, and so recently unified, be more developed in many aspect of worldly ventures?

‘Is it because they’re so different?’ That had to be the reason. The Lunar Republics were close to twice the size of Equestria, and that wasn’t counting the small islands around its edges. The sheer number of citizens must have made getting anything done quick and easy, if it was within the best interest of the masses.

Equestria was smaller because the Nightmare Rebellion had taken away some of its old territory. Not only that, the mass majority of ponies having irrational fears of other races didn’t help. Ponies feared changelings for both the invasion and their underhanded tactics of luring ponies to them so they could feed, they feared diamond dogs for their mighty strength and tendency to lose control of themselves, and they feared dragons for their nearly god-like lives.

It was Equestria’s fears that hindered it from growing. Ironically enough, it was the presence of the Elements of Harmony that aided in this. Out here in the Everfree, Spike learned one very hard truth about the world, one he refused to acknowledge back in Ponyville.

Life was strife, strife was drive, and drive was progress.

It was only from the hardships he and Quill faced in the Everfree that allowed them to grow and live the way they did. It was from these hardships that Spike found the will and want to continue onwards so that his life would get better. It was from this will and want that he started to make progress, no matter how one looked at it.

‘Maybe peace for a long time really is a bad thing,’ Spike again thought to himself as he and Lily finally made it up the rather steep hill.

“Well, here we are,” Lily said, snapping Spike out of his thoughts as she walked over to a bush filled with snow-white berries. Spike eyed the berries with a curious look, since he had never seen or heard anything like these particular berries before. In fact, as Lily picked one up, Spike couldn’t help but think about how delicious they looked.

Spike didn’t know why, but it seemed that the color white was a trigger for him. Celestia, the castle maids, Rarity, and even Sweetie Belle. To top it all off, Cyclone, the one that seemed just a bit different from his other crushes, had pure white scales. Just about anyone that he had ever gotten attached to had some kind of white on them, but why?

Why was a pure, snowy white the color that would allure him the most? White wasn’t even Spike’s favorite color, it was green, like his under-scales, while Quill’s was purple. So what was it about white that got him feeling like this? What was it about the pure and blank color that fascinated Spike so?

“What do you think, Spike?” Lily asked as she brought a handful of the white berries to Spike. As Lily slowly approached with berries in hand, a light heat started to rise in Spike’s chest, and he didn’t understand the feeling. “They are not in full season just yet, however, I wanted to bring you here. So, try one.”

Spike blinked a couple of times as he missed a few of Lily’s steps while he was thinking about the berries in her hands. However, that didn’t stop him from reaching out to one of the larger berries, and picking it up in two of his fingers.

Lily, still not noticing the drake’s deep thoughts, walked over towards a shady tree to rest her feet while Spike stood, staring at the berry. As Lily sat down, she finally noticed the blank, and uncharacteristic blandness of his posture.

“Spike, sweetie, is something the matter?” Spike slowly turned around to meet Lily’s snow-white eyes, as white as the berry in his hand, and as white as everything seems to catch his eye. “If there is something troubling you, you know that you can talk to me about it.”

A moment passed as Spike looked away from Lily to the berry, and back to Lily once again. “No, I’m fine, just thinking about stuff,” he said with his reassuring smile as he walked over to Lily, sitting down near his close friend and mentor.

“Lily,” Spike started once he sat down next to Lily, a slight chuckle leaving his lips as he brought the white berry up to his face. “Have you ever noticed that there’s a specific color in your life that you just can’t stop looking at?”

A strong breeze flew through the hilltop field causing Lily’s long snow-white hair to be blown to her right side. Spike again looked at the mare’s white hair with a feel of longing and want that he couldn’t rightfully place.

“Woo, it is windy out here today,” Lily said as she tried to fix her mane, which she had let down by advice from Blaze, into its rightful place behind her back. With her mane mostly fixed, Lily sat the berries in her lap and pulled out a strap of dark-brown leather from a pocket in her green skirt.

“Now, Spike,” Lily started as she began gathering as much of her hair as she could so she could tie it back into a ponytail, making it easier to deal with when the wind came around. “What do you mean by a specific color in your life?” she asked the drake through the strap of leather in her mouth while her hands were busy gathering up her mane.

Again, Spike looked away from the flutterpony, and towards the berry still in his hand. “I don’t really know,” he said with a sigh leaving his lips and turning away from the berry to look at the grassy green of the ground. “Just about all my life, I’ve seen something, or someone, with the same color on them somewhere, and it’s driving me crazy.”

Lily looked towards the drake, who could only manage a fake chuckle while he continued to look down towards the ground with a slightly pained expression on his face. “The first mare that I liked, had white fur. Her sister had white fur, and the mares that used to take care of me and Quill back in Canterlot had white fur.”

“Spike,” Lily started, placing a hand on Spike’s shoulder to get his attention. Spike turned his head only to be caught by the whiteness within Lily’s irises, overcome by the purity of them. “You mustn’t look into that too much. It is only a mere coincidence that you see the color white all the time. To prove this, what is the color of the clouds above us?”

Spike sighed a bit, which he tried to mask as a chuckle. Knowing the mare really was trying to make a point, he looked up to find that the skies were definitely covered with white clouds, and seemed like they would be for the better part of the day.

“White,” Spike answered with another half sigh chuckle. The more time Spike was given to think of this, the more it seemed silly. Lily was right, colors were everywhere in this world. Who was Spike to say that one color was following him throughout his life?

“You’re right, Lily,” Spike said with a smile and a more honest chuckle coming from him. “Guess I was being a little paranoid.” Lily smiled towards the drake as she nodded her head before going back to eating the white berries.

Spike took a moment to watch Lily chew the berries and see her wings jitter from them as she ate with a happy smile on her face. He then looked down towards the berry in his hand. ‘Only one way to find out,’ Spike thought to himself as he popped the berry in his mouth and started to chew.

Suddenly, Spike’s mouth was filled with an immense wave of tangy sourness that forced his face to cringe slightly. He was about to spit the berry out, however, it rapidly changed into a sugary sweetness that reminded him of what gems tasted like.

“Wow, what are these?” Spike asked as he reached for another one straight off of Lily’s lap and quickly popping it in his mouth again. “They taste just like gems - rubies, or maybe sapphires. Man, it’s been so long since I had any of them that I can’t remember what they really taste like,” he said as he again reached out to pick several from Lily’s lap.

One after another, Spike popped berries into his mouth. “Slow down Spike,” Lily giggled as she playfully scooted some of the berries away from Spike’s grabby mitts. “You’ll choke on one if you keep that up.”

Spike did as the mare told him to and started to slow down on his eating so that he really wouldn’t wind up choking. “Heh, s-sorry,” Spike started with a sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head. “It just that, it’s been so long since I had a gem...guess I’m just craving them is all.”

Lily giggled at the drake as she knew that gems and other minerals like that were like candy or other sweets for dragons, and that they were something the twins should eat on occasion. “It’s fine Spike, but don’t go eating all of these just yet. Just wait until the winter, then you’ll really think these are better than gems.”

“What, really?” Spike asked, surprised that anything could taste better than meat or gems. Now he couldn’t wait for the winter to come along so he could see what the berries tasted like when they were ready to be eaten. “Oh man, I can’t wait.”

Lily giggled again at the drake for his silliness. Over these last two months, she had always drawn energy from Spike’s ability to overlook bad situations and other things that headed his way. It was always relieving to see him push through each day, constantly battling a darkness in his own heart, yet still able to wear a smile on his face.

“Spike,” Lily began, placing her hand on Spike’s leg to get his attention again. When Spike looked Lily in the eyes, a short pause occurred as the smile on Lily’s face grew softer and the shine in her eyes grew brighter. “I want you to know something.”

There was another pause between the two as Spike continued to look in Lily’s snow-white eyes, the eyes of the mare he trusted as a guide and teacher. Lily, meanwhile, stared into Spike’s green eyes, and felt something different about them. As if the emerald shine was trying to say that he was destined to become a guardian of much more than High Moon.

“Spike, I want to let you know that you are a very strong-hearted dragon,” Lily continued, finding the same comfort in Spike’s eyes as she did in Wolf’s. “You are kind, and very resourceful, and you always have the interests of others before your own. I also wanted to let you know that I’m proud of you.”

Lily turned slightly to wrap both of her arms around the drake’s head and gently brought it towards her chest. “Spike, you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. Hardworking, smart, and kind. Anyone would be fortunate to have someone as amiable and sweet as you are as their own.” Lily sighed as her grip slightly tightened around Spike’s head for a moment before she continued with a slight chuckle. “You are a great drake Spike, and an even greater friend.”

Lily’s words struck deep within Spike as he blushed, with his mouth slightly agape. Not once had anyone, including Celestia or Twilight, ever told him what Lily just did. Sure, both alicorns had said that they were proud of him, but that was from doing what he thought was the right thing.

Doing what one thought was right wasn’t something to be praised or recognized, it was just the right thing to do. Everyone in High Moon needed him to grow stronger, and he did so. Not because they told him to do so, nor was he ever forced to do the large amount of mental and magical training he had to. There was only one reason Spike did all that he had up until now, and that was because he felt like he should.

Spike didn’t need someone to hang over his head and tell him what he should have to do to better himself. He did that because it would help everyone else out, not just himself. Spike sought out no personal gain from anything that he did.

Learning not only about potions and the variety of plant life, but about his dragon heritage, and the true story of his past... All of these, on the surface, would be considered pursuits of self-gain that Spike had undergone over the two months, but that was wrong.

Spike did this not for himself, as much as everyone said he should, but he did it for everyone around him. To grow stronger, to become smarter, and to be wiser. He did all of this just so he could help others around him. To help Equestria cease their fears of dragons.

“W-wow, th-thank you Lily,” Spike said as he leaned into Lily’s warm embrace that was fighting off the chilling winds of the hilltop field. Spike closed his eyes to further enjoy the mare’s warmth as he found it, and her, soothing to him. “N-no one has ever said that to me before.”

To his displeasure, Lily ended the embrace with a happy smile on her face. “Well, someone should have a long time ago,” she said with a pat on Spike’s shoulder, resuming eating what was left of the berries with Spike. “I meant those words Spike, and everyone knows this as well. Even Quill, despite the way she shows it.”

“Heh, yeah...yeah,” Spike trailed off, knowing the real reason Quill acted the way she did at times. “Quill isn’t the best when it comes to touchy feely stuff. That’s why she always flips out, it’s cause she can’t rationalize her emotions and it makes her angrier than she already is.” Spike took a moment to laugh at this thought, as Quill had constantly proven that might can win over mind.

“Yes, I’ve noticed this too,” Lily said, popping another berry into her mouth to get the same jolting thrill that she enjoyed. “I must say though, she is a very interesting dragoness. Unable to stay still for anything. She sort of reminds me of Blaze, a little. Always fascinated by things and driving to learn as much as she can.”

“Yup, that’s Quill alright,” Spike said with a smile on his face, knowing more than anyone that Quill constantly pushed to learn something new as fast as she could. Even when they were living in Canterlot, Quill would push a little harder to learn something new from Princess Celestia or Twilight. Of course, this was long before he and Quill lost faith in the two alicorns.

Spike leaned his head back against the tree as more memories started to find their way into his head. Each one of a moment where he and his sister weren’t fighting, times where it was just him and her hanging out or just being next to each other in peace.

“I guess in a way,” Spike chuckled as he rubbed the top of his head-spines that he found were smoothing out and bending backwards each passing day. Another chuckle left his lips as he knew how ironic he was going to sound. “I’m actually jealous of her,” he finally admitted as though it was a horrible sin.

Lily quickly began frowning when she heard the sad and slightly resentful tone in Spike’s voice. “Oh Spike, what could you possibly have to be jealous of your sister?” she asked with a small playful nudge with her elbow to his shoulder. “You said it yourself a few weeks ago that Quill does not have the capability to focus that you do.”

“Hmph, where do I start?” Spike fake laugh with a weak smile on his face. “Wings, magic that doesn't try to kill her in her sleep, and a strong and brash heart that only has good in mind. Let’s not also forget about having a lover, that she saved. Sometimes I wish I could be as strong as Quill.”

“Spike,” Lily admonished in a low tone of slight disapproval. “Now you know that you shouldn’t think such things.” Spike snapped his attention from the ground and towards Lily at the tone of voice she had and saw the disappointment in her eyes. “You are you, not your sister. You can’t do everything she does, and she can’t do everything you do. Remember that, Spike. The both of you have your own lives to live.”

“Yeah, I know, but still,” Spike answered with a sheepish grin on his face, knowing that it was dumb and selfish for him the be envious of Quill’s life. “I know that it isn’t right or fair of me to want what Quill has. But there are times I look at her and just wonder how she seems to make the best of any situation. She even got a marefriend before me,” Spike exclaimed, throwing his hands up in mild frustration, and rolling his eyes in an exaggerated manner.

Lily started to giggle slightly at the drake’s fuming, again finding Spike’s silliness to be funny. “Well,” she began with a conspiratorial tone, a slight smirk was on her face. “I heard that you had the chance to find love, what happened there?”

“Pfft, yeah, that wasn’t going to work out,” Spike said with another obvious eye roll and puffing out a small stream of his normal green fire. “It was with a friend, that I kind of knew. Sure, she’s a really sweet mare, but...I dunno, I just couldn’t say yes to being with her. It would have ruined a close friendship of hers with another mare.” Again, the bittersweet memories of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came to Spike’s mind, as well as the events that came afterwards.

“To be honest,” Spike continued with a more serious tone of voice that forced Lily to pay extra attention to his words. “I guess Quill was right when she said that I would just be using her as a replacement for her older sister. And frankly, I just don’t want to deal with that kind of drama,” he finished as he rubbed his face with his hands.

After some time, Spike realized that only more trouble and drama would come if he tried, in the future, to pursue Sweetie Belle or any of the Crusaders. What Dusk said was right, if Spike being with any of them caused their friendship to fall apart, then it wasn’t worth pursuing. Also, Spike didn’t believe that he truly had it in him just to be with any of the Crusaders, especially since he was living in the Everfree.

From what happened during the camping trip, Spike honestly thought that he had had enough drama for one decade or so, and decided that he wasn’t going to do the same thing again. Best way to do that, was to make the first move when the time was right.

“Sides, I kind of hate to say it, but I’ve honestly already moved on.” Spike sat back up from the tree, placing his elbow on his thigh, and laying his head in his palm. “Is that bad? To move on with my own life while they’re still dreaming about what might have been? Is it not fair for me to move on with my life while they can’t?” Spike asked Lily since he didn’t trust himself enough to make the right choice, considering that he couldn’t say no, even when that was the best thing to do.

“Spike, you must understand,” Lily started after she moved her legs in a criss-cross manner so she could sit more comfortably underneath the great big oak tree. “You can’t always make everyone happy with you. Sometimes you need to make hard choices. For better or worse, you need to choose which one that will help you and others that you care for.”

Lily’s response was met with a sigh from Spike as another chilling wind brushed passed them, along with the same slightly-off feeling he had been having since they started the way towards the hill. He didn’t know how to explain it, but it felt as though there was someone watching them from afar, yet he couldn’t sense any malice behind it.

“I know that some of these choices may be hard to make Spike, but again, you can’t appease everyone,” Lily continued, breaking Spike out of his thoughts. “They have to be made Spike, you can only live your life; not the lives of others.”

“Okay Lily, I’ll remember that,” Spike said with an honest smile on his face as he ate the last of the berries. “It really means a lot to hear that you think I’m strong and stuff. Though, I think Cyclone and Veil should be the ones being told this,” Spike continued, surprising Lily with what he said.

“Oh really?” Lily said with a mildly surprised look on her face, however, knowing that she should have guessed that Spike would think of someone else of being stronger than himself in some kind of form or fashion. “Well yes, I must agree with you that they are strong-hearted. To lose one’s home and still be able to move on the way they have is something to be commended for.”

Spike quickly nodded his head in agreement, as he couldn’t put what Lily said in any better words. “Yeah, they’re cool in my book.” Lily slowly arched an eyebrow at what Spike had just said, not familiar with the phrase he used. “I mean, I’m impressed by them is what I’m saying. To have everything taken from them like that, then having to do work right after that. It must have been hard for them.”

Lily slowly started to nod her head as she could relate to what the two newcomers likely felt after having their home ripped from their lives, yet still having to move on. “Loss is hard for any to pass through. However, what I believe made it easier was that they had each other, and that they were safe.”

A moment of pause came over them as Spike continued to admire the two’s drive while Lily noticed something. “Hm,” she thought out loud, still working through the situation. “I don’t know about you Spike, but I’m seeing a pattern here. Don’t you?”

Spike tilted his head slightly in thought of what Lily was pointing out. He quickly realized that Lily was referring to when he and Quill got to High Moon, and how they had each other to support them. “Heh, yeah it is kind of the same how me and Quill got here.”

“Yes, it is,” Lily started with a mild giggle as she found the coincidence to be somewhat humorous, despite the reasons behind it. “Yes, those two are very strong. Veil with her devotion towards her friend, and Cyclone with her hope. They are very interesting pair, especially Veil.”

Spike raised an eyebrow towards Lily as he wondered what she could have meant by Veil being the more interesting one of the pair. However, he had gotten to know Cyclone fairly well from their short stay so far, while he hadn’t had a chance to talk with Veil one on one. In fact, he was due to get to know Isis and Frost a bit more as well. Seeing that High Moon would be his home for the foreseeable future, it would be best to get to know his fellow pack mates.

“However, Spike,” Lily started, once again breaking him out of his thoughts. When Spike turned away from the bush filled with white berries to look back Lily’s way, he found that she was pointing at the bracers on his wrists. More specifically, the vibrant purple gems on them. “I believe that you are growing stronger each day.”

Spike gazed deeply into the two limiters on his wrists. To think that in less than a mere week that he would be able to condition his body to hold all of his magic! “Awesome, won’t be much longer now will it?” he asked after confirming that the coloration was in fact following a pattern that he could predict. “I’ll finally be able to get back to being able to use magic, right?”

“Yes Spike, you will but,” Lily paused to place a hand on Spike’s shoulder to gain his attention yet again. “Don’t neglect your body again. Just because you were able to beat your ghost-heart once, doesn’t mean it can not come to strike you again,” she said with a deathly serious tone that forced Spike to take a hard swallow. “I no longer want you to be meditating, Spike. You already have control with your magic, you just need to put it into practice now.”

“I understand, Lily,” Spike answered with a slightly nervous nod of his head. “I’ll see if I can do some more training with Wolf or Frost, along with any jobs Wolf may have for me,” he said, nerves still coloring his voice. Spike was glad to finally be getting close to being free of the limiters, but the thought of being put through whatever Quill went through scared him a little.

Spike was no fighter, at least in the real world, so he knew that he’d have troubles keeping up at first, but there was no way he could go back now. Spike needed to face this new hardship that was coming at him from the horizon of his life; he needed to take it by the reins and hang on with all his might.

Suddenly, Spike’s attention was broken from his thoughts due to the flutterpony standing up next to him while she brushed off some of the grass on the back of her shirt. “Good, now come along Spike,” Lily said as she turned towards the growing drake with a pleasant smile on her face. “We should be heading back if we are to get this greenhouse done today.”

“Alright Lily,” Spike said, getting up from the ground to follow Lily back towards the site where the greenhouse was located. Spike followed Lily along the path at a leisurely pace, allowing him time to have to himself to think about everything that she told him. Granted that it was an odd occurrence that the color white seemed to follow Spike wherever he went, it seemed it was just that; an odd occurrence.