Dear Spike the Dragon,
We write to you requesting your assistance. We’ve decided that you are ready to begin your training here in Canterlot, and ask that you begin at once. We believe you to be of strong enough character and mind to begin your journey in becoming a Dragon Sage and we request your immediate relocation. Your training will likely take place over many months, depending on how well you perform and how quickly you mature. Please write back to me with your arrival date and time and we will escort you to your new home.
Sincerely,
Princess Luna
It just did not make any sense! Twilight read and re-read the letter a dozen times before shooting Spike a confused look. His face began to twist and frown. His eyes filled with a heartbreaking fear and rising sense of panic. He looked up at Twilight and began slowly back-pacing.
“I . . . I don’t want to go away,” he said with trembling lips. “Please don’t send me away Twilight. Tell me I don’t have to leave!” tears began welling up in his eyes as he continued to step away from the letter. Twilight’s heart sank, remembering how he looked when he looked into King Sombra’s door during her exam. His little claws covered his face and he looked up at her beginning to cry. Twilight was not going to let his panic continue any longer. She threw the letter to the side and took his face in her hooves carefully.
“Listen to me Spike. As long as I have something to say about it, you are not going anywhere, ok?” She stared at him right in the eyes and gave him a reassuring smile. “I told you that nightmare you saw in Sombra’s lair would never come to pass, right? You’re my assistant, and I keep my promise to my assistant. I’m not sending you away,” she said and smiled brightly at the weepy dragon. He smiled back and wiped his eyes before clinging to Twilight’s leg and sniffling lightly. Behind them, Applejack had the letter in her hoof.
“What in the world does ‘Dragon Sage’ mean? The way she talks about this ‘journey’ or whatever makes it sound like we should know what the devil she’s talkin’ about.” Applejack’s observation sounded right to Twilight, but so many other things confused her about the letter. The words ‘training’ and ‘journey’ were odd, but ‘Dragon Sage’ was completely new to her and she was even more confused by how Spike was supposed to ‘mature’. She decided some research was in order, but she needed to deal with first things first.
“Spike, take a note please,” she said proudly like nothing was wrong.
“I . . uh . . . ok,” he fumbled in response and pulled out a quill and parchment as Twilight began.
“Dear Princess Luna, we are sorry to disappoint you, but Spike is unable to relocate right now. Your letter confuses us because we have never heard about this training or 'Dragon Sage' previously. If we could speak about this more, we’d be very grateful. Your loyal subjects, Spike and Twilight Sparkle,” she finished.
“Just send it to Princess Celestia and she will get it to Princess Luna. Now Spike, I don’t want to hear you worrying anymore about this ok? I don’t care what she’s talking about because I’m not going to trade my favorite assistant for anything.” She smiled at him and rubbed her cheek against his affectionately. He smiled weakly and thanked her before blowing the letter into a trail of smoke. Twilight then turned to Pinkie Pie.
“Sorry Pinkie, but do you think we could postpone this party to another night? I have a feeling that I’m going to be studying for a while about this Dragon Sage thing,” she asked with a frown.
“No problemo, silly filly! Do you want us to help you dig through books?” she asked enthusiastically.
“No thanks. Instead, could you please ask the others about the Dragon Sage? Perhaps Fluttershy knows something since she has studied dragons before.”
“Okey-Dokey!” she said and bounced back out the door of the castle. Applejack soon followed and the princess and assistant were left alone once more. Twilight rolled the letter up again and carried it with her to the library. Spike followed her and immediately began climbing the bookcase ladders heading straight for the books he knew she'd ask for. The two of them dove into their routine, and having time to study with Twilight started to make Spike feel a little better.
That night, Twilight continued to search through her books for anything that could help. She spent hours pouring over her books and looking through stories of sages, dragons, and anything relating to dragon maturity. But the unfortunate truth was that Twilight did not know very much about dragons despite having lived with one most of her life. Spike hatched during her entrance exam to magic school, and the princess told her to look after him. She learned basic things about how to raise a dragon such as diet and variety of breeds, but beyond that, all she knew about dragons was what she learned from seeing them with her friends. Of course, there was that one incident when Spike’s greed took him over and he almost destroyed ponyville, but since then nothing new has happened to him.
She peered over the pages on one of her oldest books when her last candle sputtered out at the end of its wick. She sighed and decided it best to try again tomorrow before trotting off to bed. Her new bedroom, or bedchamber really, was much like the one she stayed in at the crystal empire. The windows were tall and the bed rested right in the center of the room surrounded by a few bookcases containing some of her old favorites. The baby dragon’s bed lay right next to hers as always. As she slid under the covers, she heard a small whimper from the basket followed by a sniff.
“Spike, are you ok?” she asked with concern.
“Yeah, it’s just . . . I can’t get to sleep. I know you said I’m not going anywhere, but I’m still worried because Luna’s a princess too and . . . I don’t want to be alone.” The little dragon rolled over in his basket and looked up at Twilight who sat upright in her bed.
“Spike, come here,” she said and motioned with her hoof. Spike got up and stood at the edge of her bed. He looked so pitiful and sad that she wanted only to make him feel safe. “Do you remember back in Canterlot, before we moved to Ponyville?” The dragon nodded weakly in reply. “When you were still a little hatchling, you would stumble around and accidentally light a few of my books on fire. Sometimes you got scared at night and we cuddled together under the blankets till you felt better. I was still only a little filly at the time, so we were both very young. Ever since then, you’ve been my closest companion. I didn’t make any real pony friends until we came here, but I was always content because I always had you. You’ve been my assistant and my friend since I was a filly and that hasn’t changed since.”
Spike felt a deep sigh of relief at her words. She and him had more history then anyone else they knew, so he always felt like he would be around her for years and years. The thought of leaving was just too scary. He still felt a little anxious about it, and Twilight seemed to pick up on it.
“Would you fall asleep easier if you slept in here with me?” She asked sweetly. Spikes eyes shot open in excitement, because he was just thinking the same thing. But he was so embarrassed about it that all he could do in response was give a timid nod. Twilight smiled and patted the mattress next to her. Spike dug his claws into the blanket and climbed up clumsily to her and nestled in next to her.
His warm little body radiated the whole bed with a comforting softness. It had been years since they had spent the night together like this. The truth was that when she was a filly, she depended on him to get her through tough nights as well, like a scaly teddy bear. The princess watched as Spike drifted off slowly to sleep, and before long she followed.
Eyes were peering at him from all directions. They appeared in the darkness conjured out of green flame and the unmistakable maniacal laughter of King Sombra echoed through his head. Spike curled on the floor and cried out.
“Go away. No, I don’t want to leave,” he said, but the laughter became louder and louder. He clutched his head and cried out in fear.
“Please!”
“Begone!” he heard a voice bellow from beside him, and that instant the eyes of Sombra vanished and the darkness followed. The room became silent and Spike peered around frantically. He was in their old bedroom from the Ponyville library, Golden Oaks.
“Spike,” he heard someone say softly. Princess Luna walked slowly over towards him with a comforting smile. “Fear not, for your dreams are safe with me.”
“Princess!” he jumped. “This is a dream? Are you in my dream?”
“Yes, young dragon. I felt that this was the best way to explain things to you,” she said and gestured to their surroundings. “I know you fear leaving Princess Twilight, but you are ready to become the next Dragon Sage.”
“But princess, I don't even know what that means. I’ve never heard of that or anything like that before,” he said with a shrug.
“I’m sorry I didn’t explain things earlier. I thought that my sister had informed you and young Twilight about it when you came of age. It appears I was mistaken, and I apologize,” she said and bowed her head. Spike thanked her, but he was still plenty confused.
“What do you mean ‘of age’? I’m still a baby dragon!”
“Odd isn’t it? Doesn’t it seem strange to you that you were born only a few years after most of your friends here, yet you remain a babe in physical form?” She put her hoof to her chin as if wondering aloud.
“I guess? I just thought dragons age differently,” he suggested.
“You are correct. Dragons do not age with time, but rather with the mind. Tell me, do you remember meeting any others of your kind?” she asked.
“Yeah! I met some teenagers and they all had hoards and I also met this really big dragon who nearly burned me to a crisp!” he said.
“Those dragons all aged because of their greed. The larger the hoard, the larger the dragon. The truth is, those teenagers might well have been younger than you,” she said very matter-of-factly.
Spike remembered when he began wanting to take things from everyone and how fast he grew. He also remembered nearly destroying Ponyville and almost getting himself and Rarity killed.
“When you succumbed to greed, that was the time when most dragons become large and angry. They live in their hoards and live for thousands of years sleeping and collecting treasures for themselves. That would have been your fate from that day on.” She motioned to Spike with her hoof as she spoke.
“But I stopped it,” he cued in.
“Exactly, young Spike! You, unlike other dragons, are able to defeat your greed. You grew back to being a baby because that was where your mind truly was.”
“But I’ve been a baby ever since!” he protested. “So am I stuck being a baby for the rest of my life?”
“That is why I am here, little dragon,” Luna said with another smile. “Since you are able to defeat your greed, you cannot grow unless you train your mind and body in the ancient way. But you will not become a giant monster like the previous dragons you have encountered. Instead, you will become what we call a Dragon Sage.”
Spike pondered her words carefully and paced around the library. “So a Dragon Sage is just a dragon who isn’t greedy? But I thought sages were old wise unicorns who were really good at magic.”
“There is magic in dragons, young Spike,” she said and her horn began to glow a brilliant shade of cerulean. A piece of parchment appeared before her, which she rolled up and made it vanish again. Spike then belched loudly and the parchment roll spat out into his claws. He looked down at it, then back to Princess Luna.
“Each dragon is capable of much more than receiving letters. However, most cannot see past their hunger for gold and jewels. Only once every few millennia do we see a dragon that is capable of doing so. These Dragon Sages often become personal advisors and companions for the princesses, much like you and Princess Twilight.”
“Wait, so does that mean that you had a dragon assistant too?” He asked in astonishment. The princess nodded in return.
“The last Dragon Sage was my assistant, companion, and very dear friend. Her name was Aurora, and she, like you, was able to suppress her greed and became one of my most valuable allies. In fact, I was still quite young when she became my assistant. We grew so close over the years and soon I came to depend on her help. She was wise and strong and loyal to me beyond any of my other subjects. She helped me grow into the princess I am now. Were it not for her, I would likely never have become a princess at all.”
“So wait, you said dragons age with their mind. So do dragons die? Or is Aurora alive somewhere?” At this, Luna closed her eyes and walked towards the fireplace which lit up upon her arrival. Idiot, Spike! He thought to himself. Clearly he hit a sore subject. “I’m sorry, princess,” he began.
“Not at all, Spike. Sadly, even dragons cannot live forever. I lived along side Aurora for many centuries, but she grew old just like anypony else because the longer one lives, the more one learns. This ages the mind and hence, ages the dragon. But fear not, for that was thousands of years ago. You have the fortunate opportunity to live a long life as Twilight’s sage, if you wish to.”
Spike thought about what he was hearing. It certainly explained why he was still a baby. But if Dragon Sages were assistants to royalty, then what’s wrong with the way he is now? He walked over to the fireplace and sat next to the blue princess. They both stared at the fire as they spoke.
"Why now?" he asked. "I mean, I grew back into a baby after getting all greedy a long time ago. What is so different now?"
"Because your friend Twilight has become a Princess, and she will need your help now more than ever," she answered calmly. Spike twidled his thumbs together for a moment as the fire crackled before the both of them. Its warm glow felt comforting to him, but he still felt uneasy.
“Princess, I know you want me to become this new sage thing, but why do I need to leave Twilight? Can’t I just stay the way I am?” The blue Alicorn sat quietly for a moment, then picked her head up and gazed around at their surroundings.
“Do you see this library, Spike?” she said and gestured to the walls.
“Yes?” he responded.
“Where is it now?”
“It was destroyed in the battle with Tirek,” he said and wondered at where she was going with that.
“I know you did all you could to help, but a baby dragon is no match for Tirek. At his strongest he matched our power of the princesses. In times like this, do you not wish that you could help her more?”
Spike remained silent at this. It’s true that he was the best assistant in the world for Twilight when she was studying. But now that she was a princess, she had real problems to deal with and real magic to wield. Naturally, she had some real enemies as a result. Anytime she fought with someone like Tirek or Discord, Spike was always watching from afar, unable to help very much. Sure he helped defeat King Sombra, but if he was stronger or more powerful, maybe the Crystal Empire wouldn’t have been in danger at all.
“The strength and power that you gain will be useful to Princess Twilight in rare occasions, sure enough. But a Dragon Sage’s wisdom, character, and heart can help her in every way,” Luna said and turned away from the fireplace. She began walking towards the door. “I know that this is all sudden for you, Spike, but please think about it. I will not force you to do something you are not ready for. But I believe you are ready.” She opened the door to the stairs. Before leaving, she looked back at Spike one more time.
“Princess,” he said, “was Aurora different when she became a Dragon Sage?” She smirked and gave him a comforting smile.
“She certainly was not a baby anymore, but she was always my friend. You have a choice, young dragon, and I will not force you out of your home, if that is what you wish. But please, think on it. Both Princess Twilight and by extension Equestria will be greatly aided by your efforts should you choose to grow and become the next Dragon Sage. Choose wisely, and write a letter to me with your response. Until then, goodnight young Spike.”
She closed the door behind her. The room felt so real and so familiar that he almost forgot he was dreaming. He thought back to his time there in Ponyville. He had his friends and he was cared for greatly, so why would he want to change? But then again, he was older than he looked. In fact, he was nearly twice the age of the cutie-mark crusaders, yet he looked younger to everypony else. Then he recalled how Rainbow Dash teased him by flying around him with a gem in her hoof. Fluttershy always seemed to treat him like one of her baby animals because of his age as well. And then of course there was Rarity, who might never see him for more than a child. Spike rolled the idea in his head around a lot. He wanted nothing more than to be useful to Twilight and his friends. But he was so afraid of leaving. He’s never been apart from Twilight for very long, and the thought of leaving filled him with dread.
The dream slowly began to dissipate as the morning sunlight began to creep through his eyelids. He was pushed out of his entrancing sleep and into the world of the living. When he came to his senses, he shot up and looked around. He was back in their new bedroom with the big halls and the tall ceilings. Twilight still lay sleeping beside him and he gazed at her lovingly. She deserved the best, he thought.
He made his decision right then and there.