//------------------------------//
// Progress in Equestria 
// Story: Spike's New Adventure 
// by San Dragon 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle begins the new day in solitude since Trixie Lulamoon came by last night, asking Starlight to celebrate her birthday by spending the week together as friends, which Twilight permits. It allows her to discover the world Spike endured in isolation, even after suggesting to her friends to devise preparations for the School of Friendship. 

It becomes eerie for Twilight to hear her hoofsteps in the Castle of Friendship as the only sound, making her feel sad when she envisions herself as Spike going with his daily routine; her belly growls, yearning for filling, making Twilight feel more relaxed about the new sound within her castle than listening to her hoofsteps echoing in the corridors. 

When she arrives in the kitchen, Twilight has a reminiscion about Spike cooking her favorite morning dish by the stove; he smiles at her, saying - "Good Morning, Twilight!"

"Ma -" Twilight sheds a tear, stretching down on her right eye. She realizes how ungrateful she took advantage of Spike's kindness. Twilight approaches Spike and swears she can feel the scales on his face cheek; she blinks three times, and Spike is no longer in the kitchen. She's all alone again. "Morning, Spike." 

Instead of attempting to cook a delicious meal for breakfast, Twilight settles with a bowl of cornflakes. Before taking a bite, she hears Pinkie calling for her, inviting Twilight to eat breakfast with the rest of the girls at Sugarcube Corner by the kitchen window. 

"No, Pinkie, I want to understand what Spike endured in solitude. I need to feel the quietness, the abandonment, the loneliness he suffered throughout the years. I want to embrace this lifestyle until the School of Friendship construction is complete."

"So, you won't accompany us during a friendship quest or any parties I throw? No hangouts or get-togethers with any of your friends?" Pinkie Pie wants to know where Twilight stands on her commitment to living similarly to Spike when he underwent his darkness in seclusion. 

"I will from time to time. I still need to instill my entitlement as the Princess of Friendship. I want to remain distant in my castle until my family comes to visit me or whenever I teach Starlight a friendship lesson. I can't have any excuses for delaying my tribulation to enter Spike's domain in sequestration. Later, Pinkie," Twilight leaves the kitchen with her bowl of cereal and an unpeeled orange. 

Throughout the days in the Castle of Friendship, Twilight motivates herself to clean the entire castle without help, flying, or magic, which is problematic with her stumbling and no stability on ladders. She made more messes, causing her to groan frustratedly and kick the bucket of water. She angrily bellows because she managed to clean only one room in a few hours while the rest of the castle remains filthy. Twilight declined Starlight's assistance since Spike got ignored whenever he asked for help. 

Twilight understood Spike's personal statement about the chores in the castle becoming tedious for one creature to uphold daily, considering the list she would give him after making the messes herself. She facehoof herself for initiating a tiresome job on one creature, the dragon she hatched and raised, with many youthful years left before adulthood. There are days when Twilight openly expresses to herself how she hates herself for creating Spike's darkness and feels it lurking in her shadows. 

Twilight feels relief with her friends during her social gatherings and constructing the School of Friendship near her castle; she feels peaceful but dreads the day of explaining to Empress Ember and Thorax about Spike's residency and the fallout between the two a few weeks ago. Twilight knows she'll receive an earache from Empress Ember and Thorax about respecting every species as equals as Equestria does with their kin. Twilight hopes it doesn't disrupt the peace between Equestria, the Dragon Lands, and the Hive, considering Spike's friendship solidify their friendship as nations. 

In Ponyvile, besides Twilight's quest to correlate to Spike's darkness, the remaining bearers of the elements took time to appreciate their friends and family even more. 

Pinkie Pie visits Yak Yakkistan weekly to visit Prince Rutherford and every yak for fun and to learn more about their culture. That was when Prince Rutherford introduced Pinkie to Yona, a high-spirit and proud yak. An idea struck Pinkie; she asked permission to allow Yona to participate as a student at the School of Friendship. Prince Rutherford accepts Pinkie's proposal and hopes Yona would love the experience of meeting new friends and new species for Yak Yakkistan to love besides ponies. 

Whenever Rarity is not working in her boutique or checking progress in Manehattan, she spends more time with Sweetie Belle, singing, playing, laughing, relaxing, cooking, and making costumes for their homemade roleplay skit. Sweetie Belle was confused about the sudden change of pace with her sister. After learning about Spike's decision to leave Ponyville to seek a better opportunity in life, Sweetie Belle believes Rarity doesn't want to experience anything similar to Twilight and takes note of being mindful of those closest to her. 

Applejack continues her duties at Sweet Apple Acres, upholding her prideful manner of tending to every apple tree in the orchard, gathering apples, making time to spend with Apple Bloom with their daily chores, and spending time with Big Mac. Applejack agreed with Big Mac to allow him more days out of the month to relax and frolic while she and Apple Bloom handle his chores, considering Big Mac's friend is a nation away by train unless Discord swoops by and escorts him via teleportation during a guy's night. It also allows Applejack to gain any info about Spike and report it to Twilight for her sake. 

Whenever Rainbow Dash is not training with the Wonderbolts, she's spending time with either her friends or Scootaloo. With the promise of treating Scootaloo as an older sister, she notices something peculiar about Scootaloo's flight, how she's unable to soar in the skies as any young filly would. Rainbow hopes Scootaloo doesn't have the rare condition that some pegasi fear and believes Scootaloo will soar high in the skies as a late bloomer. Another friend Rainbow has seen recently is Gilda, who she was surprised to see Rainbow Dash out of the blue. Rainbow wants to reignite her friendship with Gilda rather than leave her behind after witnessing the fallout between Spike and Twilight a few weeks ago. 

Fluttershy remains subtle in her home, caring for the animals, spending time with Discord, and continuing their growth as friends; she does write to her younger brother, Zephyr Breeze, making sure he follows procedure and his calling in life rather than quitting every job he gets. She wishes the best for her younger brother but hopes Zephyr Breeze does fantastic.

Princess Celestia and Luna maintain their line of duties throughout the weeks and make time to visit Spike since it's their mission to elevate their friendship with him after missing out on many events during their reign. As of late, Princess Celestia has trouble sleeping; she tosses and turns about sudden events happening in the future. For reasons unknown, Princess Luna couldn't penetrate Celestia's dreams to calm the quarrels of her mind and believed something omnipotent was responsible for the interference. 

For weeks, Princess Celestia has regressed due to the endless nightmares about the future, which connects to one event that would change Equus forever. Princess Celestia has proclaimed all royal sessions for the week will be postponed until further notice.