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Story - Spike's Crystaling ~ 5
9 years ago
General
Spike and Flurry Heart were greeted with smiles from all the guards who patrolled the halls of The Crystal Palace as they made their way towards the ‘Crystal Kitchen’.
“Is that you, Spike: the Brave and Glorious?” asked the on-staff chef while the pair entered the large cooking area.
“Why, yes!” the purple dragon beamed with pride.
“You truly are a hero,” the Unicorn chef grinned while continuing about his work. “That statue of you with the Crystal Heart is certainly very fitting for such a heroic, kind, and helpful dragon, like yourself.”
Spike felt his ego growing. However, he was knocked out of his self-admiration by another bonk to the head by baby Flurry Heart’s rattle.
“Right,” said Spike . “Does Princess cadence keep the bottles for Flurry Heart in one of the refrigerators down here?”
The chef nodded before using his magic to open one of the smaller fridges that had a sign posted to it that read, “’Flurry Heart’s Baby Bottles’.
“Oh,” blushed Spike upon spotting the large-print note on the fridge. “I knew that.”
“Just let me know if you need any help,” said the duty-focused Unicorn as he used his magic to cut up a number of carrots. “I’m ahead of schedule for having dinner ready for the castle staff.”
Flurry bonked Spike again with the rattle as she giggled from the, “Ow!”, reaction the young dragon gave while wincing with pain.
“Bottle warmer and timer are right by the fridge there,” stated the Unicorn while he seamlessly went about his work. “The Crystal Princess usually sets it to warm for about five minutes. HoweverPrince Shining Armor prefers to ‘test sample’ the milk before serving it to Princess Flurry Heart.”
“Got it!” announced Spike as he went about doing as the chef had instructed. All of this, with the exception of Shining Armor’s ‘sampling’, was in his notes from Cadence.
***
Flurry Heart swapped whacking Spike with the rattle for oohing-and-awwing at the gurgling, bottle warmer. Spike then did the ‘Drip Test’ where he allowed some of the milk to drip onto his hand to make sure it wasn’t too warm for the baby Alicorn.
“Everything okay over there?” the chef asked.
“Yeah,” said Spike as he adjusted Flurry Heart over his shoulders. “I’ll be taking Princess Flurry Heart back to her room to eat since Princess Cadence told me she gets sleepy after eating.”
“Sounds about right,” the chef replied before opening a cupboard and levitating a small basket towards the dragon. “The Crystal Princess informed me that you prefer to eat jewels. So, as your duty is to the Crystaling, I arranged some for you to take back to eat as you care for her in Cadence and Shining Armor’s absence.”
Spike took the basket, which contained various jewels of different sizes, placed the bottle into it, secured Flurry Heart’s hoof with one claw, and carried the basket with the other.
“Thanks!” announced Spike.
“You’re welcome,” the chef replied. “My shift ends at eight and it is important you know what you may need if the Crystaling wakes in the night.”
Spike thought on how Twilight and Cadence had mentioned that babies aren’t known for sleeping the whole night through. He then recalled when he saw Shining Armor after Cadence had just given birth to Flurry Heart and seeing how totally exhausted he was from the experience of being a dad.
“Oh, boy,” he sighed while heading back towards Flurry Heart’s nursery.
***
Spike could feel the baby Alicorn suckling on his head spikes as they returned to her room. He also got to feel how the powder-pink foal had more strength than he thought as she lifted him from the ground and swung him about as she flapped her immense wings. Fortunately, just like when she bounced him around earlier, he was able to work through it. He came close to tripping and falling flat on his face a few times, but his panic and stumbling did distract the infant from her uplifting efforts.
“Here we are!” cheered Spike as he walked towards a rocking chair and sat down. He then adjusted himself to cradle Flurry Heart in the way he was instructed for feeding her.
“Here you go,” smiled Spike while moving the nipple of the bottle towards Flurry Heart’s mouth.
“Ba!” she exclaimed while snatching the bottle from Spike’s hand and placing the nipple in her mouth. The bottle would’ve fallen if the dragon didn’t make an epic effort to lean forward and catch it before it rolled out of her mouth.
“Phew,” he sighed while beginning to rock in the chair. His one hand holding the baby Alicorn gently against his belly while the other kept the bottle at the angle he had practiced on his Rarity plush. He was very embarrassed to do such a practice, but Twilight insisted if he practiced on something he cared about he’d be able to do it perfectly for the Crystaling.
Flurry Heart ceased her fussing as she took in the warm milk.
SQUICK-SQUICK-SQUICK
Spike felt his stomach rumble as he watched the infant eat her liquid meal. He knew he had to help support her and the bottle, but he really wanted a gem.
“Hold on,” he said while moving the bottle out of Flurry Heart’s mouth so he could free a hand to reach for one of the jewels. This caused the infant to fuss, which made Spike go with the first one his claws came into contact with.
“Okay,” he replied with a muffle as an elongated gem partially made its way into his mouth.
SPOP-SPOP-SPOP
SQUICK-SPOP-SQUICK-SPOP
Flurry Heart suckled her bottle as Spike sucked upon the gem he was only partially able to get into his mouth.
“This works,” thought Spike while he enjoyed the taste of the jewel as it gradually melted in his warm mouth. “She’s happy and I’m happy.”
TO BE CONTINUED
“Is that you, Spike: the Brave and Glorious?” asked the on-staff chef while the pair entered the large cooking area.
“Why, yes!” the purple dragon beamed with pride.
“You truly are a hero,” the Unicorn chef grinned while continuing about his work. “That statue of you with the Crystal Heart is certainly very fitting for such a heroic, kind, and helpful dragon, like yourself.”
Spike felt his ego growing. However, he was knocked out of his self-admiration by another bonk to the head by baby Flurry Heart’s rattle.
“Right,” said Spike . “Does Princess cadence keep the bottles for Flurry Heart in one of the refrigerators down here?”
The chef nodded before using his magic to open one of the smaller fridges that had a sign posted to it that read, “’Flurry Heart’s Baby Bottles’.
“Oh,” blushed Spike upon spotting the large-print note on the fridge. “I knew that.”
“Just let me know if you need any help,” said the duty-focused Unicorn as he used his magic to cut up a number of carrots. “I’m ahead of schedule for having dinner ready for the castle staff.”
Flurry bonked Spike again with the rattle as she giggled from the, “Ow!”, reaction the young dragon gave while wincing with pain.
“Bottle warmer and timer are right by the fridge there,” stated the Unicorn while he seamlessly went about his work. “The Crystal Princess usually sets it to warm for about five minutes. HoweverPrince Shining Armor prefers to ‘test sample’ the milk before serving it to Princess Flurry Heart.”
“Got it!” announced Spike as he went about doing as the chef had instructed. All of this, with the exception of Shining Armor’s ‘sampling’, was in his notes from Cadence.
***
Flurry Heart swapped whacking Spike with the rattle for oohing-and-awwing at the gurgling, bottle warmer. Spike then did the ‘Drip Test’ where he allowed some of the milk to drip onto his hand to make sure it wasn’t too warm for the baby Alicorn.
“Everything okay over there?” the chef asked.
“Yeah,” said Spike as he adjusted Flurry Heart over his shoulders. “I’ll be taking Princess Flurry Heart back to her room to eat since Princess Cadence told me she gets sleepy after eating.”
“Sounds about right,” the chef replied before opening a cupboard and levitating a small basket towards the dragon. “The Crystal Princess informed me that you prefer to eat jewels. So, as your duty is to the Crystaling, I arranged some for you to take back to eat as you care for her in Cadence and Shining Armor’s absence.”
Spike took the basket, which contained various jewels of different sizes, placed the bottle into it, secured Flurry Heart’s hoof with one claw, and carried the basket with the other.
“Thanks!” announced Spike.
“You’re welcome,” the chef replied. “My shift ends at eight and it is important you know what you may need if the Crystaling wakes in the night.”
Spike thought on how Twilight and Cadence had mentioned that babies aren’t known for sleeping the whole night through. He then recalled when he saw Shining Armor after Cadence had just given birth to Flurry Heart and seeing how totally exhausted he was from the experience of being a dad.
“Oh, boy,” he sighed while heading back towards Flurry Heart’s nursery.
***
Spike could feel the baby Alicorn suckling on his head spikes as they returned to her room. He also got to feel how the powder-pink foal had more strength than he thought as she lifted him from the ground and swung him about as she flapped her immense wings. Fortunately, just like when she bounced him around earlier, he was able to work through it. He came close to tripping and falling flat on his face a few times, but his panic and stumbling did distract the infant from her uplifting efforts.
“Here we are!” cheered Spike as he walked towards a rocking chair and sat down. He then adjusted himself to cradle Flurry Heart in the way he was instructed for feeding her.
“Here you go,” smiled Spike while moving the nipple of the bottle towards Flurry Heart’s mouth.
“Ba!” she exclaimed while snatching the bottle from Spike’s hand and placing the nipple in her mouth. The bottle would’ve fallen if the dragon didn’t make an epic effort to lean forward and catch it before it rolled out of her mouth.
“Phew,” he sighed while beginning to rock in the chair. His one hand holding the baby Alicorn gently against his belly while the other kept the bottle at the angle he had practiced on his Rarity plush. He was very embarrassed to do such a practice, but Twilight insisted if he practiced on something he cared about he’d be able to do it perfectly for the Crystaling.
Flurry Heart ceased her fussing as she took in the warm milk.
SQUICK-SQUICK-SQUICK
Spike felt his stomach rumble as he watched the infant eat her liquid meal. He knew he had to help support her and the bottle, but he really wanted a gem.
“Hold on,” he said while moving the bottle out of Flurry Heart’s mouth so he could free a hand to reach for one of the jewels. This caused the infant to fuss, which made Spike go with the first one his claws came into contact with.
“Okay,” he replied with a muffle as an elongated gem partially made its way into his mouth.
SPOP-SPOP-SPOP
SQUICK-SPOP-SQUICK-SPOP
Flurry Heart suckled her bottle as Spike sucked upon the gem he was only partially able to get into his mouth.
“This works,” thought Spike while he enjoyed the taste of the jewel as it gradually melted in his warm mouth. “She’s happy and I’m happy.”
TO BE CONTINUED
I do believe one final moment of adorable time together should finish this all up. I do believe Spike has not only done a good job, but also is getting an understanding of how he may have been for Princess Celestia and twilight when he was a hatchling.
Do you think this story has done well in sharing the misadventures of caring for a baby for the first time? Is there anything important you think I missed?
Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Leon. It's very deeply appreciated.
in all honesty, if I was writing this, I would have the entire story in one story submission, but thats just me XD
The reason I'm doing it in journals is that, while I can't see the screen due to the gas bubble in my eye, I am using the FA Journal feature to write it out. However, once my vision returns, I can clean it up and post to "FiM Fiction" and then make it a single submission here on FA that links to "FiM Fiction". (FiM Fiction is a lot better with formatting and text size. However, there are aspects of FiM Fiction that aren't accessible to my Screen Reader.)
One more chapter to write before I feel this story is complete. I thank you so much for reading, Lanny. I'm also glad you feel I'm doing a good job with Spike, too. It means a lot to me.
How has your reading been coming along? :)
I did not know you could not see the submission descriptions. hmm, welp, as soon as you recover, I will beable to finish up a few more picks for you to see ^^
Now, if I look totally "face down", I can kind of make out some things. However, I have to really position my head downward while keeping the gas bubble from moving.
So, the only thing really keeping me from doing a lot is the gas bubble. The more I can keep it from touching my corneal transplant, the better since it hurts the sensitive tissue due to how it is.
Right now, I have over 1,200 submissions to check out. I'm excited for all of them. This includes seeing your new avatar as well. :)
Reading is coming along great. I'm polishing off some tales while gradually delving into prepping for a strong go through the updated Tsurgdari. I'm very excited for when I can execute my plan of carefully listening to the story and providing comments as I get through each session of reading.
carefully, so you are a word for word person? :)
Speaking of Tsurgdari, I been working along with stories, have one with Tsurgdari Yosh fully planned out ^^
Even when I could see well enough to read a standard book, I was a naturally slow reader. I prefer a slower pace to let everything absorb properly.
As for the "Gas Bubble", the Retina Surgeon put it in the back of my eye to help hold my reattached retina in place. It can take between 4 to 6 weeks to dissolve. However, I have to be extra careful while it is there as it can cause my corneal transplant distress if it touches it for too long, or I could ruin the retina's recovery if I get too physically active.
Thanks again for your patience, Lanny. I'm hopeful to start working on some stories with Yosh and lanny's family soon. I've been gradually rekindling my writing ability through simple stories, like this Spike one, but I really am eager for when a mechanical voice doesn't have to announce everything I do. :)
I been rereading my books, and those short stories I did with yosh (I wonder which one has the most views XP) X3
Have you ever played with your "Stats" feature on your FA User page? You can sort by most viewed, faved, and commented.
My most popular stories are those I've written about Spike. Though some of my original works is in the Top 36. :)
Like Attack of Ramen, on its first day, it got 25 views (which is rather impressive my current standards), while Journey of Taro has 46 views right now.
I never touched my FA stats ^^
speaking of Specials, I am working on one with Lewin and his side of the family
I'm glad your work is gradually building more-and-more viewers. It shows how your dedication and determination are paying off.
and it is paying off, even if it is slow
I'm looking to finish the story up today. Simple, sweet, and happy. :)
And it's funny how Spike and the baby are both suckling on their food at the end. ;P
This chapter was used to help remind folks that I am not forgetting that the Crystal Palace does have a staff living there. It also is yet another opportunity for Spike to see how hard watching a baby / foal really is. :)