//------------------------------// // The Visit // Story: Life and Death // by Protector of Light //------------------------------// Spike resides in a chamber of the castle specifically sized to meet the needs of his ever growing body. As he aged, he was forced to begin hoarding, lest his own scales make him immobile. It’s a natural part of the dragon life cycle, and denying himself of it for so long caused a temporary decay. Luckily, after learning his lesson when he was young, he has not been overcome by greed and he has not lost himself. He isn’t a huge dragon, just a little bigger than I, but ponies tend to become afraid of dragons the moment that they are no longer babies. This forced him to either leave Equestria and enter the Dragon Lands, or move into isolation here at the palace. He chose the latter. He still gets visitors, of course, mainly Luna, Cadance, and I, so he is not as lonely as he could be. Nevertheless, it does him good to see other ponies, Twilight Sparkle most of all. My only concern of taking Twilight to visit him before I attempt my spell is that he is a very perceptive dragon: he might see through our ruse of coming for the sole purpose of visiting. Additionally, I would worry what effect it might have on him seeing Twilight in her current state. But I figure that he will appreciate this chance to see her no matter what happens to her. She is like a sister, maybe even a mother to him, regardless of how long they have been apart. It is agonizing for him to be unable to visit Twilight in the hospital, so I can see both the good and the bad of this visit. Perhaps, if our pan were to fail, it will be closure to him to have seen her this last time. Not that it’s going to fail. I need to keep a positive attitude, or else the risk may be higher of it failing. But it can be difficult in times like this. On the outside, I might be the serene ruler who exudes calmness, but on the inside, I can be a nervous wreck in times of crisis. It has been worse since the changeling attack all of those years ago, when Twilight was young, when I failed to protect my ponies in a time of dire need. That was certainly an enlightening experience; it proved that I am not infallible. I can be defeated, and I am not all powerful. I knew all of these things, but my loyal subjects had not realized so and their confidence in their princesses wavered. But I have regained some of that trust over the years by preventing and averting many other catastrophes. And none of that really matters on whether I fail or succeed in this spell that I have planned. I don’t want to fail Twilight. Or Spike, for that matter. But that’s why we aren’t telling him about our plan until it is attempted, so that there will be one less person disappointed. And we aren’t telling Luna. I’m afraid that she would be against the plan and try to stop us. In any case, I will worry about dealing with her at such a time that the need arise. I just don’t know what I can do. Do I tell her, or do I hide something from my own sister? I just don’t know what to do. All I can do is try. And hope. *** We are nearing Spike’s chamber, Twilight and I. As we enter the room, Twilight stumbles an nearly falls on her face. Luckily, I am here to support her and help her regain her balance. Climbing all of these stairs in hard on her, I know. Perhaps I will just teleport us back to my study when our visit here is through, assuming that it won’t hurt her pride. As we walk, I wonder what is going through her head. Is she nervous to see her assistant again? Is she delighted, or upset? All of these things I wonder, but I shall never know. Thoughts are private. As we round the corner, Twilight bursts into a smile the moment that she sees her dragon friend for the first time in years. “Spike!” she exclaims in delight as she moves as quickly as her old body is able to push her towards him. “Twilight?” he asks, perhaps wondering if he is imagining things as she rounds the corner and hugs him. “Twilight! You’re out of the hospital. What’s the occasion?” I hope that she will stick to our story. I know that she dislikes lying, but it is for her and Spike’s own safety that she does so. “Oh, it’s been awhile since I’ve been out and about, so the princess thought that it might do me some good to come and see you! Dang, you’ve grown up quickly.” Spike and my eyes meet momentarily. He knows that if I brought her to visit, the end is near. We discussed it at length about a year ago. He knows that I would not give up on her until I felt that there was no chance. Well, there still is a chance, Spike, and I will do my very best to let you keep your Twilight. He looks back at her. “I’m glad you came here. I’ve missed you more than you could imagine.” “Oh, I think that I can imagine. I probably missed you just as much! Gosh, it’s good to see you.” Her eyes have far more light in them than they have in the past months. Perhaps it would be better if she stayed here in the palace under personal care even if my spell fails. It would be much more comfortable for her, surely, and Spike could come and visit her, rather than them being apart for so long. I will have to ask Twilight about it. I go through the room, allowing the two friends to have their privacy. I hate that there is a chance of failure, but that chance is always there. And there is nothing that we can do but try to beat the odds that are stacked against us. I try to remember how one shares energy with another pony. It’s not a terribly difficult spell, but I question the safely with such quantities of energy flying around as are needed. I glance at Spike’s hoard of books. If I had not found the book that I needed so quickly, this would have surely been my first stop. So many books, so much knowledge, all held in a single room. And all of it under the protection of a dragon. That’s certainly enough to scare most ponies that might wish to steal the collection. But I suppose that there are those who would attempt it just to say they stole from a dragon’s hoard. But none of that matters. If I had come here, I would have been forced to tell Spike what was going on. And I will tell him, once it is over, no matter the result. I head back over to them, Twilight and Spike. They are whispering to each other. Is she giving our plan away? Surely not. That would not be like her, to tell my secrets to anypony, not even her dear friend Spike. I wait for them to finish their conversation before I make my presence known. “Twilight, could you give Spike and I am minute?” I ask when they are done. “Of course,” she says. “I can explore all of these books while I wait.” “Thank you. I assure you, you will have more time to speak with Spike before we leave.” “Thank you, Princess Celestia.” She wanders off to explore the labyrinth. “What’s going on here, Princess?” Spike asks insistently. “Is her time near?” “I cannot tell you much, All I can tell you is that if everything goes according to my plan, we may have Twilight around for longer. If not…” I pause, unsure of what to say. “Then things will remain the same. That is the worst that can happen.” I’m fairly sure of that, but there is no telling. This has never been attempted before. “Just don’t do anything that you think is unsafe. I’d love to have her alive and well, but not if it has a huge cost to anypony.” “I promise you, Spike, the risk is low. Either something happens or it doesn’t. It’s that simple.” I smile at him. No matter what happens, I’m going to see if Twilight can stay in the palace, or if she even wants to. I’ll go ahead and send a letter to Ponyville hospital as soon as I speak with her. If she agrees, you’ll definitely see her more!” “Good! But all I want is for her to be happy. So don’t make her stay if she’d rather be elsewhere.” “I won’t. Don’t worry about it, Spike. I promise that I will make her happy.” “Thank you.” I call Twilight back over and excuse myself from the room. I wish to give them some time to themselves. There is nothing to do now but wait for my chance.