//------------------------------//
// Spike's Place 
// Story: Letting Go 
// by Purplescales42 
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	Spike crouched down as he entered the doorway to his bedroom. The eighteen-year-old dragon huffed in frustration as he folded his wings back as far as they could go so he could get all the way inside. He stood to his full height and noticed how close his head was to the ceiling. Stretching his wings, Spike looked around his small room. Well, it was small to him anyway. 
When Spike finally got his own room a few years ago, he was excited to have a space to himself. To him, it was a big open space, but now? Now it felt like there was hardly any room at all. The fact his wings grew in didn’t do anything to help rid this feeling of claustrophobia. He plopped down on his bed for a nap, his feet dangling over the edge of the bed. Again, he was forced to fold his wings back more than he was comfortable with. 
“Ugh, this is ridiculous!” he grumbled to himself as he stood up. He stretched his wings again accidentally knocking a picture of him and Twilight off his bedside table. “Whoa!” He caught the picture and put it back on the table, sighing in annoyance. “I need a bigger room.” He left his room and made his way to the library where he expected to find Twilight. 
As he walked down the halls of Twilight’s castle, Spike wondered if there were even any rooms big enough for him. Looking around the halls, he noticed how much space he was taking up. Then a thought struck him.
“I’m still not done growing,” he said to himself. He stopped walking and just stood there letting that thought sink in. He was only a teenage dragon. There were dragons much older than he was who were easily triple his size, maybe even bigger.  Spike got an uncomfortable empty feeling in his stomach. Getting a bigger room wasn’t going to solve the problem. 
“I. . .I need to move out. . .”

***

Twilight sat at a table in the middle of the castle library. She was in the middle of a rather thick book on ancient magic. Three other large stacks of books were on the table as well as a journal Twilight was using to take notes. 
“Maybe if I put these spells together. . .” she mumbled to herself. She scribbled something down in her journal. Behind her, Spike carefully approached. However, Twilight didn’t seem to notice. “No, the reaction could be unstable.”
“Um, Twilight?” asked Spike. 
“Perhaps if I put a different spell with it,” mumbled Twilight still oblivious to Spike. 
“Twilight?” asked Spike a little louder. Still, he went unnoticed. 
“Where’s that Advanced Spell Weaving book?” asked Twilight. She scanned the piles of books around her looking for the book in question. Suddenly, she found it dangling down in front of her. “What?” She looked up and noticed a purple clawed hand holding the book. 
“This what you want?” asked Spike. Twilight looked over her shoulder and saw Spike smiling at her.
“Oh, Spike, how long have you been there?” she asked. Spike put the book down in front of her.
“Not very long,” he replied.
“Do you need something?” asked Twilight as she opened the book and flipped through the pages. 
“Well, um, I actually needed to talk to you about something important,” said Spike as he began twiddling his thumbs.
“And what’s that?” asked Twilight when she found the page she wanted.
“I’ve been noticing that I’ve been growing a lot lately,” began Spike.
“Mhm, you’re definitely not a little dragon anymore.”
“My wings are even getting bigger.”
“Speaking of which, how are your flying lessons with Rainbow Dash going?”
“Oh, um, well,” he replied. “But I’ve been noticing that I’m getting a little too big for my room.”
“Really?” asked Twilight. “I suppose I could clear space somewhere later.”
“That’s not all,” added Spike. “I’ve noticed I’m going to be too big to fit inside the castle someday.”
“Oh, but that won't be for a while,” Twilight assured him. 
“Perhaps, but I’ve come to think that maybe . . .” He took a deep breath and exhaled before finishing his thought. “I need to move out.” Twilight stopped reading and sat straight up. 
“What?” she asked looking over her shoulder. She just looked at Spike for a moment before she started giggling. “Heheh, good one, Spike. You had me going for a minute.” She continued laughing before she noticed Spike’s sad expression. “Wait,” she said getting out of her chair and standing in front of him. “You’re serious?” Spike nodded.
“Um. . .yeah,” he said. “It isn’t like I want to leave but, like you said, I’m not a little dragon anymore. I can’t stay here forever. So, maybe it’s good if I move out now.” Twilight was shocked. 
“But, where would you go?” she asked. “It’s a long time until the next dragon migration.”
“I’ve thought about that,” said Spike. “Do you remember when that dragon tried to make his lair in that cave outside Ponyville?” Twilight nodded. “Well, it was big enough for him so I should be able to make myself at home there.” Twilight rubbed her chin.
“Well, I guess that could work,” she said, “but are you sure? I mean, I could make room somewhere for you. You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t,” Spike admitted, “but it isn’t like I’m going far away. I’ll still be able to be your number one assistant.” He tried to give Twilight a reassuring smile but it was obvious that it was insincere. This was a topic neither wanted to talk about. 
“I don’t want you to leave either, Spike, but,” she sighed and smiled back at him, “you’re right. Sooner or later you’ll have to leave. Plus, it’ll be good for you to have some independence. You’re more than ready for this.” Spike could tell that Twilight still looked sad. He knelt down in front of her and pulled her into a hug.
“Thanks, Twilight," he said.
"You're welcome," she replied returning the hug. She quickly wiped away a small tear that pricked her eye.

***

“Well, what do you think?” asked Spike to the Mane 6. It had been a week since he had decided to move out and he was now finished moving all of his stuff inside. He had a new bed Apple Bloom helped him make since he refused to sleep on the cave floor. Rarity had also made him a rug for the floor to make it homier. There was a large bookshelf filled up with various books that Twilight had given him. Spike had dug out a closet-like section in the wall for him to store up gems. Various pictures of him and his friends were hung on the walls. The only thing Spike couldn’t bring along was a stove and his cooking supplies, but Twilight promised him he could use the castle kitchen if he ever wanted to.
“Why it looks lovely, darling,” said Rarity. “But are you sure you don’t want to do a little more decorating? I’m sure I could-”
“Aw, let Spike settle in before you start redecorating from the ground up,” interrupted Rainbow Dash.
“It’s a real nice place, Spike,” added Applejack. 
“And plenty of room to throw a party!” screamed Pinkie Pie excitedly. “I’m going to plan the best house warming, er, cave warming party ever!”
“Sounds great,” said Spike. “But won’t everypony have trouble getting up here?”
“Oh, details,” said Pinkie waving off the comment. 
“Well, um, I think your house looks very nice for a dragon lair,” said Fluttershy. “Not scary at all.”
“Thanks,” said Spike happily. He looked at Twilight. “What do you think, Twi?” Twilight looked around the cave. 
“It’s very nice, Spike,” she complimented. However, she didn’t sound like she was very happy.
“What’s wrong, Twi?” asked Rainbow. “Spike put a lot of work into this.”
“I know, I know,” said Twilight. “You’ve done a very good job, Spike. Are you excited to finally have your first lair?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome!” said Spike. “Spike’s Lair. Has a cool ring to it, huh?”
“The coolest,” confirmed Rainbow.
“Why don’t we let Spike get himself settled in?” suggested Applejack. 
“Yeah, I need to plan the party!” said Pinkie rushing out of the cave followed by the others. Twilight and Applejack were straggling behind them. 
“Are you alright, Sugar Cube?” asked AJ. 
“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Twilight. “Why do you ask?”
“Ya ain’t foolin’ me, Twi,” declared AJ. “The two of you have been practically inseparable since Spike was hatched. Him movin’ out must be hard for ya.”
“Why would it be hard?” asked Twilight as she and Applejack finally left the cave. Applejack stood in front of her friend stopping her from continuing the path down the mountain. 
“Look, Twi, Ah can guess how hard this must be fer ya,” she said. “Ah’ve had to come to terms with Apple Bloom movin’ out someday.”
“She still lives with you though,” argued Twilight. “And it seems just as likely that she’ll stay on the farm.”
“That might be true,” admitted AJ. “But that ain’t the point. What Ah’m tryin’ to say is that Ah understand how hard this might be fer ya, but y'all need to come to terms with it. Ah doubt Spike is totally used to the idea either. Why don’t ya go talk to him?”
“There isn’t anything to talk about,” said Twilight. “I’m okay with this. I always knew it was going to happen sooner or later.”
“Ah know but-”
“Applejack, there’s nothing to worry about,” Twilight insisted as she walked past AJ. “No need to worry.” Applejack sighed as she followed. 
“Fine. Have it yer way,” she shouted after Twilight. “But ya’ll make it easier to just talk to him now,” she muttered under her breath.

***

Later that night, Twilight was in her library reading. A small candle lit up her reading space and Owlowicious was perched on top of one of the book stacks. Suddenly, Twilight’s stomach started growling. “I guess it’s time for a snack.”
“Who,” hooted Owlowicious. 
“You hungry too?” Owlowicious nodded.
“Who!” he confirmed. Twilight giggled. 
“Alright.” She got up from her seat letting Owlowicious perch on her back. She headed to the kitchen where she made herself a sandwich and got some bird seed for Owlowicious. “Mmm, that’s good.”
“Who,” chirped Olwowicious as he started pecking at his seeds. 
“Do you think Spike has eaten by now?” asked Twilight. “Did he even remember to store up some food?” Owlowicious shrugged. She looked around the small mess she had made in the kitchen. “Hm, Spike would probably have a fit at the mess, wouldn’t he?” Owlowicious nodded. 
“Who.”
“Wait, does he have his cleaning supplies?” Twilight gasped loudly. “Oh, I can’t believe he forgot those! I can’t believe I didn’t think to make sure he had everything he needed!”
“Who!” Owlowicious hooted loudly trying to get Twilight to come to her senses.
“I need to get some things together for him,” said a frantic Twilight ignoring her pet.

*KRAKOOM!* 

Both Twilight and Owlowicious jumped at the sudden sound of thunder. Twilight looked out the window and saw the wind blowing the tree and rain pouring down hard.
“Oh, great! Now there’s a thunder storm!” huffed Twilight. “We should get some supplies to Spike before the storm gets too bad!” She was about to open the fridge to get some food to pack when Owlowicious flew in front of her.
“Who!”
“Owlowicious, get out of the way!” snapped Twilight. “We have to make sure that Spike is okay!”
“Who!” Owlowicious didn’t move and remained hovering in front of his master. 
“But what if he gets hurt or something?” Owlowicious just raised a brow. “Okay, fine, a cave is pretty safe, but what if he’s scared? He used to be scared of tunderstorms.”
“Who.”
“Alright, maybe he has gotten over it. But what about-”
“Who,” Owlowicious interrupted. Twilight sighed.
“I-I guess I really am not ready for this,” she admitted. Thunder roared outside and lightning started flashing outside. “I am really worried though, but Spike should be safe in his lair.”
“Who,” agreed Owlowicious. 
“Maybe I’ll call it a night,” suggested Twilight. “But I will be checking on Spike tomorrow thought.”
“Who,” agreed Owlowicious.

***

Twilight was up early the next morning. She made sure to pack some food and some of Spike’s cleaning supplies. Owlowicious came with her as well to visit his dragon friend. The two flew to Spike’s lair. As they approached the entrance, they could hear Spike’s snoring coming from inside. Twilight walked in with Owlowicious on her back. Spike was curled up in his bed with his blanket over him. Twilight smiled.
“Well, at least he’s safe,” she whispered.
“Who,” hooted Owlowicious softly. Twilight brought the supplies she brought to Spike’s gem closet and found that he had already started storing up gems. There was even a broom and other cleaning supplies in there as well as some apples. 
“I guess there really wasn’t anything to be worried about,” said Twilight. 
“Who.”
“Oh, don’t rub it in.” Suddenly, the two heard a yawn. They looked over and saw Spike waking up. 
“Mmm,” groaned Spike as he sat up. 
“Morning, sleepyhead,” greeted Twilight. 
“Twilight?” asked Spike. “And Owlowicious? What are you two doing here?”
“Oh, well, I noticed that you left some things behind,” explained Twilight. “Or at least I thought you did. But you seem to have everything you need.”
“Yeah, but thanks for bringing some stuff anyway,” aid Spike as he climbed out of bed. He put the food and supplies Twilight brought and put them in the closet.
“So, big storm last night, huh?” asked Twilight. 
“There was a storm?”
“You didn’t hear it? You don’t even have a door. How could you not hear it?”
“I dunno,” said Spike with a shrug. “But I didn’t hear anything.”
“Huh. That’s odd.”
“So, why did you come so early?” asked Spike. “I know you like getting an early start but the sun’s barely up.”
“Oh, no reason,” lied Twilight.
“Who!” protested Owlowicious.
“Oh fine,” huffed Twilight. “I was worried about you.”
“You were?” asked Spike.
“Yeah. It’s just. . .I’ve taken care of you since you were little. You’ve been a big part of my life for so long. I guess I’m just not quite ready for this.” 
“I’m having a little trouble too,” Spike admitted.
“You are?”
“Yeah. I didn’t say anything because I thought you were okay with it. I wanted to show you I was ready for this too.”
“Oh, Spike,” said Twilight. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. I wouldn’t have thought any less of you for being nervous.”
“I know,” said Spike. “But it was my idea and I wanted to show you I could see it through.”
“Well, I’m convinced. You seem to be taking good care of yourself. I’m very proud of you.”
“Thanks, Twilight,” said Spike giving her a hug. “You know I’m glad you still worry about me.”
“I’ll always worry about you, Spike,” said Twilight. “But I know now that I can trust you to look out for yourself. Just promise you’ll keep visiting me.”
“Of course I will. I would never abandon you.”
“Who,” hooted Owlowicious.
“Twilight,” replied Spike. “I’d never leave Twilight.”
“Who.”
“Ugh, you know, your owner?” asked Spike getting flustered. Twilight giggled as Spike continued to argue with Owlowicious.
“Nice to know some things will never change.”