Title:           Spike n' TR Anon. AiE prompt
Author:          Anonymous
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/AMiKGLTL
First Edit:      Friday 2nd of October 2015 03:54:28 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Friday 2nd of October 2015 03:54:28 PM CDT

>"Oh hey Anon."
>"If you're looking for Twilight she went out with her friends."
"And what are you doing?"
>The tiny purple and green dragon looks up at you, hesitant
>Just like any rookie
>"W-well-"
 
"I know what you're doing: you're just sitting there on your little behind feeling like nobody loves you."
 
>"It's not that!
>It's just..."
"Just what?"
>He starts to squirm under your gaze
>"I...I'm just not old enough.
>Why would they let a baby dragon hang out with them?"
 
>You shake your head, sighing from the little bastard's insecurities
>But with nothing better to do, you decide to help the kid out
 
"Kid, come with me.
By now those idiots I call my subordinates should've set up the range by now."
>"...The range?"
"Yeah.
It's about time you learn how to become a man...
In a manner of speaking."
()()()
>You can tell from the distant batatatatata that MAX Anon's already going to town with his dual chainguns
 
>Your frown deepens since you told the big guy early on not to go overboard with those
 
>"Uh, Sergeant Anon, sir?"
"Yeah?"
>"What exactly do you mean by 'become a man'?"
 
"Well kid that depends on what you think is mature for your kind."
 
>The little guy doesn't give you an answer
>He just looks down at the dirt path, contemplating as he walks
>After another few minutes of walking to the outskirts of AJ’s farm, you crest one last hill
>You mutter,
“Sunuvabitch.”
 
>The six other members of your squad were all there
>Alongside them were the bunch of NC boys and gals that were dumped here as well
>They were all getting ready to magdump into the improvised targets they set up
>Behind those was a pathetic hill of dirt the squad had claimed to be working on all day
>Behind that was the creepy-ass forest those egghead fucks took refuge in
 
“Kid, cover your ears.”
>”Why? What are they d-“
“Now.”
>The firm voice did the trick, and the dragon did as you ordered
>Just in time t-eeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
>You know the nanites your body’s composed of will repair the damage, but that ringing always gets on your nerves
>You don’t let Spike see your annoyance as the two of you continue walking
>After the two maxes finally run out of ammo, and the range was quiet, you walk up to your engineer
>The redhead sees your approach, and she does her best to keep a smile on
>Confusion seeps in when she sees who was down by your feet
“What did I say about everyone shooting everything at once?”
>She points to the blue and yellow bandits and mercs, whom have taken over one side of the range
>”It was their idea, sir.
>They were pretty adamant about it, and we didn’t wanna get into a pointless brawl with them.”
 
>You sigh again
>Despite what you were taught, discipline turned out to be worthless, given everyone’s experience
>You still hate the lack of professionalism
“Well since you’re standing around now, you can get the gentleman here some ear protection.
I don’t want to explain to the bookworm why her assistant became deaf over the course of an afternoon.”
 
>As the engineer went to the portable terminal to requisition some earpro, you look down at Spike
>He’s still covering his fins/ears, and is staring at the two hulking men in armored exoskeletons who were standing side by side, separating the two groups of soldiers
>His expression tells you everything
>He’s scared shitless, jumping in his scaly skin every time someone lets off a shot
>You hope to make that skittish expression disappear before dinner
 
>A minute later, and Spike is all set
>Special headphones designed to only muffle gunshots, light assault goggles, fingerless gloves, the whole shebang
>He is still a little jumpy, but he’s just anxious now instead of terrified
>He stands on his toes to get a view of an entire table of assorted Terran weapons, from pistols to LMGs
>He stares at the firearms with a timid look, unsure what to do
 
“We’ll start you out small, kid.”
>You pass him and go to the very end of the table, where the pistols are
>You pick up the standard-issue machine pistol
>It’s not a regular pistol, but the revolvers and the NC’s handguns are likely to break the little guy’s wrists
>As the firing range starts to heat up in earnest, you direct Spike to the very end of the Terran’s side
 
>When he is in position, you kneel down to his levels
“Now Spike, before you get to it, remember these rules:
The overall one is: These are very powerful tools, and they are to be treated with the upmost respect, got it?”
>The little dragon nods, trying his best to steel himself through some breathing exercise
“Good, good.
First off: the barrel is /always/ pointing downrange, and nowhere else.
Second: when you hear ‘ceasefire’ you stop immediately, set the safety on, and place the gun to the side.
It stays there until you hear ‘range is hot’, got it?”
>Spike nods again, shifting side to side a little on his feet
“Then let’s start.”
 
>You spend a minute helping Spike grip the pistol properly
>His clawed fingers are a little difficult to work with, but since they are so small they aren’t too much of a hassle
>When the dragon finally has a comfortable grip, and is in what looks to be a comfortable firing pose, you deem him ready
>You take the first magazine and hand it to him
>Making sure the safety is on and his claw is away from the trigger, you show him how to load the lead
>With a grunt, the little guy cocks the now loaded pistol and aims it at the standard Nanite Systems target a few dozen meters away
>You watch closely as you instruct him to turn the dial to “burst” and place his claw on the trigger
>Aiming down the iron sights with his dominant eye, he controls his breathing as you tell him, with your hands gripping his,
“Now gently: squeeze.”
…
>PTtTtTt!
>As the machine pistol’s bark is drowned out by the rest of the range, you strain to keep Spike’s tiny arms from being thrown into the air
>The little dragon takes his claw off the trigger immediately
>It took no detective to know he was caught completely off guard
>His body is shaking all over, close to going limp
>He is breathing erratically, almost hyperventilating
>His eyes are as big as saucers, still staring down at the target
“Spike breathe, breathe.”
>You wait patiently as the little guy calms down, regaining his strength and composure
>Slowly, he aims again, his claw once again resting on the trigger
“Whenever you’re ready.”
>PTtTtTt!
>The second burst isn’t nearly as bad, now that Spike knows how much kick the pistol has
>He spends half a minute spewing the rest of the mag in the general direction of the target
 
>You wait until Spike gathers enough conscious thought to speak again
>”D…did I do alright?”
>You look over at the target, and you’re surprised to see quite a few hits on it, some fairly close to the center
>You look back to him with a smile
“Not bad for a first-timer.
Heck, you did better than I did when I first started out.”
 
>That’s probably a lie, but right now you can’t remember the first time you actually shot a gun
>You’ve been shooting for all of your life, especially once you joined the Republic’s military
>But as long as it can build up the little guy’s confidence…
 
>You’re rewarded with his own smile, though it looks like he is simply feeling the adrenaline
>”Can I do some more?”
>That’s the spirit, kid
“Sure thing.”
 
>As the sun floats along its daily path, Spike is getting better and better at it
>The time between bursts is getting shorter and shorter
>His shots are starting to all hit somewhere on the paper
>When you decide to let Spike have at the carbines, you realize something
 
>He’s a fucking natural
>With the snuggly feeling of a rifle, along with a not-so-powerful caliber, he is hitting the target almost as good as the soldiers next to him
>Over time, his time holding the trigger down becomes longer
>His groupings are still tight
 
>And he’s grinning the entire time
 
“Alright Terrans, stand down!
Dinnertime!” 
>A mix of merry yells and groans moves through the squad
>The NC stop firing and looks at you
>You return the gaze, particularly at their medic “commander”
“Now I don’t know where you people are heading for, but since we’re sharing a range I might as well invite all of you to eat with us at Sugarcube.”
>Agent Anon, thankfully professional, has an apologetic look
>”Sorry Sergeant, but the Apples are cooking up dinner for us.
>I’m not sure if they’re expecting you guys, so I’m sorry I can’t invite you in kind.”
“That’s fine, the Cakes will be waiting for us anyway.”
 
>As the NC and TR clean up and begin to disperse, you walk over to Spike’s slot
>He has the rifles neatly placed to the side, unloaded with the safeties on
>The engineer takes them with care, smiling at Spike
>He looks up to you with a toothy grin
>You notice he wasn’t shaking
“Had fun?”
>”Oh yeah!
>That was awesome!”
>As he takes his earpro and goggles off, you notice a tiny sparkle in his eyes
>Did he grow a little too?
“You wanna end the day with a treat at Sugarcube with us?
It’s on me.”
>The sparkle and grin slowly vanishes
>”I don’t know.
>Twilight might be home already.”
 
>Looks like he still needs some work
“Don’t worry, I’ll stop over and tell her if she’s there.
If not, I’ll leave a note.”
>That made the dragon perk up
>”Can you do that?”
“It’s the least I can do for my new little rookie.”
>…
>”R-rookie?”
“Yeah.
If we ain’t busy tomorrow, then I’ll let you practice some more.
You’re a natural, Spike.”
>The smile comes back in full, and with a goodbye the dragon heads off with the squad to Sugarcube
>You watch as the kid does his best to keep up with the Terrans, who are several times larger than him
>With a fuzzy feeling in your chest that you haven’t felt in years, you walk back to the library
 
…
 
>It turns out Twilight was indeed at the library
>It seems as if she had just gotten back, for she still had her saddlebag on when you open the wooden door
>”Spiiike!
>You’re not in bed already, are you?”
“He ain’t, Ms. Sparkle.”
>The purple pone spins around
>”Ah!
>Oh, Sergeant Anon, it’s just you.”
 
>You enter fully and close the door behind you
“Yeah, I came here to tell you he’s over at Sugarcube with my squad.”
>”Oh…wait, what was he doing with your team?”
>She lifts the saddlebag from her back and sets it to the side
>You hear a few metallic objects clink against each other inside
“I treated him to some dinner, figured I owed him that after dragging him off his behind today.”
>”Excuse me?” she asked, suspicious
 “I came over after lunch to ask you something, but since you were gone neither of us had nothing better to do.”
>”And what did you do with Spike?”
>You lean against the side of the door, arms across your armored chest
“I took Spike to the range my guys just set up today.
Let him have a go at a few of our firear-“
 
>”You let him do WHAT!?”
>Oh now she’s pissed
>But you’re not going to let that get you
“Whatever you’re thinking, Ms. Sparkle, know that I made sure he was as safe as possible.”
>”That’s not it!”
>She was on the cusp of screaming at you
>”He’s just a baby!
>What in Celestia’s name made you think letting him shoot your guns was a GOOD IDEA!?”
 
>You sigh, taking off your commissar’s hat to rub your balding head
“Look, you may see him as a baby, but from what I’ve seen of him he’s older than that.
I see a young kid, very much like our own young.
And I think every kid, especially a young boy like him, should have the right to shoot a gun during their childhood.”
>”What sort of twisted reasoning is that?!”
“It’s my reasoning, and I’m willing to stake my rank on all of my squad, especially those NC hicks over at the Apples saying the same thing.”
>”That still doesn’t explain why you handed a gun to Spike!”
>The pony was getting closer now, seething
>You push off the wall and stand firm, looking down at the purple unicorn
“Twilight, when I came to the library, can you guess what Spike was doing?
He was sitting right there.”
>You point to the bottom of the stairs, right where the little dragon was
“He was on the verge of Goddamn tears, Twilight, just sitting there and doing nothing but feeling like a piece of baggage.”
>That got the mare to calm down
“Now I could’ve been the average hardass and left him there to continue being a baby,
But no, I felt sorry for the kid, so I got him to do what I’d want my own children to do if I had any.”
>Twilight backs away, looking at nothing as she realizes some folly of hers
>You replace your hat, making sure it was straight, and begin to leave
“I’ll make sure he comes back after dinner, but for his sake don’t ruin his good day.”
>You exit the library, leaving the mare to contemplate on thoughts unknown to you