The big door to the library cracked ajar. Another shove from the purple mare make it swing all the way open. Grunting, Twilight dragged the sleeping dragon inside and closed the door behind him. She looked down at Spike and smiled, however much she wanted to yell at him for his foolishness, she could never keep a straight face at his adorable, boyish innocence. Although Spike was a little over the top today she had to admit, she had a pretty good time tonight. That was always one thing she always missed about his company, no one could make her laugh quite the way she did around him.
She bent down and grabbed his wrists, better get him to the couch. Managing to get Spike to and on top of the living room couch, Twilight went to the kitchen for a late night snack... Well, early morning snack to be technical.
Echo smushed his face against the glass door of the minimart and moaned in agony, the sweet treats taunting him from the other side. Rubbing his empty stomach, Echo thought.
How can they be closed so early? He glanced at his watch with haste. One A.M. isn't that early, right?
"Damn you, cruel fate!" He cried out while reaching for the sky. His hands wrapped around his belly again as he looked down. As his clouded mind started searching for a solution, he talked to himself. "If only there was a way to get this door out of the way..."
"Hey there, stranger." A man called from a dark alley next to the store. Echo slowly looked in the skinny stallion's direction, his brain still working out his hunger problem. "I understand your'e having some slight troubles, eh?"
Echo didn't answer, simply going back to pressing his nose against the glass widows of the store. The man blankly stared at Echo, clearly waiting for an answer.
"If we could... some how... get this door." Echo motioned with both of his hands at the locked barrier. He paused to scratch his chin. "... Over to the side... I... I could get in." He used his hands to emphasize his plan as the light yellow stallion watched with concern. "But the door... the door is locked..."
The man emerged from the shadows of the alleyway and cleared his throat, once again catching the eyes of Echo.
"If I could make a suggestion, my good man?" Echo didn't respond again, but it looked as if he was at least listening. "It seems like you're confused and can't get your thoughts straight, yes?"
He nodded and took a step closer to the man. "How did you know?"
"Wild guess." The man rolled his eyes. "Now, listen good sir, I have a remedy for all your problems."
With starry eyes, Echo smiled and cupped his cheeks. "You do?"
"Yes, sir-y." The red maned man pulled out a little neatly wrapped bag, Echo push forward to look at the magical substance.
But then Echo shrunk back sadly. "Sorry sir, but I don't have any money."
The yellow stallion grinned and chuckled. "Oh, that's okay. First one's on the house."
Spike stirred on the couch and slowly opened his eyelids. He had a funny taste in his mouth and his head hurt a little. Although he was looking around the room, he didn't take any of it in, making him look a second time. He saw that he was back at home, though not sure how. Siting up, he saw the warm glow from the kitchen.
"Twilight?" He waited for an answer. "Twilight!?"
"Yes?" Twilight responded as she entered the living room. "What is it, Spike?"
"Oh, okay." As far as he could tell, she didn't seem too intoxicated. "I was just making sure you were still with me."
She came and sat down next to him, hugging his shoulder slightly. "I'll away be there for you, Spike."
He couldn't help but blush and smile back at her. "Thank you, T-"
Before Spike finished his sentiment, a grey bat pony smashed through an overhead window, collided with the top of a nearby coffee table and landed in front of them in a heap of limbs and glass shards. In his arms, he carried a wide variety of candy bars and chips and he wore a military uniform. As Twilight and Spike began to process the entry of the stallion, his eyes shot open. It was odd how glazed his pupils were and they knew his mind was probably long gone. The strange pony looked around the room with distress until he saw the couple sitting on the couch.
"Are you Spike?" Echo said as he blinked rapidly.
Spike glanced at Twilight for a moment before he returned to the dazed stallion. "Uh, yes?" Spike was surprised that an obvious officer would be so unprofessional, especially in front of other military personnel.
Echo grinned and sprung to his feet. "Finally! I've been all over town trying to find you and then some things happened at the bar and you weren't there so I decided to have some fun but I think I might have gotten a little high and I needed snacks because I'm not going to tell you that Celestia wants to see you right away on an empty stoma-"
"Wait, what?!" Twilight stopped the man's rambling. "Celestia is calling for Spike? What for?"
Echo started to jitter as he held up his hands to his mouth. "Oh, I'm not suppose to say because she told me it was super secretive and like STUPID important." Echo snapped his attention back to Spike. "-But yea, you're suppose to secretly come with me for a-" He stopped and looked around the room again. He brought his voice to a whisper. "-Super secret mission."
"A mission?" Twilight and Spike both questioned.
Echo jumped back from Twilight and gasped. "H-how did you find out? That was suppose to be a secret!"
Twilight sighed, turning to Spike. "How are you going to see the Princess now? You can barely stand, let alone fly all the way to Canterlot."
Spike waved her off. "Pfft, I can fly just fine."
She shook her head back at him. "Spike, you still have a slur; you are in no condition to fly anywhere."
Rubbing his chin, Spike thought. "Maybe you're right, but what about Celestia?"
"I'm sure she can wait until tomorrow." Her attention went back to Echo, who, with the brief pause, ate the last of his snacks. There was a pile of wrappers surrounding his feet.
"So, is it cool if I crash here or-" A scroll suddenly appeared in Echo's face, he caught it before it hit the ground. He looked at it in awe and rubbed it. "Oh, hey. Check it out, a magic scroll. Wow, the Princesses only sends stuff like this if they're really-" He unraveled the paper and the scroll came to life, shooting out magic beams around the living room. A bright bubble formed at the scroll and expanded, engulfing the three people in the room.
With a flash of light, the group found themselves in a different setting. The Palace, to be exact. Twilight and Spike's stares fell upon two annoyed looking Princesses.
"-pissed."